Dispensers are capable of being used in one orientation for dispensing paper towels upwardly when situated on a countertop and also in a second orientation for dispensing paper towels downwardly when mounted on a wall or other surface. Moreover, the dispensers can be easily modified to present a different finish by installing the desired outer shell components on the dispenser. The dispenser utilizes an inner cartridge adapted to house a stack of interleaved paper towels. The paper towels are urged by a spring toward a dispensing slot situated on a housing surrounding the cartridge. The spring urges the leading paper towel in the stack toward the dispensing slot in either orientation for convenient access to the towel by a user.