Form Plus Function

Make your bathroom into a sanctuary of relaxation! You can achieve this with the right vanity bathroom lighting.
Bathrooms are no longer just functional rooms with harsh light and cold tile, but warm, stylish, inviting retreats. The introduction of warmer materials and colors to your bathroom asks for a softer, more sophisticated lighting plan for this very important room in your home.
Keep in mind, that only the right lighting will be able to fully show the colors and textures of the beautiful stone, glass and wood that make your bathroom special.

Don’t rely on ceiling lights or recessed lights over the mirror as your only light source, even in the smallest powder room. These cast ugly shadows over your face (an upside-down version of the flashlight-under-the-chin effect – not a pretty effect!).
In larger bathrooms the same rules apply that we recommend for every area of the home: Use multiple layers of light and install dimmers where it is possible. A combination of several light sources helps create a graceful balance between the different areas of the room.

Good, functional bathroom lighting is needed for the area around the vanity mirror and sink.
These light fixtures need to be gently flattering, yet bright enough so you can see to shave or apply makeup.

As a rule of thumb you position side lights 36″ apart and the center of the light 60″ from the floor.

The addition of indirect accent light sources can help soften the more direct task lighting.

A few ideas for light layers in your bathroom:
Indirect light above and below cabinets, a sparkling downlight over the tub, good task lighting at the mirror, a recessed infrared heat lamp for chilly mornings, a narrow spotlight accenting a beautiful architectural feature (why did you pay so much for that Italian sink?), maybe even a chandelier to add charm and character.

Tip: Put the indirect above-cabinet and toe-kick lights on a circuit by themselves and on a dimmer. At a low setting they provide just the amount of light you want on a sleep-walking trip to the bathroom. Decorative wall sconces on each side of a small mirror will illuminate both sides of your face evenly. With a more generous mirror you’ll want additional light across the top of the mirror.

Since we are all so used to the warm tones of incandescent lamps (and believe me, all skin tones truly do look best in a pink, golden hue opposed to blue or green) opt for lamps with warmer tones. So, if your choice is the energy-guzzling, but familiar incandescent lamps, opt for the frosted version and choose fixtures with glass or plastic diffusers to further soften the light. If you want to use fluorescents, choose warm white or even better, high quality tubes or CFLs that have actual numbers on the box as in about 3000K (or lower) and the highest possible CRI (above 85). They come closest to the color of incandescents.

Many low voltage fixtures have beautiful colored glass shades. These of course enhance the look of the fixture and can add to the decorative aspect of your bathroom design. But do keep in mind what the colors contribute to the light quality and work with this issue: A peach or amber colored shade will warm and soften the white halogen light, whereas a green shade, as great as it looks with your tile might not be quite flattering for your face and therefore needs to be supplemented with additional discreet light sources to make you look healthy in the mirror.

Photos left to right: Tigris Mirror by Tech Lighting (photo 1), Long Sweeping Taper wall sconce by Hubbardton Forge (photo 2), Wall Sconces by W.A.C. Lighting

Click here to browse our Bathroom Lighting.

To read a lot more tips and ideas about lighting for your home you can download our FREE 58 page Illustrated Guide to Home Lighting.