Maybe you’ve had your fill of searching for the best shower caddy for storage. That’s understandable, since purchasing a subpar form of shower storage can create more problems than they’re worth. Some of those issues are why Housing and Conference Services at Millersville University has warned their residents against using hanging shower racks as a form of storage, since they blame them for wrecking the plumbing system behind the walls and causing leaks. The institution advises that corner tension pole caddies are better options for shower storage since they don’t need to hang from fixtures. Accordingly, you can double the storage space in your shower with the sleek, budget-friendly BROGRUND corner wall shelf unit from IKEA.

The BROGRUND corner wall unit is true to its name, hugging the corners of your shower while attached to the wall by concealed screws. Assembly requires screwing together the stainless steel frame before easily inserting the plastic shelves. This offers a seamless, sleek design, held aloft by stainless steel columns that wrap around three polypropylene plastic shelving units. Two curved hooks on the undercarriage of the unit offer a great place for washcloths or loofahs. At a height of 22 ½ inches, the BROGRUND gives you almost two feet — technically more, since the top level of shelving has no built-in overhead barriers — and just over seven inches of shelving width as storage space for your toiletries. Each shelf has small holes at the base to allow for the escape of water, and are removable for easy cleaning and maintenance. 

The BROGRUND corner wall unit is one of those stylish shower shelves that add storage to your bathroom (without looking like a college dorm). IKEA customer reviews of the product are generally positive. One reviewer wrote about how much they loved the trays because of how easy they are to extract from the shelves for cleaning. “This looks nice and has a hook to hang a loofah or washcloth,” they raved under a five-star rating. Another reviewer thought the BROGRUND corner wall unit was so nice that they purchased it twice. The big draw for them was “the aesthetics and practicality of the design.” 

The 640 reviews on IKEA, with an average rating of 4.6 stars out five, don’t stray far from the 4.5 stars given by two reviewers on Amazon. One of the Amazon customers gave the product five stars, while the other gave it four stars. It seems like it would be almost impossible finding people who have used the product and have serious issues with it. The main word here, however, is “almost.”  

A potential drawback to this corner wall unit is it doesn’t actually come with screws for wall mounting, which makes it your problem to figure out what screws work best. You will also be responsible for knowing what wall fasteners will work best for the walls of your shower. An IKEA reviewer wrote about their issues with this under the heading “No Suction Cups,” stating, “It must be screwed into the wall and I do not have the talent or the confidence to screw through tile.” Even before you screw anything into your wall, you will likely need to know where to mount your shower shelf for longevity and function. Complicating matters is you’ll likely need to drill through your wall for screw placement, which means you had better be aware of the placement of pipes behind your walls. Failure to do so could lead to you damaging your pipes and causing flooding in your home.

Aside from the risk to your pipes, another IKEA reviewer pointed out the risk to your bathroom tiles, writing, “Love the material this is made out of but I don’t like that it makes you drill this to the shower. I didn’t like having to drill through our tile.” While it’s possible to do successfully, you’ll need to source a tile drill bit and safety goggles to start. Here’s how to drill through tile without cracking it.