Bathroom Lighting Fixture

Tips on Bathroom Light Fixtures
When creating your ideal bathroom, it pays to be budget wise. You would probably be suprised to find out that you can achieve quite remarkable results in any bathroom with only a small amount of money and some creativity and planning.

One of the most important design aspects in a bathroom is lighting. Often the most common mistake when planning bathroom lighting is not having enough light or adequate light around your bathroom mirror. Good bathroom lighting will make your bathing experience more enjoyable, and will also make your bathroom a comfortable relaxing space.

The first task which should be undertaken in any bathroom lighting design is to contact your electrician, and find out exactly what you can and cannot do with your current lighting situation. Are you able to install more lights? Are your electrical circuits up to standard and able to handle the extra lighting and drawing of electrical current? Do you need to look at rewiring your bathroom to accomodate what you have in mind? All of these questions should be answered before you start your bathroom lighting project.

Take a good look at your bathroom, try and use natural lighting if possible. Windows, skylights or even solatubes can be used to great effect and relatively cheaply. Take a close look at where natural light enters your bathroom and make sure that it does not reflect off any mirrors.

Types of Bathroom Lighting
Downlights or Recessed Lights - sometimes refered to as a can light. These need to be strategically placed as the light is diffused directly down - similar to a spotlight beam. The downlight generally uses a halogen type bulb. This type of lighting is ideal over shower cubicles, spa pools and wash areas.

Wall Sconces - A wall sconce light is a specific type of wall mounted fixture light that can supply general and accent type bathroom lighting. These light fixtures come in a variety of styles from traditional to contemporary and look great in your bathroom. Wall Sconces work great with dimmer units which are relatively easy to wire in. You could use one on each side of your vanity unit, or along a wall as a feature. If you are using a single wall sconce on either side of your mirror, the recommended mounting heights and distances are sixty inches off the floor and 30 inches apart.

Vanity Lighting Kits - These are available in 2, 3 and 4 light kits. These kits are available in a huge variety of styles, contemporary, rustic, and deco to name a few. The larger kits are used to light large mirror areas or wall spaces from above.

Light Bars - These lights are considered to be the best lighting for mirrors, you should consider installing them around the sides and top of the mirror which will provide light from various angles, which is important when applying makeup or shaving. Light bars need to be mounted quite a bit higher than the wall sconces, around 70 to 75 inches above the floor is ideal.

Combination Lighting
Look at using a combination lighting – layers of light – will create a calming atmosphere when needed but also allow for function and purpose.

Planning
Start by planning your bathroom light fixtures one specific area at a time. Plan lighting for shower, spa, vanity and mirror, once this is completed then plan your general or main lighting such as downlights and wall sconces, even a small chandilier. Try not to create shadow areas in your bathroom. For each area of your bathroom, consider installing switches for the various lights so you can turn some of the lights off if required, also worth a thought are light dimmers on your switches to create a soft mood effect.

Spend some thought about moisture and how to get rid of steam - does your bathroom have an opening window to allow for the removal of steam? If not look at installing an extractor type fan which will remove the steam from your bathroom without worrying about your mirror fogging up. To stop mirror fog, you can buy a special heating element which goes behind your mirror and when turned on prevents your mirror from fogging up.

Pay particular attention to where light switches are located in relation to wet areas, consult with your electrician if in doubt, as water and electricity do not mix.