The stars of stage and screen spend a good deal of time at their dressing room vanities making sure they’re ready for the literal spotlight. Properly positioned vanity lights emit soft, diffuse light that reduces shadows and makes it easy for stars to look their best. While you may not be going onstage yourself, there’s no good excuse for poor vanity lighting. Read on to discover a list of nine lighting do’s and don’ts to become the star of your own bathroom.
1. Do Add Diffuse, Even Light
Light fixtures, pendants or sconces on both sides of a mirror will bring diffuse, even lighting to your bathroom vanity. If you have a double vanity with one large mirror, consider adding a light to the middle of it. If you have a double vanity with two mirrors, as in this New York bathroom designed by , add lights on both sides of each mirror. This way, two people can primp at the same time without hogging each other’s light.
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Zimal Contracting and Restorations
2. Do Get the Height Right
Once you’ve decided on the perfect light fixtures for the sides of your bathroom mirror, it’s important to get the height right. The exact height to hang your fixtures will depend on who uses the bathroom most. But a general rule is to hang the fixture at eye level, usually somewhere between 65 and 70 inches from the floor. The team at Zimal Contracting and Restorations hung two white pendant lights from the sloped ceiling of this bathroom in British Columbia.
Custom CADD Inc
3. Do Give Yourself Backlighting
Backlighting illuminates shoulders and hair, making it easier to see clothing and shapes. This comes in handy around the vanity, so consider placing a light behind and above where you’ll be standing. A surface mount or semiflush-mount fixture with a frosted shade, such as the one featured in this Toronto bathroom by Custom CADD, will block glare and provide functional overhead lighting.
Terry M. Elston, Builder
4. Do Use Dimmers
When it comes to lighting, dimmer switches are your best friend, especially in the bathroom. Adding a dimmer to the lights around your bathroom vanity will result in an easier transition as you start your day and a more relaxing finish at night. Notice the warm glow from the trio of wall sconces in this Louisiana bathroom by Terry M. Elston.
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Kenorah Design + Build Ltd.
5. Do Use Floor Lights
Turning on lights in the middle of the night can be a hassle and an uncomfortable adjustment for your eyes. Instead, consider adding floor lights, such as built-in step lights or lights beneath a floating vanity. Their soft glow makes it easy to see where you’re going without having to turn on additional, glaring lights. Lights mounted to the bottom of this floating vanity in a Vancouver bathroom designed by Kenorah Design + Build help light the way for the homeowners at night.
Highmark Builders
6. Don’t Use Clear Glass Shades or Exposed Bulbs
Design trends aren’t always in our best interest, and lighting is no exception. Complicating matters, most light fixtures are photographed either turned off or in a room with full daylight, so you never see them in action until it’s too late. Avoid clear glass shades or exposed bulbs in the bathroom because of their harsh glare. Instead, consider adding frosted shades or fabric shades like the ones seen in this Minnesota bathroom by Highmark Builders.
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Coast View Construction Inc.
7. Don’t Use Only Solid Metal Shades
You may be tempted to use solid metal shades because they’re trendy, but doing so in a bathroom without other sources of light will leave you in the dark. Here, the team at Coast View Construction added a skylight above the sink to counteract some of the shadows that many metal and solid material shades will create.
TOTAL CONCEPTS
8. Don’t Spotlight the Floor
A star of the stage would be furious if the spotlight hit the floor instead of them. Similarly, one of the most common lighting mistakes is to position recessed downlights over bare spots on the floor. Instead, position downlights over countertops and other working areas that could use the extra light. This San Francisco bathroom designed by Total Concepts is a great example of well-placed downlights.
Browse recessed downlights
Design Milieu
9. Don’t Rely Solely on Backlit Mirrors
The soft glow emitted from a backlit mirror provides a contemporary look and a stylish alternative to nightlights. But backlit mirrors usually add more light to the wall than to your face, which is where you need it most. Therefore, consider adding sconces or pendants to both sides of a mirror for functional lighting.
The round mirror in this Washington, D.C., bathroom by Design Milieu solves the problem with an LED frame that emits light onto your face while still giving the effect of being backlit.
David K Warfel at LightCanHelpYou.com
Refer to this handy visual to remember the do’s and don’ts of bathroom vanity lighting. Style is important, but keep in mind that light is bound by the laws of physics. If you want to shine all day long, it’s important to get your vanity lighting right.
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