A medicine cabinet is one of the few bathroom purchases where fit comes before style. A vanity can sit slightly off centre and nobody notices. A cabinet that is wider than the stud bay you planned to recess it into, or that swings its door into a sconce, goes straight back in the box. This guide covers the standard size ranges, how to measure your wall properly, and the clearance habits that keep installation painless, whether you are fitting out a condo in Vancouver, a bungalow on the Prairies or a century home in Halifax.
Standard medicine cabinet sizes at a glance
Most manufacturers publish dimensions in inches, often with metric in brackets, and the ranges are consistent across brands sold in Canada:
- Width: single-door cabinets typically run from about 14 to 24 inches (roughly 36 to 61 cm). Double-door and triple-door units start around 30 inches and run to 60 inches or more for full vanity-width models.
- Height: most cabinets land between 24 and 40 inches (about 61 to 102 cm), with 30 to 36 inches being the most common band.
- Depth: overall depth usually falls between 4 and 8 inches. A surface-mounted cabinet projects its full depth into the room, while a recessed cabinet hides most of it inside the wall.
As a starting point, a medicine cabinet usually looks best at the same width as the vanity below it or a little narrower, centred over the sink. The pairings below are conventions rather than rules:
| Vanity width | Cabinet widths that typically pair well |
|---|---|
| 24 in (61 cm) | 15 to 20 in |
| 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm) | 20 to 30 in |
| 48 in (122 cm) | 30 to 40 in |
| 60 in double vanity (152 cm) | Two singles centred over the sinks, or one 48 to 60 in unit |
If you are still choosing the base, settle it first: browsing bathroom vanities and the cabinet together keeps the widths in conversation from the start.
Measure the space before you shop
Grab a tape measure and record four things:
- Available wall width. Measure between obstructions: side walls, window casings, switches, outlets and any fixtures you plan to keep. Write down the tightest number.
- Vertical space. Measure from the countertop, or the top of the backsplash, up to the ceiling, bulkhead or light fixture. Tall cabinets in the 36 to 40 inch range can collide with the low bulkheads common in older apartments.
- What is inside the wall. If you want a recessed cabinet, run a stud finder over the area. Standard Canadian wood framing places studs 16 inches on centre, leaving a bay roughly 14 to 14.5 inches wide. A recessed cabinet wider than that means opening the wall and reframing.
- What the wall is made of. Concrete and block walls, typical of high-rise condos from Vancouver to Montreal, cannot be recessed into at all. Plaster-and-lath in older housing can be recessed but cuts less predictably than drywall.
One cold-climate caution: think twice before recessing into an exterior wall. The cabinet body displaces insulation, and in a Canadian winter that can mean a cold cabinet interior and condensation. Interior partition walls are the safer host. Walls directly behind the sink also deserve suspicion, since they often carry supply lines or a vent stack.
Clearance rules that prevent headaches
- Mounting height. The usual practice is to centre the mirror at eye level for the people who use the bathroom daily, with the bottom edge clear of the faucet spout and anything stored on the counter. Households vary, so treat published mounting heights as suggestions.
- Door swing. Trace the arc of the door. A cabinet mounted tight to a return wall, window casing or shower glass needs its hinges on the open side, so confirm hinging before ordering, or choose a reversible model.
- Room for lighting. If you are flanking the mirror with wall sconces, leave wall on each side for the backplates plus a breathing gap. Fixtures above the cabinet need clearance for the door to open fully.
- Stay on the vanity's footprint. A cabinet that overhangs the vanity edge looks unbalanced and swings its door over open floor where people stand.
Recessed, semi-recessed or surface mount
Recessed cabinets sit flush with the wall for the cleanest look. Semi-recessed models tuck part of the depth into the wall while the rest projects, a practical answer for shallow cavities. Surface-mounted cabinets need no wall surgery at all, which makes them the default for concrete walls, rental-friendly updates and any bay that is already occupied. The trade-off is projection: in a tight two-piece bathroom, 6 inches of cabinet at head height is very noticeable, and a flat bathroom mirror is sometimes the more honest solution.
Common fit mistakes
- Measuring the old cabinet's face frame and treating that as the size of the hole behind it.
- Buying a wide recessed model for a standard 16 inch stud bay without budgeting for reframing.
- Recessing into an exterior wall or plumbing wall without checking what lives inside it.
- Ignoring hinge side, then discovering the door opens into the shower enclosure.
- Choosing a cabinet wider than the vanity because it was a good deal.
- Forgetting that a hardwired lighted cabinet needs power roughed in before the wall closes up.
How to read the spec sheet
Every reputable spec sheet answers the same short list of questions, and it is worth checking all of them before you order:
- Overall dimensions versus rough opening. The overall size is the face you see; the rough opening is the hole a recessed model needs. Mixing them up is the most common ordering error.
- Depth, stated precisely. Look for overall depth, recess depth and projection as separate figures, plus usable shelf depth inside.
- Hinging. Left, right, reversible or double-door, and the door's open clearance.
- Electrical details. Cabinets with integrated lighting, interior outlets or mirror defoggers should carry certification marks recognized in Canada, such as CSA or cUL. Specialist brands such as Sidler publish detailed rough-in drawings for exactly this reason.
- Weight. It matters for wall anchoring on surface mounts, and it is good to know before a courier arrives anywhere from Victoria to St. John's.
When you are ready to compare models, our medicine cabinet collection ships Canada-wide, and our bathroom planning guides cover the neighbouring decisions, from vanity sizing to lighting layout.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common medicine cabinet size?
Single-door cabinets in the 15 to 20 inch width range, around 26 to 36 inches tall, are the workhorses of the category because they suit the 24 to 36 inch vanities found in most Canadian bathrooms. Double-door units in the 30 to 48 inch range are the norm over wider vanities.
Can I recess a medicine cabinet into any wall?
No. You need a framed wall with an empty cavity deep enough for the cabinet body, which rules out concrete condo walls and any bay occupied by plumbing, wiring or ductwork. Exterior walls are technically possible but a poor idea in a cold climate. When recessing is off the table, surface-mounted and semi-recessed models solve the same storage problem.
Should a medicine cabinet be wider than the vanity?
Generally not. Matching the vanity width or running slightly narrower keeps the proportions balanced and keeps the door swing over the counter rather than open floor. The main exception is a deliberate full-wall mirrored run, which is a designed look rather than an accident.
Do lighted medicine cabinets need an electrician in Canada?
Plug-in models need nothing more than a nearby outlet. Hardwired cabinets with integrated lighting, outlets or defoggers should be installed by a licensed electrician to the electrical rules that apply in your province. Either way, look for CSA or cUL certification marks on any electrified cabinet sold for the Canadian market.
