A tiny apartment renter with an awkward bathroom showed us how she created a discreet area to get ready

• Anju Abraham made her 400-square foot apartment in Washington, DC, feel larger with creative storage solutions.
• Abraham has no outlets in her small bathroom, so she created a discreet wall vanity in her hallway.
• She mounted cable cord organizers on acrylic shelves to store makeup, jewelry, and styling products.

Anju Abraham moved into a 400 square-foot studio apartment in DC two years ago and has since implemented tons of clever design hacks in her tiny space.

"Like a lot of big cities, it can be pretty competitive to find an apartment in the District," Abraham told Insider. "So I was thrilled when I found this space, even if it meant living without a few amenities like a dishwasher or central air."

Or outlets in the bathroom.

Since her small bathroom has no outlets, Abraham created a wall-mounted vanity area for doing hair and makeup.

Once she realized her bathroom had no outlets in it, Abraham got six white boxes, six acrylic shelves, and a mirror to create her wall vanity.

"With the closest outlet on a wall two feet away, I tried something a little out-of-the-box," Abraham said. "I knew I wanted to capitalize on the wall plug but I also wanted the space to store my items as well."

When she didn't find any solutions online, she started sketching out an original idea for a standing vanity.

"I went with lidded boxes for a cleaner minimal aesthetic and ended up finding that the only product that could meet my sizing requirements were cable cord organizers," Abraham said.

She mounted the acrylic shelves with drywall anchors, measuring to ensure they didn't block the nearest door.

She also added a makeshift light fixture to the space, and of course, a mirror.

"I strung up a bare, three-bulb pendant light and a hallway vanity was born - the first of its kind I'd like to think," she said.

Once the vanity was completed, Abraham had to declutter her belongings to fit in the boxes.

"This inconspicuous vanity is rarely noticed by guests and stores makeup, jewelry, hair care, and styling products, nail polish, and more," Abraham said.

She said the project cost her less than $150 and took her a weekend to complete.