fbpx

INSPIRATION & IDEAS

“Tips From Archway” – The Best Lighting for Your Bathroom

bathroom lighting

Your bathroom is the one place in your home where you can have 100% privacy, and therefore, should use it as your own lavish sanctuary. That’s one of the many reasons people choose to remodel their bathrooms, so they can do just that. To make the most out of your beautiful new space, you’ll need some beautiful lighting. We have a few tips to share about choosing the right lighting for your bathroom so that you can enjoy it to the very fullest.

Overhead Lighting

The main goal for lighting your bathroom is to make it a bright and clean looking space, so in order to do that you’ll need to have plenty of overhead or ceiling lighting installed. Ceiling Lighting provides overall illumination and is also known as ambient lighting. Ambient lighting radiates a comfortable level of brightness, enabling one to see and walk around safely. There are several options for achieving this in a bathroom.

Recessed Lights

Recessed lights are lights that are recessed into the ceiling, hiding from sight but still providing warm, illuminating light over the space. We almost always use recessed lighting in our bathroom remodels because it is inexpensive yet very effective.

Flush Mount Lights

Flush mount lights are a little more decorative, and come in many different shapes and styles. The most common styles are round with a decorative knob at the bottom, but there are hundreds of different styles you can choose from. Here are a few examples from one of our lighting suppliers, Ferguson.

light4light6light1

Accent Lighting

In addition to overhead, accent or task lighting is also an important component of lighting a bathroom. Accent lighting is smaller, more strategically placed lighting fixtures such as sconces or light bars that are placed on a wall. When installing accent lighting in a bathroom, it’s important to note which areas you most want to illuminate and then choose the type of accent light that best fits that space. When we remodel bathrooms at Archway, the lighting usually consists of a fixture above the vanity as well as a few small sconces on either side of the vanity or above the toilet. There are a few types of accent lights for bathrooms that come in all shapes and sizes.

Vanity Lighting

Vanity lighting refers to the light fixture that is installed above the bathroom vanity to provide lighting for shaving, putting on make-up, fixing you hair, or any other task you might need to do in front of the mirror. Traditionally, most of the vanity lighting you’ll see is the standard 3-bulb light fixture that is common in most homes, however more modern lighting such as light bars have come into play recently. Here are a few examples of some of the vanity lighting options we provide as part of our bathroom remodeling packages (all of these are also available at Ferguson). As you can see, the more traditional 3-bulb fixtures on the left and in the middle can have many looks to them, where the light bar on the right is a more modern look by design.

vanity lighting bathroom

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are a great source of supplementary light and they come in many different styles and shapes. Mounting them on either side of the bathroom mirror is best for casting even light across the face, which eliminates shadows. Wall sconce fixtures should be softly flattering, but bright enough to illuminate your face when looking in the mirror so you are able to perform tasks. The best place to hang wall sconces in the bathroom is on either side of the vanity mirror. The height at which to hang the sconces will depend on those using the bathroom. They should be hung near eye level to fill in the sides of your face with light, approximately 65 to 70 inches from the floor. Here are some of the scones we feature in our bathroom remodels.

wall sconces bathroom

Take a look at the lighting designs we have used in some of our bathroom remodeling projects below, and please contact us to learn more about bathroom lighting or bathroom remodeling in general!

 

bathroom lighting

chicago bathroom remodeling

overhead bathroom lighting