Guest Bathroom Makeover - Part 3

Part 3:  Transforming a Medicine Cabinet to Open Shelves

Our DIY guest bathroom renovation continues!  When we took out the medicine cabinet so we could remove the wallpaper around it, we decided not to replace the cabinet and instead use the existing space for open shelving.  We have a few reasons for doing this:

1. The medicine cabinet is old and not in great shape
2. In a guest bathroom, we don't see a need to keep things that will barely get used in there (like medicine bottles).
3. We have a linen closet just outside the guest bathroom where we can store lots of extra bathroom items, like tissue paper, medicine bottles, extra shampoo and conditioner, etc.
4. There is very little space on the bathroom counter, so guests will be able to rest some of their toiletries on the open shelves -- we're thinking toothpaste, makeup, deodorant, etc.

Luckily, my handyman hubby was up for the challenge when I suggested the open shelving idea.  Last night, he got to work!  I provided lots of moral support, one very important karate chop, and my cell phone for pictures.  Here's what the medicine cabinet looked like before we took it down to tear out the wallpaper.

Here's how we began our transformation from medicine cabinet to open shelving:

Step 1: We measured the space in the hole left by the medicine cabinet.

Step 2: We bought a piece of patching drywall that we could cut into pieces to cover the walls, top, and bottom.  (We didn't have to cover the back wall because there was drywall there already.)  It only cost $5 since we needed a small amount -- 2 ft x 2 ft x 1/2 in.

Step 3: My hubby used a pen to mark on the drywall where he needed to cut a piece for the side

Step 4: He used the level and our box cutter to cut a line in the drywall to get a piece the size of the side of the wall.  The level helps to hold down the board and to keep an even cut.

Step 5: The line across does not go through the board, it just creates a groove.  To make it easy to snap off the piece, he then made a much deeper cut on each side of the board.  Each cut went about 1/2 or 1 inch across (from the edge of the board toward the middle) and was deep but did not cut all the way through the drywall.

Step 6: Next, my hubby enlisted my help.  He put the end of the board we were cutting off again the end of the toilet seat and held it down, and I was able to help with a strong karate chop to the middle of the drywall board.  The piece we had measured out then snapped down easily.  Huzzah!

Step 7: He then flipped over the board and cut along the length of the seam with the box cutter again, and it popped right off.  We did this same process three more times, and then we had drywall pieces cut to cover the left and ride sides and the top and bottom of the medicine cabinet hole.

Step 8: The handyman hubby then drilled the four drywall pieces into the walls.  It took a bit longer than you might think because it was hard to get in there just right with the small space he had to use the drill, but he persevered and it all worked out in the end.  The drilling probably took 15 minutes or so, with about 4 drywall screws in each piece of drywall.

This is how our open shelving space looks currently.  Next steps:  Sand the drywall pieces to be flush with the wall.  Put some joint compound over the drywall sides, top, bottom, and back.  Sand down the drywall, paint, then put in a few shelves!  I'll post again when we've finished this little space in our guest bathroom.  I'm hoping it will be great spot for guests to put their things, leaving more space on the counter.

Tools:

safety goggles
drill
box cutter/utility knife

level or big ruler

Level of Difficulty:  Easy/Medium

Cost:  To be determined.  So far, we only spent $5 for the drywall patch. We already had the tools, screws, and joint compound. We'll need to buy shelves, and we'll use the same paint as we're using for the bathroom walls.