Declutter Bathroom Countertops With A Brilliant Medicine Cabinet Upgrade

When you flip through your favorite home design magazine, you likely get inspired by the beautiful bathrooms that you see on its pages: perfectly coordinated colors, sleek fixtures, and clutter-free bathroom countertops are all commonplace in these gorgeous spaces. While remodeling your bathroom might deliver the space you would love to own, it's out of the question for many due to financial and logistical reasons. Fortunately, you can still take a significant step towards making your bathroom look more like what you see in magazines and on home design shows, but it's likely not what you're thinking of.

One TikTok creator, @xomyhome, showcases their luxurious bathroom space, featuring a unique medicine cabinet with a hidden secret. In addition to their medicine cabinet being recessed into the wall (and therefore not looking so outdated), it conceals electrical outlets inside. The creator claims that this unconventional setup is a "game changer." She writes that not only houses her toiletry items within, but that the conveniently located outlet means that she can charge everything from electrical toothbrushes, razors, and other devices. While the creator doesn't link the exact medicine cabinet that is featured in her video, a similar model is available at The Home Depot for $224.99.

Beyond simply looking fabulous, the medicine cabinets featured in the aforementioned TikTok are likely larger than the dated medicine cabinets you saw in your grandparents' bathrooms. The increase in size makes the cabinets better at storing a larger amount of inventory, whether that needs to be personal care devices, makeup, face creams, or cleansers. By storing more items within the cabinets, you can pare down on the amount of clutter that is strewn across your countertops, which necessarily makes any space look better. Followers of @xomyhome praise the idea of the recessed medicine cabinet, especially the ingenuity of the hidden outlet. One follower writes, "that outlet inside the cabinet is the smartest thing I've seen," to which the creator responds, "we have it in all our bathrooms."

Beyond being functional, however, the featured medicine cabinets also are highly aesthetically pleasing. This is thanks to their arched shape and gold frame around the entire door, which makes it look more like a trendy vanity mirror than a medicine cabinet. When used the way that this creator styled these medicine cabinets, there is the added benefit of having two: one over each sink in the master bathroom, therefore doubling the available storage space.

While there are clear benefits to the recessed medicine cabinet idea, they do differ in a number of ways from traditional models, beginning with the installation of them. A cabinet that is mounted to the wall is a pretty simple project, as it doesn't require you to mess with anything electrical or plumbing related. In fact, a normal medicine cabinet is so easy to install you can probably do it yourself if you're somewhat handy. A recessed medicine cabinet, on the other hand, will require you to reckon with wall cutting and confronting electrical and plumbing. (This is especially true since you want a concealed electrical outlet like the one in the video.) Since there is so much more effort involved with the installation of a recessed medicine cabinet, it may be best left up to the professionals, especially if you aren't confident working with wires, plaster, and pipes.

If you're still motivated to tackle this project for your own bathroom, it will be important to budget the cost. Beyond the cost of the cabinet (or cabinets, if you're going for the multiple mirror look), you'll need to consider how much it will cost to purchase necessary hardware and supplies for the project if you're tackling it on your own. If you're hiring out the job, find a trusted contractor who knows how to work with electrical components and budget for the supplies they'll need, as well as their hourly rate. If achieving a clutter-free bathroom look that is sleek, trendy, and functional, you can't go wrong with recessed, outlet-containing medicine cabinets.