Vanity Lighting For Bathrooms

Vanity lights help you see yourself during grooming.

Bathroom lighting is most efficient in layers, according to "This Old House" magazine. Overhead lighting provides one layer and sets the room's ambience. Vanity lighting illuminates tasks done in front of the mirror, such as daily grooming. With the vast selection of vanity lighting options available, careful consideration of the direction you want the light to shine is necessary before you make your lighting selection.

Style

While vanity lighting often is set directly over a mirror, vertical lighting set alongside the mirror does a better job of casting light evenly across the face. Fixtures with multiple lights mounted vertically or sconces that direct light toward either the ceiling or floor are examples of this type of lighting. If there isn't enough room for lights on both sides of the mirror, horizontal lighting fixtures set near the ceiling and approximately 75 to 80 inches above the floor also provide adequate lighting for grooming tasks. The size of the mirror affects how high horizontal lights should be placed. The fixture should provide at least 150 watts of power distributed evenly over the mirror. Rather than have one light over the mirror, it's best to spread the wattage between two or more lights spaced at least 24 inches apart to evenly distribute the light. Shades on the light fixtures also help distribute the light evenly.

Mount

Closely tied to the style of lighting fixtures is their mounting style. While it's typical to project the lighting downward, some fixtures focus it toward the ceiling and provide more reflected light. Depending on the particular fixture, it may provide adequate lighting for your grooming needs. Fixtures mounted on the sides of the mirror or above and focused on the mirror typically provide the best lighting for grooming purposes. Fixtures that mount flush with the wall or are recessed are available, but their lights sometimes create shadows on the mirror.

Material

Choose the material for the vanity lighting fixture based on the color of the bathroom walls as well as the plumbing fixtures. Consider polished nickel, light-colored steel, oak or brass fixtures if you have dark colored walls. Wood tones, such as cherry, maple and walnut work well with light-colored walls. Metal fixtures with a black base also provide contrast to lighter colors. The texture of the vanity lighting fixture's metal also accents the room's decor. Choose smooth-textured fixtures if the surrounding wall surface is rough, and select brushed fixtures if the wall texture is smooth.

Bulbs

The lightbulbs in the fixtures can make as much difference as the fixtures themselves. White light gives the most accurate skin tone colors for applying makeup. Halogen bulbs and compact fluorescent light, or CFL, bulbs are energy efficient and often have standard screw in bases that fit into the light sockets on most vanity lighting fixtures. Not only do they give a white light, but halogen and CFL bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs, saving you money.

Tags: vanity lighting, lighting fixtures, over mirror, adequate lighting, also provide