Despite the fact that the bathroom is where most of us start and end our day, most of us seem to pay little heed to the way we light it.  For most people, bathroom lighting is something of a postscript to the rest of our interior decorating schemes; in fact, bathroom wall lights may be so low-down on your list of priorities that they fail to register at all! Such lack of foresight and planning is a huge mistake!  Imagine how much better you would feel emerging to greet your world from a bright, cheerful and, above all, functionally lit room.  Is it over-egging the pudding to say that the correct bathroom lighting can be life-changing?  Well, yes, probably but there is no doubt that a few well chosen bathroom wall lights will brighten your day.[DFR::3b26b074-5ae6-62c2-f6e4-0631eb0ce75c-2687-af|align_left_1]

For both ambience and functionality, wall-mounted bathroom lights really do offer the best of both worlds – providing that you choose and use them properly.  When it comes to choice, you’ll be spoilt; there are styles and designs out there to satisfy even the pickiest designer; however correct installation of bathroom wall lights is key to getting the best out of them.

Before rushing out and buying those fabulous bathroom lights, however, you need to check out the European Bathroom Lighting Regulations.  These regulations specify what type of electrical equipment can be used in various areas of the room – all electrical equipment, including lighting, designed for bathroom use must be zone marked.  Make sure you choose your light fittings correctly.

In most modern bathrooms, which are, shall we say, bijoux, just placing wall lights around the mirror area will be enough to provide soft ambient light as well as exceptionally practical task lighting.

For task lighting in particular, the closer you can get to ‘daylight coloured’ light the better; both halogen lamps and LED lights will help in this respect. The real secret to good bathroom task lighting though is the position of the lights. Get it wrong and you’ll see ugly shadows beneath your eyes when you look into the mirror – even if you don’t have any! To eliminate shadows, light needs to come from all directions and illuminate all the planes of your face equally; that is the theory behind those oh so glamorous movie star dressing room mirrors.

Light fittings around the mirror should cast light in four directions, that is, from above and below and from either side, in order to eliminate those pesky shadows.  Hollywood style mirrors had their basis in functionality!  To achieve this happy state of affairs in less than movie-star style, place one wall light above the mirror, and one either side at around eye level.  If your mirror is large, say 1 metre across or more, you will find that the side lights don’t provide adequate illumination. In this instance, an overhead light will fill in the gaps.[DFR::70173a41-9e7f-3edb-7ed2-db262c150887-2687-af|align_right_1]

Finally, have your light fittings switched separately so you can change the mood to suit – well, the mood.  For grooming tasks, use the lights round the mirror and a wall light then, when you’re in the bath, forget the lights around the mirror and just have on the wall light; if it’s wired to a dimmer switch outside the room, so much the better.

And, when its time for romance, just add candles.

The bathroom’s a funny old room, isn’t it – filled and fought over at peak times then sadly neglected for the rest of the day – perhaps that’s why bathroom lighting comes as an afterthought in many people’s interior dcor plans.
Ironically, the way you choose to illuminate your bathroom is probably more important than for any other room.  In fact, poor bathroom lighting can set you off on the wrong foot for the rest of the day.

Wall mounted lights in your bathroom will not only provide soft mood lighting when required, when properly sited they will also ensure that the room is functional.  And after all, that is really what you need from a bathroom, isn’t it?

And – worthy of a separate paragraph- make sure you understand the bathroom lighting regulations, which are, quite necessarily, strict on what lights you can have where.  It’s been said before but it won’t hurt to say it again: water and electricity do not make good bedfellows!

If, like the majority of us, you are the proud owner of a less-than spacious bathroom, you might find that wall lights – especially if they are linked to a dimmer switch outside the room – provide all the lighting you need.  Well chosen and sited lights will not only afford good general light levels they will also provide more than adequate task lighting.

For task lighting in particular, the closer you can get to ‘daylight coloured’ light the better; both halogen lamps and LED lights will help in this respect. The real secret to good bathroom task lighting though is the position of the lights. Get it wrong and you’ll see ugly shadows beneath your eyes when you look into the mirror – even if you don’t have any! To eliminate shadows, light needs to come from all directions and illuminate all the planes of your face equally; that is the theory behind those oh so glamorous movie star dressing room mirrors.

To eradicate deep etched shadows beneath your eyes (those cause by inadequate lighting, not those caused by a dubious lifestyle!) light must fall on your face from all directions.  To achieve this happy state of affairs you don’t need rows of dressing room lights surrounding your mirror, just site a wall light either side of the mirror, plus one more above the glass.  This grouping will be entirely adequate for a small to medium sized mirror.  If your mirror is very large, say, over 36 inches wide, you will need to add an overhead pendant light.

Having got the task lighting right, you can move onto setting the general light levels, as well as start thinking about simple mood lighting; both of which can be achieved with the same three wall lights.  By using separate switches for the various lights you will build in versatility.  Soaking in the bath?  Switch on the central wall light and use the dimmer switch to lower the light levels; putting on make-up for a night out on the town?  Those three wall lights around the mirror, up full, will ensure you don’t go out with lipstick on your teeth!

And, when its time for romance, just add candles.

