The Upgraded Medicine Cabinet

For most of us, the day starts and ends in the bathroom. The morning routine involves the mirror, a toothbrush, shaving cream, makeup, and a variety of things to help get going. Medicine cabinets, sometimes called shaving cabinets or medicine chests, are narrow, mirror-lined cabinets mounted on the wall. They are usually placed above the vanity in the bathroom, to provide an easy, central location to keep the smaller necessities organized. The most common bathroom supplies can be tucked away behind the mirror for quick access when they’re needed. Tiny items with a small footprint, like thermometers or nail clippers, won’t get lost in the shuffle of a drawer, or at the back of a deep cupboard.

Medicine cabinet designs have changed over the years to keep up with the demanding, busy lifestyle of the average American family. With styles and features to fit every budget, the modern medicine cabinet is worth a look when considering a bathroom upgrade.

All About Aesthetics

There’s only so much you can do with a mirror, right? Maybe not. A bevelled edge adds depth and dimension to the flat surface of the glass. Even a simple frame serves as a visual break that draws attention. Newer designs incorporate lighting into the glass or shelves for a unique and functional look, offering a makeup assist or a motion-activated night light. These cabinets can be found in rectangles, squares, or circles, on cabinets made from a variety of different materials. The basics remain the same - a framed narrow cabinet with a mirrored door - but the details are where you can get creative, to add a personal touch to the bathroom mainstay.

When looking for medicine cabinets, you’ll often find them divided out into categories by their most noticeable characteristics: framed or frameless.  

Framed Mirrors

Framed medicine cabinets have an extra edge built around the mirror. This makes it easier to open the door, as it’s most often made out of another material, like wood or metal, as opposed to the slippery glass. They can keep things looking a little cleaner with fewer fingerprints and smudge marks, and the frame offers a somewhat easier edge to catch and open.

Frameless Mirrors

Frameless medicine cabinets have the mirror centered on the door to cover it edge to edge. There can be designs etched or frosted in, and the edges are often bevelled to add visual interest. The open, bare edges can make the cabinet appear larger and reflect edge-to-edge to give the appearance of a larger room around it. Frameless cabinets offer a brighter, more modern look and fit in well with any style bathroom.

The choice between the two styles is up to you. What works best for your bathroom? Mirrors are useful for making rooms brighter, regardless of style, so it’s about figuring out which look draws attention in a way that works best with the room.

Cabinet Storage Style

It’s important to realize that medicine cabinets have gotten bigger in size over the years, too. The traditional single door cabinets now have some competition. Today’s medicine cabinet can be tucked in a corner, the wedge shape adding greater depth with all the other familiar traits. Another trending style is a narrow cabinet width that stands 60” tall to offer a full-length standing mirror. These can be installed on the wall the same as the other storage options, while some variations can be entirely freestanding.

The wider, wall mounted cabinets can cover the wall the same way a vanity mirror would, allowing the mirror-area to serve as a storage area as well. They can range in size from 12” to 48” wide. The cabinets can be divided out into storage spaces behind multiple doors, making it easy for each family member to have their own section of the cabinet. Look for the wider double door cabinet or triple door cabinet to extend the available shelf space even in smaller bathrooms.

Medicine Cabinet Installation Options

There are three different ways to install a medicine cabinet: surface installation, recessed, and semi-recessed. The installation choice has more to do with the space available and your budget than the style. There is a noticeable difference between them, but for most bathrooms, when installed properly and professionally, one look will have the same visual impact as the other. There are a few pros and cons to consider between the three installation types.

Surface Mounted Medicine Cabinet

A surface mounted cabinet is installed flat against the wall and the mirrored door hangs into the room like a framed picture, with the sides of the cabinet visible.

Pro:

• The convenience of a medicine cabinet, with its extra storage that doubles as a mirror to best utilize wall space.
• You can work around existing plumbing or electrical wiring in the wall without hassle, as long as you can mount the cabinet to the support of the studs.
• A surface mounted cabinet can be installed as a quick bathroom update, or a contractor can add it in as part of a more complete remodel.

Con:

• These cabinets jut out into the bathroom, over the vanity or toilet, and are noticeably bulky when compared to the hidden look of a recessed cabinet.
• Wiring internal components can be unsightly.

