Is your old bathroom shelf wobbly, overly crowded, or simply unattractive? There is a clever alternative: turning a few Dollar Tree items into a small wooden shelf to rest on the bathroom vanity, far warmer than the standard metal models. All of it without major renovations or complicated tools.
This smart idea comes from YouTuber She So CraftDee, who conceived a bathroom shelf DIY by stacking wooden trays and garden hooks. The result is a compact, multi-tier piece of furniture, perfect for making use of the vertical space above the sink and freeing up the countertop. The secret lies in a handful of wooden trays and metal hooks that don’t look like much at first glance.
Why this Dollar Tree bathroom shelf DIY stands out
Articles about this project emphasize one point: this little shelf is “much cuter than most bathroom shelves sold commercially,” while costing “about $10 and some change,” i.e., around 9 to 10 euros. By gathering everything at Dollar Tree, you get a custom storage solution for less than many ready-made models. The idea is especially suitable for small bathrooms where every inch of counter space matters.
Styling-wise, the stained wood gives a warm, almost artisanal look, far from plastic. The trays are first stained in the wood color of your choice. The tutorials note that it’s an opportunity to use up the leftover paint can sitting in the garage. With letter stencils like the Duozea Letter Stencils, you can then paint on the front of each tray a simple word—soap, makeup, skincare—to create a country-house vibe, or even a lightly MacGyver-inspired feel given the cleverness of the concept.
All the Dollar Tree supplies needed for the bathroom shelf
She So CraftDee sources almost everything from Dollar Tree. You’ll need three Crafters Square Wood Trays, a pack of Crafters Square Jumbo Craft Sticks, and two metal hooks of about 30 centimeters (12 inches) from the Garden Collection Metal Garden Hooks, which serve as the uprights. Also required are a wood stain, a few rags, scissors, a pencil, and a hot glue gun. Optional are letter stencils and Abnii Cable Nail Clips to reinforce the structure.
The Dollar Tree trays each have a hole at either end, which normally serves as a handle. For this project, these openings must disappear: the tutorials explain that it’s enough to cut wooden sticks to the correct length and glue them inside the tray to fill the holes. The sticks are thin enough to be cut with scissors and, depending on the tray model, you may need two per opening. Once this preparation is done, the surface becomes continuous and ready to be stained.
Steps to build this cuter bathroom shelf
When the handles are masked, you move on to the finish: the trays are fully coated with stain applied with a cloth. The authors recommend freely choosing the color, since this is a very small piece of furniture. Once the stain is dry, you can add the words soap, makeup, or skincare using stencils to turn each level into a clearly identified category. For a very humid bathroom, a clear varnish over the stain helps protect the wood.
The final step is to assemble the pieces. A metal hook is glued to each side of the trays, the hooks serving as vertical supports between the three levels. The instructions specify that it’s best to apply a generous amount of hot glue to secure the whole assembly. For those who worry that the S-hooks might come loose, Abnii cable clips, fixed with a small nail around the metal, provide discreet reinforcement. Once the glue is fully dry, the shelf can hold soap, facial care products, fragrances, or cotton pads, with the heavier items at the bottom to maintain stability.
