Any room can be lit with three to four basic styles of lighting even the bathroom. These styles are task lighting, general lighting, accent lighting and decorative or sparkle lighting. To have a good bathroom lighting plan you should combine at least the first three types and sometimes use all four styles. Task lighting is very important in the bathroom around the mirrors. This can help with applying makeup, shaving, dressing a wound or performing a manicure.

Making Improvements

When it comes to bathroom lighting you want to have good task lighting installed either above the vanity mirror or near the sink, but the best is on both sides of the mirror. Placement of these lights is critically important for good bathroom task lighting. When choosing bulbs to use for this type of bathroom lighting you should use incandescent or halogen lights since they allow you to control the brightness level with a dimmer.

Make sure the lights around the vanity provide plenty of light. Over lighting is the simplest way to make sure you have enough light and then have dimmers to control the amount of light anyone needs at a given moment. It may also be good to use neodymium light bulbs around the vanity fixtures since they closely simulate sunlight.

Don’t use recessed down lights around a vanity mirror for bathroom lighting. The light from these fixtures will cause too many shadows to be case on your face. Although you can use this option in other parts of the room for general bathroom lighting, but it is not best for task lighting at the mirror.

If task lighting is very important then consider adding a small lit concave mirror near the main vanity mirror. This is good for those who spend a lot of time applying makeup since it will magnify what you see in the mirror and give you additional light to apply makeup or shave.

One of the most overlooked bathroom lighting area is the shower, tub or Jacuzzi. You should illuminate these areas with one or two recessed down lights that has a special shower trim. You can remodel a bathroom for the purpose of doing this type of bathroom lighting if you bathroom is already finished. Make sure you have a shower trim, a glass diffuser and a special gasket when installing lights in these areas. Using a domed glass diffuser on this lights is advisable since the shape will give you the most uniform light distribution. Just keep in mind that without light you have no color, form or texture in your bathroom.