We recently did our Master Bath and in the process I did a lot of looking for a medicine cabinet. None had wood shelves. I like the glass shelves, they don’t look cheap at all. I think that wood shelves would be harder to keep clean and they would make the interior of the cabinet darker, unlike glass that wipes clean easily and is bright & light.

Because thin wood would not be very sturdy and would bend under weight. And thick wood - like most wood shelves are made - would be bulky and take up a lot of room in a tight space.

If you really want wood shelves, I would suggest having your contractor just build you a recessed cabinet with wood shelves. Then place a white shaker mirror on hinges over it.

No one besides you should be opening your medicine cabinet. Also, as a short person, I can easily see what is up above eye level. Glass is not cheap (see Koehler medicine cabinets!)

I was intrigued by this as I remodeled and had a medicine cabinet made by the custom shop that did all my cabinets - it is a miniature of the bathroom cabinet doors.

I had no idea of what the shelves were made of as I had never focused on them and hadn't specified that detail. They are wood but they are clad in teal formica - I opted for teal blue interiors in all my cabinets and so they are either formica clad for easy clean up - shelves and sink interiors or painted a matching color. The doors are wood and the glass upper cabines match the wood.

They aren't particularly thick but they are certainly strong enough to handle the weight of anything that goes in a medicine cabinet - I don't know what other people put in medicine cabinets but mine holds relatively light weight stuff. I have no problem seeing what is on the top shelf as once objects are on clear glass the shelves are obstructed anyway. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I had glass shelves in my pre-remodel medicine cabinet and both seem fully functional. My new shelves and my old shelves are easily wiped down and perhaps it's me but I've never had anything spill in a medicine cabinet - the main thing to clean was dust that would settle in but the interiors are not any kind of space that needs to be cleaned on a regular basis.

I guess the interior of my current cabinet is more "elegant" but my old medicine cabinet was a 60 year old standard issue and nothing about either the interior or the exterior was anything other than plain Jane functional. 😂

​Our cabinetmaker made the medicine cabinet in our guest bathroom.