Bathroom Lighting

Whether your bath is a large, sprawling retreat or a tiny, more utilitarian space, the lighting needs for bathrooms are fairly universal.

The first consideration is the intensity of light. It’s tempting to blast a bathroom with high wattage. It’s where you shave, where you hunt through drawers and where you attempt to read tiny print on pill bottles.

But it’s also the place where you have to walk in and look directly at your face first thing in the morning. It’s a place for putting on makeup and styling hair. It’s also a place to unwind with a long hot bath and a great book. So good lighting in the bathroom has to be serviceable but flattering, bright but adjustable.

It’s a big order but surprisingly easy to achieve with some simple lighting tricks. Start with a bright light in the middle of the room so that when you hit the switch in the day and at night, the entire room lights up as needed.

You’ll also want a light over the shower or tub where seeing your footing is essential, especially with older users. The more fixtures you have, the greater the need to test the overall wattage in order to not under whelm a space.

At the vanity, install lighting that bathes faces with warm, flattering light from both sides – not just from above, which is an unflattering angle. Consider different switches – a dimmer over the general light, another for wall sconces – to provide grater control in your lighting scheme. If there’s a tub, you will also want the option to lower the lights with a dimmer switch to create soft, relaxing glow to unwind with a soak after a long, hard day.

The first step in layering bathroom lighting is overall light: ceiling fixtures or recessed lighting works brilliantly.
Task lighting is the second layer of lighting. Consider sconces, shaded vanity lights, and strip lights.
Finally, the third layer is accent lighting. Portable lamps, toe space lighting and strip lighting.