Bathroom Lighting Design Basics

Often times people ask me about lighting in bathrooms.  I believe the most important light(s) in the bathroom is the lighting at the vanity.  Most of the time we install some form of over-mirror, wall-mounted vanity light.  Typically it will have anywhere from 2 to 4 individual lights mounted on the bar.  The light bars that were often installed more than 15 years ago had a large row of bulbs that were not very aesthetic.  Today, most any lighting store has a very large array of options for wall-mounted vanity lights, plenty to suit most anyone’s taste.

Another form of lighting is accent lighting.  This is often used in shower areas in the form of recessed lighting.  This form of lighting in the shower brings a highlight to, for instance, a beautiful tile job that emphasizes a certain feel in the whole bathroom.  Recessed can lights can also be used for general purpose lighting in a bathroom, so they can serve a dual purpose.

General/area lighting can also be done with an included light within the ceiling exhaust fan. Panasonic Fans with lights are very well designed for this purpose. Below is a video I found recently that discusses these basic lighting ideas…