Build Your Own Medicine Cabinet – It’s a new year, and I’m teaming up with KILZ to give a new look to the place in our home where we start and end each day:
. Since this little place is so deeply integrated into our daily routine, I thought it was time to make it prettier and more functional for Ken and me.
Build Your Own Medicine Cabinet
We are a one bath home so this area has a lot of play. We used KILZ Tribute Paint & Primer here not only for durability and coverage, but this bathroom doesn’t have an exhaust fan (old school, right?), so moisture and mold resistance is a must too .
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Aren’t these dirty, white-painted shelves the dirtiest thing you’ve ever seen? This makeover is long overdue!
My goal was to give the cabinet a fresh coat of paint, add a stripe design to the back wall of the cabinet, update the hardware, and replace the painted wood shelves with glass. Small, easy updates, with a big overall impact.
If I’m being completely honest here, the stripe pattern for the back wall of the closet was inspired by my closet. I wear a LOT of stripes; I love them! Stripes add visual pattern and texture while remaining gender neutral, not too feminine or too masculine. It’s a good reminder to look at other areas of your lifestyle when adding to your interior decorating style.
I used the existing tile floor in the bathroom as a starting point for the paint selections. KILZ Tribute’s Loden Frost was the lightest shade of gray-green for the cabinet, and Ultra Bright White, a pure, classic white, worked beautifully as a supporting accent color. I also liked that Loden Frost works really well with chrome and brass metal finishes, as it will give us options later on if we decide to upgrade the faucet and sconces here.
Diy Recessed Medicine Cabinet
This was my first time ordering paint online (I ordered it from Amazon.com). Honestly, I was a little nervous not being able to see the paint color in person first, especially since I was trying to coordinate with the floor tile, but the KILZ website shows installation photos of each paint color in several different indoor locations to give you an idea. well-rounded idea of the essence of color. Amazon also sells small sample sizes if you really can’t commit without seeing it first!
I ordered a lot of test samples for our back room makeover project, but for this project, I just went with it and the color was perfect.
I started the update by cleaning out the closet, removing the hideous painted wood shelves (lol!), pegs, ineffective closet latch, and unscrewing the closet door.
Then I sanded a bit to remove the splattered paint. I wanted to keep the sanding to a minimum since our house was built in the 1930s, and I’m 99% sure there is lead paint somewhere under the layers of paint. So I hung a plastic drop cloth over the door, wore a face mask, and just sanded the areas that were breaking.
Shopping For Medicine Cabinets
I used 120 grade sandpaper for rougher areas and 220 grade sandpaper for the entire surface to ensure good paint adhesion. In the picture above, you can see that I also used a sanding block. This isn’t necessary, but you’ll be able to do a slightly larger area at once, and it’ll also be easier on your hands. You can also use a piece of 2×4 wood if you don’t have a sanding block.
If you are not sure if you are dealing with lead paint, you can use a lead paint test kit. 3M makes an affordable and easy-to-use test.
Finished with the cabinet prep, I filled the unwanted screw holes, divots, etc. with wood filler and I also lightly sanded those areas.
I decided to use thin board to line the back wall of the cabinet instead of painting the existing cabinet because it was slanted and extremely uneven in some spots to the point where it would almost have to be recoated if left as is. Since I was planning a stripe pattern for the back wall, it ended up being easier to paint a thin board separately and then attach it to the wall.
Mirrors Vs. Medicine Cabinets
If your apothecary is in good condition, you can probably get away with painting your design directly on the back wall of the apothecary.
I started by making a template of the back wall using a large piece of paper (wrapping paper). My cabinet isn’t perfectly square, so I didn’t feel like taking measurements would be accurate enough. I pressed the paper to the cabinet and traced the back wall with a marker. I then cut out the template, traced it onto the hardboard and used a jigsaw to cut out the rectangle.
Once the rectangle was cut, I gave the backing plate a coat of KILZ Tribute Ultra Bright White and let it dry. Next, I applied ¼” wide masking tape in horizontal stripes a quarter inch apart, pressing firmly as I went. The taping itself is probably the most tedious part, but I stuck with it and n ‘I’m happy!
Since KILZ Tribute is a paint + primer, there was great coverage and the cabinet only needed one coat.
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After painting the closet, I made the decision to paint the walls in here as well during the game. I knew I’d have enough white paint left over, and let’s face it, the closet wasn’t the only thing that needed a makeover. Those beige walls weren’t doing this bathroom any favors!
Once the cabinet and backer board were completely dry, I used construction adhesive to attach the strip board to the back wall of the cabinet.
The board fit the cabinet perfectly, but there were some areas with minor gaps between the board and the cabinet walls, so I used some paintable caulk to finish the perimeter of the board. For caulking, you basically apply a small bead of caulk along the edge of the board where it meets the cabinet, then use your finger to smooth the bead of caulk. Repeat with the remaining 3 sides of the board.
Other finishing touches included tapping in the new shelf pegs, attaching the new magnetic cabinet latch, and putting the door and hardware back in place. I originally planned to replace the cabinet knob, but realized it was probably original (and in good condition) so decided to keep it.
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I changed the spacing between the shelves so there was more space at the bottom. I’m hoping to invest in electric toothbrushes this year (#resolutions!) and wanted to make sure there would be enough room to keep them upright.
If you need organization ideas to help you get the most out of your newly made apothecary, Better Homes & Gardens has a comprehensive post on organizing your apothecary. They honestly thought of everything. I found it very useful.
This is our medicine cabinet makeover from start to finish. Thanks to paint, new glass shelves + hardware, this 90-year-old medicine cabinet has a whole new life. And we have a thoughtful and brand new command center to start the day. If you have any questions, please leave them below or email me. I would love to connect. “I have too much storage space in the bathroom” no one ever said… am I right?! I installed this hanging makeup storage and these DIY marble shelves to give more space to my bathroom counter, and while that definitely helps, I still find that I could use more space for items I use every day ( like my skin products etc. ). We already have a large round mirror in the bathroom that I love, so I didn’t want a traditional medicine cabinet with a mirror front. So I decided to make a simple wardrobe that had a picture frame as a door and get some wall art as well as some bathroom storage all in one go!
–Jig saw or miter saw (or you can ask if the home improvement store will cut the wood for you when you buy it)
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First, you will want to cut 2 pieces of wood that are the vertical height of your photo frame. Then you will want at least 3 pieces of wood that will match the horizontal width of your frame when placed between your 2 boards that you just cut in step one. If you cut 3 boards, you will have 2 shelves, so depending on the size of your frame and the height of what you want to store, you can cut another board to make a 3rd or 4th shelf.
Paint your boards the same color as the picture frame you are using. Insert your 3 horizontal boards between the vertical ones to create your top, bottom and shelf. Nail or screw the boards in place with a little wood glue as well to attach them. If you don’t want to see the nail or screw heads, you can use a nail driver (after the nail is in place) or a countersink bit (drill it before you screw in the screw) to countersink the nail heads nails or screws into the wood. This way,