HOME IMPROVEMENT TIPS, ADVICE, AND RESOURCES
Enhancing your Home and your Lifestyle
     


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MEDICINE CABINET / MIRROR - Medicine cabinets from back when didn't have very much about them that was appealing. Generally it was a mirror with a band of polished chrome wrapped around it. They still make them today but they also make a whole lot more in the way of bathroom storage. Today you can get a medicine cabinet in a wood finish or frameless, rectangular or oval, beveled glass or framed. Cabinets come single, bi-fold, tri-fold. They have mirrored sides to them. They can surface mounted or recessed.

Another option to the medicine cabinet is a mirror. That perfect mirror could come from any place and may be an accent as opposed to matching the vanity. The home decor area of your local home improvement center carries a nice selection of mirrors. Other places to shop could be at Home Goods, your local department store. Shopping online might be an alternative, but you won't get a feel for the actual finish of the mirror trim from a picture..

When choosing a medicine cabinet or mirror, size it according to your vanity. Too narrow of a mirror will look out of proportion. The medicine cabinet or mirror should never protrude past the sides of the vanity top. Some cabinets have an arched shape to the top of the door.

Make sure your door style and your lighting fixture work together. Buying a light fixture with globes that hang low and a mirror with an arch might conflict. The door may hit the light fixture when opened. The same goes for a high arc faucet. The door may hit the arc of the faucet when opened. I recommend that the medicine cabinet is installed after the faucet unless careful measurements are done prior to positioning.

Perhaps you don't want a medicine cabinet and would like to use your vanity as storage. A large mirror might be the answer. Mirrors come in many finishes. Don't just look in the bathroom section of your home center. Home centers generally have a section dedicated to mirrors. Remember mirrors can be heavy so hang them properly.

One common mistake that people make is that they don't choose the right vanity light fixture for the medicine cabinet. Make sure your lighting over the medicine cabinet does not have globes that will end up pointing into the top of the cabinet. If your medicine cabinet is surface mount, it will probably stick out as much if not more than your light fixture. Make sure your fixture is high enough.

Choosing the right mirror is a true reflection of your taste. Did you get it? A true reflection? Get it?

 

Next Topic: Tile for your bathroom



Does your medicine cabinet have to open and close in a certain direction? Left or right hand swing? While some manufacturers allow for doors to be reversed, others do not. Arched type doors may be be able to be reversed while rectangular or oval doors can. Never assume.

Always hang your mirror properly. Set your hangers into studs whenever possible. If you must hang a mirror on sheetrock, go with a heavier duty anchor than necessary. The last thing you want it your mirror crashing down onto your nice, new vanity. Even worse, when somebody is standing in front of it.


 

 

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