Recessed Cabinets

With recessed cabinets, the cabinet is built into the wall, so the only extra space it occupies in the room is the space required for the doors to swing out into the room.

Pro:

• Recessed cabinets disappear into the wall, hiding the cabinet completely behind the mirror.
• They offer a unique and custom look to your bathroom upgrade.

Con:

• These cabinets have to be installed into the wall, not against it. Unless there’s already an inset cabinet in the space, this requires cutting into the sheetrock and building the proper support or possibly changing applicable wiring for the cabinet.
• They should be installed by a professional, which can be more costly.

Semi-recessed Medicine Cabinets

Semi-recessed cabinets are also built into the wall, but the cabinet sides are still partially visible. While they take up less space than a surface mounted cabinet, these cabinets aren’t installed flush with the wall and the cabinet sticks out beyond it an inch or two.

Pro:

• A slimmer profile than a surface mounted cabinet, semi-recessed allow cabinets to be installed in walls that might be too narrow otherwise.
• They offer a raised, dimensional look to the mirror and cabinet without taking as much space as a surface mounted cabinet.

Con:

• As with recessed cabinets, they require being installed into the wall itself, which is usually a project you’ll want to pass off to a skilled contractor.

Finding the Right Features

Once you’ve decided on the style and storage options, it’s time to actually have a little fun in your medicine cabinet shopping. The features that have been developed for this old fashioned, utilitarian bathroom accessory are very modern and even fun. They’re included to provide the ultimate convenience, and though they can drive up the price a little, these features are definitely worth a look.

Interior Mirrors - Look for a medicine cabinet with interior mirrors. They can be installed on the inside of the door, or on the back wall of the cabinet. It saves a little time, can be more light reflective, and offers different angles for viewing depending on the task.

Sealed Doors - The bathroom is a humid environment. Moisture trapped inside a medicine cabinet can lead to mildew and germs, even ruin medicines stored on the shelves. With options like Safeseal, the cabinet door is lined with a soft gasket edge to ensure quieter door closure, as well as to help stop moisture and dust from getting inside.

Magnetic Organization - Bobby pins, tweezers, nail trimmers… there are a lot of little metal items that get used in the bathroom that can get easily lost. Cabinets that offer magnetic organization help keep these smaller tools at hand, rather than rolling away.

Integrated Outlets and USB ports - The medicine cabinet is designed to reduce clutter and mess on the counter tops, so it only makes sense that you should be able to charge your toothbrushes and shavers without displaying them cluttered around the electrical outlet. Look for cabinets that include USB ports if you want to charge newer tech items, too.

Interior Lighting - No more poking around in the shadows. Everything you’re looking for is illuminated and easy to find on the shelf, just by opening the door.

Night Light - Some medicine cabinets come equipped with night lights that turn on when the bathroom lights go off. There are even some that are motion-sensor equipped, with a softer light than the bright bathroom lights.

Mirror Defogger - With a mirror defogger, the bathroom mirror can be used even right after a hot shower, without leaving dirty towel streak marks across the mirror. Just push a button and the moisture evaporates.

Task Lighting - Whether you’re trying to get a close shave, or applying makeup for work or a night out, mirrors with task lighting offer LED lights in strips behind the mirror. The light settings can switch brightness levels, so you control the kind of light you need for your routine.

Smart Home Integration - Yes, your mirror can virtually talk to you. Some bathroom cabinets now have the ability to sync up a smart hub, like Alexa or Google Home. This can allow bathroom users to listen to music during their morning routines, or even watch their favorite shows on the LED backed mirror!

Style and Storage In One

Medicine cabinets have come a long way from their origins as rusted, metal boxes in tiny, spartan bathrooms. Today, they are found in surprising styles, with options that make life easier, and a little bit less cluttered, too. They help get rid of electric cords near the sink, even keep things more hygienic against the humidity of the bathroom. As a cupboard space and as a mirror, medicine cabinets now serve more than one simple function through a variety of technology integrations and designs. If you’re thinking about updating your bathroom, or building a new one, adding a medicine cabinet is worth considering.