How to Turn an Old Medicine Cabinet Into Open Shelving

One of the projects I was really excited about as part of the California Cottage bathroom remodel was removing the old 80s medicine cabinet. I wanted to use the existing nook and transform it into something a little more modern but still practical with useful storage. I decided to turn a medicine cabinet into open shelving!

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Materials:

• 2 premium pine boards (3/8″ x 3 1/2″ x 3′)
• 1 premium pine board (1/2″ x 3 1/2″ x 3′)
• 2 premium pine boards (3/8″ x 2″ x 3′)
• 1 drywall patch sheet (2′ x 2′)
• Paint
• Stain (I’ll share my exact stain mix in step 3)
• Caulk

Tools:

• Paint brush (this my favorite one that I use on all of my paint projects!)
• Paint roller
• Caulk gun

Step 1: Remove medicine cabinet

The first step was saying goodbye to the old 80s medicine cabinet and ripping it out. It’s easy to remove a medicine cabinet: Four screws and a yank – that is all it took to take this ancient thing out!

Step 2: Measure nook size for open shelving

I was left with this hole in the wall on demo day. After completing most of the other projects in this bathroom, this little nook was one of the last projects I tackled in here and it was so satisfying!

I started by measuring the space and figuring out the materials I needed to build this out. Our nook was approximately 14″x22″.

Step 3: Cut and paint/stain the wood

I cut the boards to size and painted/stained the parts that would be visible later:

The light blue boards were for the sides and the stained pieces were for the shelf in the middle.

I used a different stain combo for this project than for the side table and entry table. It definitely took me a few tries to get the stain right and here is what I did to achieve this color:

• Wood Conditioner
• Minwax Early American stain
• A little bit of Minwax Weathered Oak stain
• After letting it dry, I sanded most of the stain off for a lighter and more distressed/beachy look
• Sealed it with Satin Polycrylic (I love the spray one, it just makes it so easy!)

Step 4: Build the DIY open shelving

Next, I used my brad nailer to create the outer box with the light blue pieces:

After that, I added the shelf portion using the stained wood pieces. Here is the back side:

Here is the front of the shelf:

Step 5: Add drywall

After that, I cut the drywall to size, painted it and attached it to the back of the wooden box:

You could definitely use wood for the entire project but I opted for drywall in the back because I had a large piece left over.

Step 6: Attach new DIY open shelving to wall

Once the box was done, I attached it to the studs surrounding my little hole in the wall!

I made the box a little smaller than the hole in the wall for some wiggle room to ensure the bottom of it would be flush with the ledge of the shiplap paneling.

Step 7: Add decorative frame

The next step was to frame the box to get a nice finish. I measured the space and cut the 2″ pine boards to size.

Once they were attached and secured, I filled any gaps with caulk or wood filler. I find that this step always makes such a big difference, it really helps with getting a smooth finish.

Once the caulk and wood filler were dry, I painted the new cabinet. I used Olympus White by Sherwin Williams, in my bathroom. It’s the perfect light blue/gray!

Step 8: Decorate the new DIY open shelving

Once the paint was dry, I decorated the space and got it ready for some pictures!

This whole project took me one evening and I think this medicine cabinet upgrade made a huge difference. Here is a before and after:

I’m so glad we decided to turn medicine cabinet into open shelving, it really helped pull together the guest bathroom!

I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any questions!

Tina