Light Up Your Bathroom With These Tips and Tricks

If you’re planning a major bathroom remodel, you might be thinking about changing and adding new elements to your design but not so much about updating the lighting. With other priorities such as choosing the right tiles, sinks and toilets, lighting isn’t often given much thought. But If you want to make the most out of your remodel, you need to install adequate lighting to your new bathroom.  

To understand how you can properly install lighting in your bathroom, our team at The Bathroom Store shares their insight:

How Much Lighting Do You Need?

When planning out your new bathroom, consider how much overhead you have for your lighting. Bathrooms are one of the places in your home that your family uses frequently, so you’ll also want the ability to create an atmosphere that evokes feelings of relaxation and tranquility.

Having the flexibility to adjust the lighting is also important, so consider adding dimmers like how you would throughout your home. Don’t forget to consider whether warm or cold lighting is better for your bathroom remodel; you can choose based on the Color Rendering Index (CRI), but bathrooms may sometimes require brighter white light for better visibility and a cleaner feel.

Do LED Lights Work in Bathrooms?

LEDs are minimal in appearance which go well with clean and modern bathroom remodel designs. They’re also convenient and energy-efficient, which means you don’t have to replace the bulbs for years. In fact, today’s LEDs have more wattage and you can get them in warmer tones, which means it won’t stand out when combining them with incandescent bulbs.

Shower Lighting

If you’re not a fan of showering in the near-dark, then there are a number of bright and open shower trim lighting options available. Consider using lights that can be dimmed down to the desired level. You can also use gasketed glass or acrylic surface-type fixtures that are wet-rated for shower use.

If you have a shower that’s measured 3×3 or 3×4 feet, one fixture should suffice. But any larger than that means you’ll need more lighting for your remodel. Make sure to use wet-rated lighting for places that get direct moisture and damp-rated lighting for areas that get indirect moisture. For safety reasons, never place lighting directly over where you stand in the shower.

Ceiling and Vanity Lighting

Depending on the design of your bath renovation, you can add flush mount ceiling lighting for the main bathroom area and recessed lighting overhead for general illumination. Your vanity area should also be illuminated with the right bathroom task lighting, which can either be a bathroom vanity fixture above the mirror or installed as bathroom sconces on either side. You’ll also need adequate lighting for vanity cabinets, such as under-cabinet strips and lighting that’s integrated into the bathroom vanity mirror to give a clean and space-saving look.

Bathtub Lighting

Building codes are usually very strict about installing lighting over bathtubs. There can be no open or hanging fixtures within eight feet above the tub or three feet in front of it. Most bathroom ceilings aren’t more than 8 feet tall, so having open or hanging lights above tubs isn’t really an option. However, you can still use lensed damp or wet-rated downlights for your new bathroom, or you can use spotlights placed at a distance from your bathtub. 

There’s probably no need for a dedicated lighting fixture for your bathtub if you think the ambient light levels are high enough, but a good tip is placing your tub under a feature window or a skylight to make good use of daylighting.

Recessed Lighting

If you’re planning to add recessed lighting, then you’ll want that in 2” to 3.5” trim size with 700-1200 Lumens per light at a 2700-3000K color temperature. We recommend installing a narrow or spot beam with 2’ to 3’ of space between each light. You might consider adding a bunch of extra can lights into the ceiling to make sure the bathroom is bright enough, but this isn’t really necessary, as you’ll only end up with a ceiling that’s too bright. Ample lighting is important, so install dimmers during your bath renovation.

Night Lights

Bathrooms are sometimes used in the middle of the night, so it’s critical to provide at least some lighting for easier wayfinding. Since by this time your eyes would still be adjusted to the darkness or you’ve just woken up from a sound sleep, only a handful of foot-candles are needed as well as a 5-watt nightlight. Installing this means there’s no need to flip on bright overhead lights that will be blinding and disruptive.

It’s also a good idea to install a low-wattage light source that can either be on all night or responds to motion. You can purchase plug-in motion-sensor nightlights, get exhaust fans or lights that have this type of feature, or have some step lights wired in the wall during your bathroom and shower installation.

If you want something more on the high-end side, some hotels feature LED tape lighting under a vanity or a countertop edge. You can have your hired bathroom remodeler install an electrical outlet near your vanity to plug in one of these lights. Some manufacturers have also started offering LED lighting in the toilet seat so it’s easier to spot in the middle of the night.

Lighting for Your Water Closet

You can easily have a fan/light combination installed, but if you want more lighting, then you can add a recessed can lighting right in front of the water closet. This would usually be on a dimmer so it won’t be too bright. You can also consider installing frosted doors or a transom window to have more natural light while still having privacy.

Hanging Lights

If you’re considering adding hanging lighting fixtures in your new bathroom, never have them pointing directly down on your head as it will be harsh and unappealing. You’ll find it better if your ceiling light is positioned over the walkway area so that you’re lit from behind rather than directly in front of the vanity. You might be thinking about installing clear bulbs with filaments since they’re trending, but they usually cast a shadow on everything. We suggest going for light bulbs that are frosted or opaque.

With our team of experts at The Bathroom Store, you can be sure your bathroom or shower installation project is completed professionally and efficiently. Talk to us today by calling (701) 248-7420, or you can conveniently reach us online.