Your Bathroom Medicine Cabinet - Options and Advice

A bathroom medicine cabinet offers convenient storage for bathroom necessities. Medicine cabinets by definition have a mirrored door that also serves an important bathroom function. You'll find adjustable glass or metal shelves inside. If you're replacing a medicine cabinet or installing one for the first time, take the following elements into consideration when choosing yours.

Bathroom Medicine Cabinet Designs

Medicine cabinets come in a wide-range of styles, but they adhere to a few basic styles:

• Wall-mounted - do not need to be sunk into the wall. They often have drawers, wide frames, or storage cubbies below the mirrored portion.
  
  
• Recessed - are sunk into the wall to hide the storage portion. All storage space is within the cabinet. They may also have mounted lights attached at the top.
  
  
• Paneled - are designed for use on the wall behind the vanity, these are large cabinets divided into two or three panels. One or more panel may open to reveal storage space.
  
  
• Swing door - the door swings open.
  
  
• Sliding door - the door slides open. This style is more common on paneled cabinets.
  
  

Within each of these primary styles, you'll find ornate, Victorian, contemporary, thin-framed, wide-framed, wooden, metal, and unframed bathroom medicine cabinets.

Measuring Your Medicine Cabinet

Before buying a medicine cabinet, you need to first decide whether you want it behind or to the side of the vanity. If you plan to place it behind the vanity, then measure the space available. The mirror should take up most of the space on the wall unless you have two sinks and opt to hang a cabinet behind each one.

If you plan to recess your medicine cabinet, remove the plaster and drywall to make sure pipes, electrical wires, and support beams don't block the space. You may wish to contact a professional contractor for assistance. Once you're sure the cabinet will fit, measure the opening height, width, and depth as well as the available wall space. Take those measurements to the showroom to help you make your decision. Lighted units may require additional electrical work, so these are best installed by professionals during a remodel.

Once your medicine cabinet is installed, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. A word of warning, if your cabinet is in the same room as the shower or tub, don't store medicine in it. Bathroom humidity will damage medications stored inside. Medications should be kept in a cool, dry place.