The interior walls are often "forgotten spaces" in home design. Those spaces, however, can help to streamline a Chicago bathroom remodel by creating niches and recesses for storage or display areas that would normally be built out from the wall. Medicine cabinets are one example of this.

Where to Put the Medicine Cabinet in Your Chicago Bathroom Remodel?

The medicine cabinet is the hot spot in the bathroom, typically the most frequently accessed storage space. From toothpaste and medicines, to brushes, face products and tweezers - it holds the toiletry items your household uses most.

When it comes to choosing and installing a medicine cabinet, you have two choices: recess the cabinet into the wall or mounting a cabinet box of some kind on the surface of the wall. There are pros and cons to each.

Pros of Recessing a Medicine Cabinet Into the Wall

Not surprisingly, the best thing about recessing a medicine cabinet into the wall is the space you'll gain. That can be especially beneficial in smaller bathrooms or bathrooms with a boxed in vanity space. It's also a popular request for those who prefer modern designs where minimal profiles are the goal. That being said, they don't look out of place in a traditional Chicago bathroom design either.

If you don't like the idea of installing a recessed cabinet, you can still utilize interior wall space for storage and display niches. In this Highland Park bathroom remodel, we designed two recessed niches on the right side of the vanity space. Woven baskets store brushes and other hair accessories so they are easily accessible, but stylishly stored out of the way when not in use.

Cons of Using Interior Wall Space For Medicine Cabinets

On the flip side, recessing your medicine cabinets can be more expensive depending on what is going in inside. If plumbing works and/or electrical wiring has to be re-routed, the labor costs go up. In almost all cases, it will also require the help of carpenters as well in order to reinforce the space and customize it to fit the selected cabinet design.

Then again, if you're already in the midst of a fairly extensive bathroom remodel, these extra costs may be very little because they are small parts of a much bigger whole.

Also, recessed cabinets are several inches further away from the visual field, which can be more challenging for petite homeowners or kids to access, or can make it difficult for near-sighted folks to see themselves clearly.

Things to Consider Before Selecting a Recessed Medicine Cabinet

If you like the idea of a recessed medicine cabinet, talk to your design-build team about what's behind the wall before you purchase the unit. When they look behind the wall, the crew will determine how much or how little needs to be done beforehand, as well as the dimensions of cabinets available to you.

Contact the design-build team at Kitchens & Baths Unlimited to schedule a consultation for your Chicago bathroom remodel.