I am thinking seriously about a medicine cabinet kind of like the one pictured below. This would go across my 60 inch vanity that is in a three sided alcove. I can't recess a medicine cabinet but I could have this"built-in". I am envisioning mine being a little different though with three mirrored cabinets that open. I'm not sure if the doors should slide open or swing open. If they were swinging I think I'd have a vertical piece of wood (matching vanity) on each end and a piece between each mirror.

As I was thinking about how to construct this it almost seemed like this "frame" could be constructed to fit around three standard medcine cabinets. With 16" wide cabinets the wood pieces between would be 3" each which I think would be okay. I'm not sure though if there would be the right kind of clearance for opening the doors - might be better to just have this made with a mirrored, hinged door that just opens like a cabinet. This doesn't seem much like cabinetry though so I was thinking the carpenter/contractor could probably construct this less expensively than the cabinet maker who is doing the vanity. Plus I want outlets, lighting, etc. in there and it seems like it would be much easier for the contractor to just design, build and wire the whole thing.

Then one more question. I love this above and below cabinet lighting and some place in there I'd put my night light. My bathroom is small but I'm not so sure this indirect light is sufficient for when you're using the mirror. Seems like I'd need something else like maybe a couple recessed ceiling fixtures. I want a really clean, uncluttered look so I can't imagine any kind of typical bathroom light fixture above this cabinet. Right now all we have is the light fixture over the vanity along with a shower light. It has 5 - 40 watt bulbs and it lights the entire bathroom - but the fixture is very direct - not indirect like this cabinet lighting.

modern bathroom design by san francisco architect Michael Tauber Architecture