It is only fairly recently that much thought seems to have gone into the design of proprietary bathroom cabinets. We are all familiar with the old metal cabinet with a mirror on the door and strange little metal catches. Nowadays, however, melamine-faced wooden cabinets are readily available and, with the development of plastics, there are a number of good bathroom cabinets on the market made from these materials.
Some of these incorporate such refinements as fluorescent strip-lighting above the mirror, doors, electric shaver sockets, thermometers, and fitted racks inside doors for toothbrushes and other small items. Where there are young children in the house and medicines are kept in the bath- room cabinet (not necessarily the best place for them, by the way, then it is essential that there should be a good lock on the cabinet door. There are a number of specially designed medicine cabinets on the market that a young child will find it impossible to open. Recently some manufacturers have turned their attention to producing ranges of wall storage cupboards for the bath- room, incorporating drawers, cupboards, counter-tops with inset basins, shelves and mirror-fronted bathroom cabinets.
This means that it is possible to fit out one or more walls of a bathroom with a storage wall assembly – the kitchen fitting-out approach applied to the bathroom, in fact – which will provide space for everything likely to be needed. It is frequently possible, on a smaller scale, to incorporate storage for small items into the design of the bathroom as a whole. For example, a wall designed to conceal the WC cistern can provide a shallow cupboard for medicines and bathroom supplies. lt can be constructed of birch-faced plywood and lacquered or stained, or melamine-faced board, or painted blackboard. Varnished pine boarding is extremely versatile and can be used for wall paneling and concealed cupboard doors.
