Bathroom Lighting, More Important Than You Think

For most people, the last place they think of when it comes to lighting is the bathroom. The bathroom just doesn’t seem as important as other rooms, like the kitchen, living room, or dining room, when it comes to lighting. For many folks, bathroom lighting doesn’t quite seem to justify the thought or the cost like other parts of your home. And yet, the bathroom is in many ways the most important of all the rooms in your house. Isn’t it the first room you travel to each morning? Isn’t it the last room you spend time in before heading to bed? You take your showers in the bathroom, you shave in the bathroom, you put your make up on and brush your hair and your teeth in the bathroom. You spend a lot of time in there!

Given the amount of time spent in the bathroom and the important things you do while there, you really should consider how the bathroom is lit. A well lit bathroom is a pleasant place to be. It’s also a place where the critical tasks of grooming can be done right. You need a bathroom full of light and of the right kind of light.

There are a number of ways a bathroom can be lit, and the best lit bathrooms are those that use a combination of light fixtures. Simply placing an overhead light in your bathroom may get you by, but your bathroom can be a more beautiful and functional place to spend time in with a little more planning.

First of all, you should consider the vanity lighting around or above the mirror. The mirror is where you will need the most light for grooming, so it is there you should start your bathroom lighting plans. Many bathrooms have lights above the mirror, which shine down on your face. Depending on how this light is positioned, this can work well. However, in many cases this over-mirror position will cast shadows on the face, especially below the eyes and nose, making it difficult to shave or put on make up. Often better is to place two vertically oriented lights on either side of the mirror. This positioning will bathe the face in light without shadows.

If the mirror is too large or there is not enough room for side mirrors, the over-mirror light should be placed approximately 5.5 to 6.5 feet above the floor. Be sure to choose a light that can handle a bulb of 150 watts at the minimum. This will provide strong enough light to see for close up grooming. Halogen lights provide the strongest lighting for bathrooms, and, although they are more expensive than incandescent lights, they will last quite a bit longer. Newer kinds of fluorescent bulbs cast a more natural light than the older variety, so these can work well in bathrooms too.

Next, you will want to think about bathroom lighting for the shower. Lighting this area of the bathroom is often done well using recessed lighting positioned in the ceiling at the approximate center of the shower area. This should give you plenty of light for showering tasks. If you have a glass door on the shower a recessed light might not be absolutely necessary, but it will be a nice addition to your bathroom lighting strategy.

Another nice addition to the bathroom is to install ambient lighting to bathe the entire room with light. This can be done with a typical overhead light, or you may choose something like a nice chandelier or mini chandelier or some variety of pendant light fixture. This will add a touch of elegance to the bathroom and provide a bit of sparkle to the room. Cove lighting is another idea, in which lights are concealed behind special molding just below ceiling level.

Accent light is ideal for making the bathroom a truly special room, as special as any other space in your home. You can install spot lights or focused recessed lighting to highlight artwork hung on the bathroom wall or to light a special shelving unit holding candles, fancy bath salts, pictures, and the like. You may wish to highlight special tiling in your bathroom as well.

Of course, however you light your bathroom, you should consider the important fact that electricity and water should never come in contact. Lighting and wiring must be properly installed and laboratory rated for wet conditions. Given these precautions, your bathroom lighting can be beautiful, unique, and charming.