Throwback Thursday – Let There Be Light (and storage)

When we purchased this 1940s home, I insisted that the medicine cabinet in the main bathroom had to go.

It’s a 1940s chic bathroom! It even had a toilet from 1950, which we discovered when Derek tore it out. The black-and-white 40s-era tiles work now that I painted the walls and ceiling white. But I couldn’t see keeping the massive mirrored medicine cabinet and light.
 huge medicine cabinet has mirrored doors. Light overhead appears to be florescent but isn't
This is the “after” photo.

Everyone who saw it said things like, “cool” and “you’ve got to keep it”! It just seemed to take up a lot of real estate for the amount of storage it offered. It’s almost four-feet wide! The light was uneven and dull. I thought it was florescent and I despise florescent.

I started looking around for a replacement cabinet of this size and they don’t exist unless they’re custom-made. Was I going to have to convince Derek to make one? Then I thought we’d just put a big mirror there. We found a massive mirror but couldn’t figure out how to move it without a lot of risk. Finally I thought I’d just replace the lighting. But this fixture goes with the cabinet. We’d have to rig something up for a fixture to hang out far enough to make sense. It was a conundrum.

Our friend Avery pushed it over the edge. She has terrific taste and we respect her opinion. She said it was cool and needed to stay. So I decided to go with it. I rolled up my sleeves. purchased some chrome cleaner, and gave it a good scrubbing. Derek found antique-style knobs, replaced the lightbulbs and voila – it’s super bright. It’s a nod to the home’s storied past of nearly eight decades and I know for certain I won’t see another one like it.

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