A typical day for most of us begins and ends with the same furtive ritual: checking our appearance before the bathroom mirror.  And what we see often moves us to make resolutions surrounding diet, exercise, and schedules - or all of the above.  In weaker moments, bathroom reflections send us scurrying for meds and grooming supplies.

The staging area for these efforts in looking and feeling our best is the vanity.  And once upon a time, a medicine cabinet was sufficient for holding the tools of the trade.  Evolved from woven-palm fiber "medicine chests" originating in ancient Egypt, the swing-door medicine cabinet with framed mirror became a washroom staple during the Victorian Age.  But with a growing array of health and beauty aids, alternative receptacles have since replaced these iconic boxes the way biotech drugs outmoded herbal potions and elixirs.  Medicine closets are replacing medicine cabinets.

"People these days need space for more than just a straightedge razor and a tube of toothpaste," says interior designer Betsy Zimring, founder of Betsy Pringle Associates, who has executed bathrooms for more than a quarter-century.  "Everyone has lots of stuff, including men.  Multiply that by two in a married household and you need even more room."  As a result, today's bathrooms are outfitted with mirror-sided closets or drawer-spacious vanities surmounted by free-hanging mirrors.  These vanities often contain specialty units that resemble silverware or spice drawers - trays for everything.

But not all homeowners forsake the medicine cabinet.  Currently completing a modestly sized master bath in the second-story extension of their home, Rosendale residents Margaret Ryan, a graduate of Pratt Institute, and Peter McCormick seek to maximize on space without forgoing luxury.  Stationed opposite the room's focal point - a Mountain Laurel whirlpool wrapped in 180 degrees of window that overlook Rondout Creek - a freestanding sink flanked by two small shelves will allow for storing daily essentials.  A few feet away, fitted into a space adjacent to a curved block-glass wall, the couple also plans to stack two (his and her) swing-door medicine cabinets with adjustable shelves, which together will form a vertical six-foot mirror.  The time-honored medicine chests fit the mood of their historic home, formerly the site of the D&H Canal granary.

"There's something that feels old-fashioned about a medicine cabinet," suggests Jayne Christy, a graduate of Parsons School of Design whose 15-year career in the fashion industry took a turn when she purchased a 100-year-old house.  An interior design consultant at Custom Interiors of Rhinebeck since 2000, Christy doesn't especially favor the "bulkiness" of medicine cabinets.  "But the market is responding with newer contemporary versions, which are typically recessed in the wall," she maintains.  Christy favors the stylish designs and innovative features offered by Robern, a bath storage company founded in 1968 in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

Robern cabinets boast solid aluminum-framed construction and high-tech features such as internal and interior outlets (some intended for recharging cell phones), mirror and door defoggers, and safety lock boxes.  Trimmed in a variety of finishes, including chrome, brushed nickel, and leather, the cabinetry is inspired by epic design movements, including the Jazz Age 1920s and Art Moderne 1930s and '40s.  A postmodern sensibility pervades a recent line called "box logic."  Featuring horizontal and vertical mirrored shelving, these white oak storage units allow for decorative display of everyday items.

"Custom layout and design is what people really seem to be after; they're not necessarily looking for a medicine cabinet anymore," says kitchen and bath designer Leigh Crawford of Country Cupboards, which has locations in Rhinebeck, Kingston, and Coxsackie.  Crawford, who earned an MFA in printmaking and painting at SUNY Albany and gravitated to custom interior design in 1994, observes that the medicine cabinet has become a secondary feature.  "Sometimes we will do a large, wall-mounted mirror above a vanity and recess a medicine cabinet in a sidewall; it's no longer the focal point."