The “Dated” Bathroom Feature You Should Definitely Keep, According an Interior Designer
Apartment Therapy features lots of great bathroom renovations, and many of them begin with a demolition process — especially if a bathroom has broken tile or fixtures beyond repair.
But if you’re embarking on a bathroom transformation of your own, before demoing out everything, heed Ainslie Design Studio interior designers Savannah and Kaitlyn Stone’s advice: Keep (or even add, if you didn’t have one before) a medicine cabinet mirror.
“I know this feature can feel outdated, but there are so many modern medicine cabinets out there with beautiful finishes, sizes, and ways to be installed,” Savannah says, adding that they can protrude from the wall or can be installed into the wall for a flatter look that still offers storage.
Sure, several medicine cabinets — especially those featured in “Before” images at Apartment Therapy — are on the chunky and dated side. Maybe they have an orange stain or a beat-up metal frame, but those aesthetic issues are totally fixable with a little DIY. They can be zhuzhed up with some Rub-n-Buff, paint, or contact paper around the edges, or even by attaching a more modern mirror to the front of an old medicine cabinet, like DIYer Erika Mathews (@the.elm.house) did below.
In a recent client project, Savannah and Kaitlin Stone added gold-framed medicine cabinet mirrors similar to these above a refurbished vanity (another smart thing to try to save rather than completely demo-ing out).
“These mirrors are massive … with additional storage, which we all know you desperately need while living in the city!” Savannah says.
Commenters on their Instagram post about the project point out another upside to medicine cabinets: They make it easy to see all of your cosmetics, toiletries, and other products at eye-level. (Hello, easy morning routine!)
For more no-demo bathroom upgrade ideas, check out this ’90s bathroom’s makeover, this $500 bathroom makeover, and this beautiful pink and green bathroom.
Further Reading
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