Choosing the Best Lighting for Your Bathroom

While having adequate lighting is important for any room in your home, you bathroom is one of the most important rooms to have properly lit. It can be difficult to find a good balance between having too little lighting to see what you are doing and having so much lighting that your bathroom seems harsh or glaring. You also need to consider the different tasks that you do in your bathroom such as brushing your teeth, applying makeup, showering or a variety of other things and provide adequate lighting for each task. Here are some tips for how to go about choosing the best lighting for your bathroom.

First, sit down and write out a list of all the things that you do in your bathroom that require lighting. Also take a look at the current lighting in your bathroom and try to decide where it falls short. This will help you gauge where you may need to add additional lighting or remove lighting if it is too harsh. For instance, if you apply your makeup in the bathroom you may need brighter lighting above the sink so you can see what you are doing.

Most bathrooms have both a central lighting fixture that provides ambient lighting for the room and a lighting fixture above the sink or the vanity to provide task lighting. If you have a large bathroom or you want more scattered lighting than just one central source you may want to consider installing recessed lighting. You can drill large holes through your ceiling and wire in recessed lighting to provide light all around the room. One of the great things about going this route is that it provides adequate lighting without needing to have it overly bright in the bathroom, so it can help to eliminate the harsh or "too bright" feeling.

You may also want to consider installing a dimmer switch on your bathroom lights so you can lower the light level when you are relaxing in the bathtub.

For over your vanity you should choose a light fixture that you love and that provides enough light. If you only brush your teeth in the bathroom you will need less light than if you do things like shave or put on makeup, so choose a fixture that provides light that is suited to your particular needs. You can either light the whole distance of the vanity or install a fixture just above the sink, depending upon the style of your bathroom and your preferences. Today's bathroom light fixtures come in a wide variety of styles, shapes and colors so be sure to choose one that fits the other decor in the room.

If you need help installing your bathroom lighting or are not 100% confident in your abilities to do it on your own you should always hire an electrician to do it for you. Working with electricity is dangerous and you need to make sure that you always follow proper safety procedures.