How To Light A Bathroom
Where To Start With Lighting Your Bathroom
No matter the size of your bathroom, to create a relaxing and functional space, it needs to be well lit. A single, central light or ceiling button won’t achieve this. So read on for our tip on how to effectively light your bathroom space, and the different types of lighting you should consider.
The Types Of Bathroom Lighting To Consider
1. GENERAL ROOM LIGHTING
Bathroom ceiling lights, such as recessed downlights, are one of the easiest ways to provide general room lighting. A simple way to fill the room with light, and their low-profile and discreet design won’t overpower the space. Ceiling button lights are also great option for this type of lighting too!
If you have larger bathroom, you could try using a decorative pendant or bold ceiling light as one of your main light sources. Placed central to the ceiling, it can add design flare and a focal point to the space. You could even position downlights around the sides of the ceiling as well, to further boost the general light if needed.
Veila Downlights Simple Ceiling Button Agatha Pendant Light
2. VANITY & MIRROR LIGHTING
Top Tip: don’t just rely on your ceiling light or downlights to brighten your mirror & vanity space too. Lighting directly from above will result in heavy shadowing and unflattering lighting in front of the mirror – and no one wants that!
Aim to brighten the space between yourself and the mirror, creating a more complimentary lighting effect. You can easily achieve this with a simple striplight above the mirror, small wall lights or sconces either side of the vanity/mirror or even a 2 in 1 mirror light!
We dedicated a whole blog article on this type of lighting, so you can read more about it here.
Xavier Tilt Strip Light 2 in 1 Mirror Lights & De-Mister Etta Wall Light
3. AMBIENT LIGHTING
Ever needed the bathroom at night and the harsh lighting has ruined your sleepy state? Bright lighting can trick your body clock into thinking it’s daylight and that you should be awake – making it much harder for you to fall back to sleep. Placing low wattage lighting below eye level not only adds to the ambience of a room, but your eyes will thank you for it in those night time bathroom visits!
Try installing strip lights under bathroom vanities, or placing small recessed lights low to the floor. The lower wattage lighting option provides a less harsh transition for your eyes and therefore you may find it easier to fall back to sleep.
Plus, bright overhead lighting or total darkness isn’t the ambience you’re looking for when trying to relax in the bathtub! So you may find it easier to unwind with low wattage ambient lighting.
Top Tip: Make sure these ambient lighting additions are separately switched from your main lighting source! Or for added convenience, wire to a sensor switch - so they automatically come on when you enter the room!
Diva Linkable Striplight Recessed LED Deflector Light Mini 1.5 Metre Range Sensor
4. ACCENT LIGHTING
Accent lighting isn’t essential but is a great way to add depth of design to your space. Used in the right way, it can even make your space more functional.
Use small strip lights or recessed lights to highlight feature walls, free standing baths, artwork or those designer tiles you’ve chosen. This layering of light adds to the ambience of the space and allows you to draw attention to key features of the room.
Plus, you can tactically place strip lights or downlights to make areas more functional. Such as bringing additional light to showers hidden behind nib walls or in dark corners of the bathroom. Or even hidden strip lights on vanity units!
Flexible LED Strip Lights Multiform LED Tiltable Downlight Small LED Recessed Light
Note: No matter what style of lighting you choose, when it comes to bathroom lighting, you should always pay close attention to the IP rating of any lights fitted in this space. An IP rating denotes how suitable a light is to withstand damp or wet environments – so crucial for bathroom lighting! You can read more about IP ratings in our Information Hub here.