Medicine Cabinets Don't Have to be Boring

Looking for something other than the standard glass-door medicine cabinet? Here are just some of the options.

This Old House points us to the lovely handcrafted wood-framed cabinet shown above, from Wood Essentials.




The Nexio Medicine Cabinet by Blomus has an interesting design plus a lock.




Apartment Therapy: San Francisco points us to the Salute medicine cabinet by Magis, made of Zylar, a type of plastic (with a brand name). This one also has a lock.




The Nutone Premier iColor Collection includes cabinets in six colors; the one above is fire red.




And here's the most unusual one: the cross medicine cabinet designed by Thomas Ericksson for Cappellini. It's available from Unica Home (in red and white) and DesignShop UK (in five colors).

Droog Design: Products Practical and Political

Droog Design is a Dutch design collective with lots of different products, some with an organizing bent. Fortunately, these products are available both in Europe and the U.S.

The Droog Strap (shown above) can be mounted horizontally or vertically. It comes in a few different colors - which seem to vary from site to site. (Twig has an orange version not shown on the Droog site, while Droog has a green one that Twig doesn't list.) Update on August 27, 2009: Color options have changed over the years, but Twig does still carry the Droog Strap.




The Droog sucker is a silicone knob that attaches to glass, tile, or other smooth surfaces - to hang a towel or whatever else you want. It's currently available in white and purple from Droog, and in blue and lavender from Twig. Update on August 27, 2009: Twig no longer carries this product.




For something totally different, there's this chest of drawers. The Droog web site describes it this way: "Remy's chest is a criticism on overproduction and consumerism that pervades the world. His deliberate improvisation is also a protest against the increasing complexity of the design profession. The chest has no fixed form; the drawers can be combined and exchanged at will. Each piece is unique, numbered and signed by Tejo Remy."

If you want to deal with the irony and buy this protest against overproduction and consumerism, you can find it at Matter for $28,000. For a great picture of this piece, see the Museum of Modern Art.

[Droog Strap via Apartment Therapy: The Nursery]

Magazine Racks for Any Room

Three magazine racks caught my eye recently - for very different reasons.




The in-wall magazine rack addresses the need some have for reading material in the bathroom, without taking up floor space. December 2008 update: While this specific magazine rack doesn't seem to be available any more, there are certainly other recessed magazine racks available.




December 2008 update: This magazine rack used to be available in recycled aluminum, which is what caught my eye - but that version doesn't seem to be available any more. But you can still buy the non-recycled version from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, shown above.




After finding the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired rack noted above, I found that there's a folding, wrought-iron magazine rack, also inspired by his work. Update on March 5, 2011: I'm no longer finding this magazine rack on the web.


Related posts (other magazine racks):
Scandinavian Design Discoveries
Managing the Magazines

6 Ways to Display Spare Toilet Paper Rolls

Where do you keep the spare toilet paper? You want some extra rolls in the bathroom, but where do you put them?

In my bathroom, I have a very boring answer: in one of my plastic under-the-sink stacking drawers. If you'd like something with more flair, here are some choices.

1. Richard Hutton's Loo Table (shown above), via Apartment Therapy: San Francisco - and available from Matter in the U.S. and thorsten van elton in the U.K.




2. Nantucket toilet tissue tower basket




3. Splash toilet roll holder




4. Stainless steel toilet paper holder by Blomus




5. Belladonna iron toilet tissue stand




6. And for those who like the silly stuff, there's the flamingo holder - found on eBay, so it won't be around for long.


For even more options, see stores such as Stacks and Stacks.

Stash the Shower Stuff

When I remodeled my bathroom, I had a niche built into the shower wall to hold my soaps, shampoo, and conditioner.

If you don't have that luxury, this teak shower caddy is a practical and good-looking way to deal with all the bottles. (Via Apartment Therapy: San Francisco)

Another shower caddy - not as luscious looking, but practical - is the flip and fit shower caddy from Simple Human.

The Paper Clip, All Grown Up

Since I've written about paper clips before, I just had to write about my newest find, the towelclip from Eskimo - a bathroom radiator to heat your towels.

(Via Trendir)

Medicine Cabinets (and related spaces)

ABC News tells us How to Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet - and suggests doing this as a first step in getting organized in the new year. The article actually stresses that the medicine cabinet may not be the best place to keep your medicines. The article also wisely stresses the importance of storing all medicines safely, especially (but not exclusively) to protect any children.

One thing it does not mention is how to dispose of those expired medicines. Please do not flush them down the toilet! Alternatives include returning them to the pharmacy for disposal, taking them to a household hazardous waste collection program, or disposing of them (taking specific precautions) in the garbage. If the medicine is not yet expired but is simply no longer needed, you may be able to donate it to a worthy cause.

For more information, see the information published by the
- Ingham Regional Medical Center in Michigan
- Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (PDF)
- New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services