From Medicine Cabinet to Built-In Shelf

By ,

Upbath15
We have an upstairs guest bathroom that rarely gets used and because of that, it rarely gets updated or finished. Most of the builder grade amenitites have been hanging around for years. Recently, we decided to do a few minor changes and replacing the old medicine cabinet was first on the list. So we tore it out and The Man replaced it with an open built-in shelf.

Upbath20

We figure most guests don't unpack their toiletries and place them in a cabinet anyway and we can hide necessities under the counter. The open shelf provides a way to display a few decorative objects along with cotton balls, Q-tips and such. To keep the mostly white room from being too stark I added in a mix of colored glass and natural, textural elements.

Upbath17

Upbath18

Upbath19

Bella's favorite addition to the room was the jute runner. She wrestles with it every now and then and leaves the crumpled remains for me to straighten out. She's very nice to chickens but not so nice to small area rugs. Maybe she knows she can win that battle.

Upbath13

Upbath16

And lastly, I'll leave you with the Before & After. You can see how such a minor change can make a big difference in a small room….

Upbath14

 Resources:
Jute Rug – Marshalls
Wall Paint Color – Cottage White by Behr
Mirror – Lowes
Switch plates – Lowes
Green glass bottle – antique
Wicker top glass jar – Marshalls
Hand towels – World Market
Wicker basket on shelf – Paris flea market
Perfume – Jo Malone Orange Blossom (one of my favs!)
Milk glass light fixture – Martha Stewart for Home Depot
Any other items not listed…source unknown or antique.

31 Responses to “From Medicine Cabinet to Built-In Shelf”

  4. Pam Bartholomew

    It looks soooooo nice, and I love your doorknob topped bottle!
    (I wouldn’t mind if that cute little Bella moved in too…)

  7. Marsha

    I love the changes to the bath room! And also in a sidenote, the last 2 issues of “Country Living” have been 2 of the BEST!!!!

  8. Rachel

    It’s amazing how such a small change can make such a difference! (The Man might not think so!) With the natural lighting and warm touches you’ve put together, any guest would love to come for a visit and never leave!!
    Rachel
    revolvingmarket.blogspot.com

  10. Sherri

    What a beautiful change! It really does make the bathroom look more open, and with the new display area, more inviting. I love the glass apothecary full of French soaps. Delicious!

  14. annar

    What a great job! Love the jute rug and the green glass bottle. Bella looks so innocent.

  20. Monica

    Fabulous Heather! You’re so inspiring. Hope I have my home soon to play around 🙂
    x

  22. Denise

    Looks great!!! We have a pug named Bella 🙂 and the same white soap dispensers! Looking forward to doing our own bathroom updates soon. Love the fresh look in yours.

  24. Jaime

    I love this idea!! How did you get the built in wall shelf? Thanks!!!

  26. Heather Bullard

    Thanks Marsha! I loved them too. Lots of great stories coming up in future issues! Appreciate the support and thanks for reading CL!

  27. Heather Bullard

    Hi Jaime,
    My husband built the shelf and then inset it into the opening. He added the trim after it was in place.
    Hope that helps! Sorry I didn’t think to take step by step photos. I never think about DIY until after it’s over. 😉
    Cheers! ~ Heather

  30. Literary_mom

    I tried to post it to Pinterest but the “pin it” button is acting wonky and the other methods of pinning wouldn’t grab a picture

  31. Kara

    I love the built-in shelf! We want to update our old medicine cabinet. Did you find a shelf to perfectly fit in the hole left by the medicine cabinet? If so, where? 🙂

Comments are closed.

-->