Finding a Surface Mount Medicine Cabinet

Medicine cabinets can be functional and beautiful! Check out these ten beautiful options as we hunt for a surface mount medicine cabinet for a primary bathroom.

I know that medicine cabinets have gotten a bad rap over the years, but I’m here to sing their praises.

My guess is that if you ask an interior designer, they’d probably tell you that a surface mount medicine cabinet isn’t chic. But I disagree.

Over the last few years, the options for surface mount medicine cabinets have multiplied and designers finally got the memo that they don’t have to be plain, ugly, or clunky.

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Why Use a Surface Mount Medicine Cabinet

If you caught this post, you might remember why we’re currently looking for a surface mount medicine cabinet.

But to catch you up, we renovated our 1950’s ranch-style home a few years back. In the process, we ended up with mirrors (not cabinets) in the primary bathroom.

Here are some other renovation projects from our home as well!

• Room Reveal // Master Bedroom
• Room Reveal // Kids and Guest Bathroom
• Outdoor Tile Patio (And the Full Backyard Reveal!)
• DIY Modern Pergola for the Backyard
• DIY Outdoor Kitchen Design (Built with Redwood!)

At the time, there were no great options for medicine cabinets and we liked the look of these mirrors (see above and below).

Cut to now, 5 years later, and I am so tired of bending down to get my toiletries out of the lower cabinets any time I need anything. I wish so much that there had been some good options for medicine cabinets, but here we are.

Medicine cabinets would be so much more functional for every day life, and help organize our toiletries so they’re not in a jumble.

Surface Mount vs. Recessed Medicine Cabinets

If we were doing the entire bathroom, I’d probably choose recessed medicine cabinets.

A recessed cabinet is one where the bulk of the piece (the shelf area) is sunken into the wall and the cabinet itself takes up less depth in front of your sink. A surface mount cabinet is one where the entire thing is mounted to the surface of the wall and not sunken in, so that it protrudes from the wall about 5 inches.

I’m not terribly concerned about a surface mount, as our bathroom is fairly spacious and having the mirrors protrude is pretty much a non-issue.

10 Beautiful Surface Mount Medicine Cabinets

So let’s check these out! Here are some options that I’ve been looking at for our primary bathroom to replace the plain mirrors.

Seamless Medicine Cabinet in Gold. This one is simple and comes in varying metals around the frame. I like it because it looks quite similar to what we have, but has the added storage.

Rubber Wood Mirrored Medicine Cabinet. I wish this one looked good in our bathroom! Our wood is painted, but if we had natural wood this would be my choice.

Lee Framed Medicine Cabinet. The width here is very cool! I love that it could be one unit over two sinks.

Veedersburg Round Medicine Cabinet. A round surface mount medicine cabinet that would be perfect for a small space.

Gleaming Primrose Medicine Cabinet. This one. Ahhhh! If I were starting fresh on a bathroom I would use this and go way over the top. I love it.

Fern Wall Storage Cabinet. An interesting option if you don’t need a mirror! Perhaps it sits perpendicular to the vanity?

Asahel Framed Medicine Cabinet. This one comes in some beautiful colors.

Mid-Century Medicine Cabinet. I really like the wood frame here, and how it cuts in to frame the mirror.

Arched Metal Frame Medicine Cabinet. I think the arches are so pretty. This may be another frontrunner for our primary bathroom.

Nel Brass Medicine Cabinet. The brass frame on this one elevates the whole look. Also love the rounded corners.

Which would you choose? And where do you stand on the medicine cabinet debate? xoxo