If, like most people, your bathroom is simply a ‘pit-stop’ room at either end of your day, you’re missing a trick or two.  Simply by paying attention to the way you illuminate what is possibly the smallest room in your home can make an enormous difference to the way you feel about it.  Bathroom lighting is a sorely neglected art, which is such a shame because something as simple and undemanding as bathroom wall lights could change the way you start your day.[DFR::deb03d81-4e7f-e0b5-ba35-b5d1acfd05de-2687-af|align_right_1]

Wall mounted lights in your bathroom will not only provide soft mood lighting when required, when properly sited they will also ensure that the room is functional.  And after all, that is really what you need from a bathroom, isn’t it?

Before you even begin to think about style, cost and lighting effects, however, you really must have at least a basic grasp of the European Bathroom Lighting Regulations, which have been put in place to ensure your safety.  The regulations specify exactly where certain light fittings can safely be sited within the bathroom and all bathroom lighting is zone marked.

If, like the majority of us, you are the proud owner of a less-than spacious bathroom, you might find that wall lights – especially if they are linked to a dimmer switch outside the room – provide all the lighting you need.  Well chosen and sited lights will not only afford good general light levels they will also provide more than adequate task lighting.

Choosing halogen or LED lamps will ensure that the light ‘temperature’ is as close as possible to natural daylight, which will be a great help when shaving or applying make up.  However, the really important consideration is how you position these lights – you are aiming to do away with shadows, which, when they fall on your face will a) make you look dreadful and b) make daily grooming tasks more difficult.[DFR::5a471100-1aea-9f06-bd4c-113162469ae9-2687-af|align_right_1]

Light fittings around the mirror should cast light in four directions, that is, from above and below and from either side, in order to eliminate those pesky shadows.  Hollywood style mirrors had their basis in functionality!  To achieve this happy state of affairs in less than movie-star style, place one wall light above the mirror, and one either side at around eye level.  If your mirror is large, say 1 metre across or more, you will find that the side lights don’t provide adequate illumination. In this instance, an overhead light will fill in the gaps.

Having got the task lighting right, you can move onto setting the general light levels, as well as start thinking about simple mood lighting; both of which can be achieved with the same three wall lights.  By using separate switches for the various lights you will build in versatility.  Soaking in the bath?  Switch on the central wall light and use the dimmer switch to lower the light levels; putting on make-up for a night out on the town?  Those three wall lights around the mirror, up full, will ensure you don’t go out with lipstick on your teeth!

For real mood lighting, just add a few candles!

Despite the fact that the bathroom is where most of us start and end our day, most of us seem to pay little heed to the way we light it.  For most people, bathroom lighting is something of a postscript to the rest of our interior decorating schemes; in fact, bathroom wall lights may be so low-down on your list of priorities that they fail to register at all! Such lack of foresight and planning is a huge mistake!  Imagine how much better you would feel emerging to greet your world from a bright, cheerful and, above all, functionally lit room.  Is it over-egging the pudding to say that the correct bathroom lighting can be life-changing?  Well, yes, probably but there is no doubt that a few well chosen bathroom wall lights will brighten your day.[DFR::ba29ece6-7a4d-beda-1eed-98ac9d2efe8a-2687-af|align_left_1]

Why wall mounted bathroom lights?  Because they offer the combination of ambience and functionality that every bathroom needs – what use is a bathroom that isn’t functional?  But, by the same token, who wants to spend more time than necessary in a room that’s starkly lit?

Before rushing out and buying those fabulous bathroom lights, however, you need to check out the European Bathroom Lighting Regulations.  These regulations specify what type of electrical equipment can be used in various areas of the room – all electrical equipment, including lighting, designed for bathroom use must be zone marked.  Make sure you choose your light fittings correctly.

One of the beauties of wall lights is the fact that for most modern bathrooms, which are on the small side, they will be all you need for both general and task lighting.  Link them to a dimmer switch and you’ll have mood lighting too.[DFR::59f1199d-e72e-fb30-2dd7-1bd8d41bb86f-2687-af|align_right_1]

For task lighting in particular, the closer you can get to ‘daylight coloured’ light the better; both halogen lamps and LED lights will help in this respect. The real secret to good bathroom task lighting though is the position of the lights. Get it wrong and you’ll see ugly shadows beneath your eyes when you look into the mirror – even if you don’t have any! To eliminate shadows, light needs to come from all directions and illuminate all the planes of your face equally; that is the theory behind those oh so glamorous movie star dressing room mirrors.

To eradicate deep etched shadows beneath your eyes (those cause by inadequate lighting, not those caused by a dubious lifestyle!) light must fall on your face from all directions.  To achieve this happy state of affairs you don’t need rows of dressing room lights surrounding your mirror, just site a wall light either side of the mirror, plus one more above the glass.  This grouping will be entirely adequate for a small to medium sized mirror.  If your mirror is very large, say, over 36 inches wide, you will need to add an overhead pendant light.

So, that’s the task lighting sorted; now to sort out the ambience.  By switching your bathroom light fittings separately you will achieve a truly versatile system.  For shaving or applying make up, just switch on the wall lights both above and beside the mirror but, when languishing in the bath, forget those side lights and just turn on the wall light above the mirror.  If you have a dimmer switch, which will need to be located outside of the bathroom, you can have the lights down nice and low too.

And, when its time for romance, just add candles.