If you are looking to spruce up your mid-century bathroom, you might want to think twice before tossing out the grungy, scummy old medicine cabinet that is inset in the wall.

A few years ago, when I gutted my bathroom in hopes of transforming it to the spa of my dreams, I thought nothing about including the old medicine cabinet in the demolition. In the trash it went, along with the moldy sink and cracked tiles. After all, my plan was to replace it with a brand new one. What a mistake!

After the demolition, I started my search for a new cabinet. I searched and searched for a medicine cabinet that would fit in the 13-1/3" x 23-1/2" size wall inset. I learned this to be a non-standard size. I searched on-line for every cabinet manufacturer in the hopes of finding one that would fit. My search was in vain. I discovered that the few manufacturers who may still make those small size cabinets charge a pretty high price. A price I did not want to pay.

My only options were to 1) expand the inset hole to accommodate a new cabinet, or 2) close up the inset with drywall. I chose to close up the hole and do without a medicine cabinet. It irked me to pay more money to a contractor for an unexpected drywall project, and lose the space and convenience of my medicine cabinet.

Well, I learned from my mistake. When it was time to redecorate my #2 bathroom (no pun intended), the medicine cabinet was the focal point of disgust. The mirror was tarnished, and the inside was rusty and had remnants of 1960's orange and yellow flower-power contact paper.

On a tight budget, I was determined to figure a way to salvage the old thing and give it a new life. Here is what I did:

1. Removed each of the four screws that held the cabinet inside the wall.
2. Since the mirrored door could not easily be removed, I took the whole thing to a glass and mirror shop. They replaced the mirror for about $25 in one day.
3. I bought a can of white semi-gloss spray paint and painted the interior of the cabinet. It took two coats to cover the orange and yellow psychedelic contact paper.
4. After it dried, I put the cabinet back into the wall and screwed it back with the same four screws.

How proud was I! For the total cost of about $30, I got a medicine cabinet that looks and feels like brand new. The very best part of this do-it-yourself project is that there is one less medicine cabinet taking up space in a landfill.