How to Light Up Your Bathroom with Perfection

The bathroom is a busy place! It’s likely the main spot where you get ready to face the day. Your bathroom mirror is definitely a big help when you’re getting ready each morning and each night, but bathroom lighting plays a huge role too. Depending on what your space looks like, your lighting setup might require a bit of consideration, and we’re here to help! It’s easy to create a lighting arrangement that speaks to your design perspective. Take a look through these bathroom lighting ideas and get ready to enjoy a highly functional, suitably stylish bathroom!

Think Old Hollywood Glam

What do you think of when you recall old Hollywood glamour? Do you imagine a starlet like Rita Hayworth sitting at a vanity table in front of a light bulb-lined mirror? This classic dressing room vision is actually one great way to approach your bathroom lighting design! Lining your mirror’s perimeter with lights lets you evoke timeless style while also providing plenty of illumination for makeup application and more. Even if you don’t want to go for the full vanity mirror light bulb arrangement, centering some lighting around the mirror lets light shine gently onto your face so you're ready for your close-up.

Select Bathroom-Specific Lighting

As you shop for bathroom light fixtures, remember that different light designs can serve different purposes. Some lamps, chandeliers, pendants, sconces and flushmounts might not be designed to withstand the moisture and temperature changes that bathrooms experience. If you aren’t shopping specifically for bathroom light fixtures, think about choosing materials like glass and steel, which won’t rust, wrinkle or crack when exposed to years of steam.

Use Your Walls

Overhead lighting is so helpful in just about every room of the house, but you may want to shift your attention to the walls for just a moment in the bathroom. Some bathrooms work best with wall sconces used alone or in concert with a ceiling flushmount. Because bathrooms experience lots of moisture condensation, ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling might get a little too wet in a smaller space. However, your bathroom light fixtures can still be exciting! Love the look of a chandelier? Take it to the wall with compact crystal styles or faceted lantern-style flushmounts and sconces to create a glamorously glittering effect in your bathroom. If you use sconces alone without any overhead assistance, you may want to mount them higher on the wall so light gets distributed more evenly.

Mix and Match Metals

What metal finish do your bathroom fixtures use? If your faucets, shower head, towel bars and hooks all have a chrome-plated finish, think about choosing light fixtures with a similar silvery to keep things cohesive. If you’re in the mood to match, it can help to bring a piece of your hardware along while you’re shopping to see what the metals look like together. If your shower fixtures are chrome but you want to use gold- or brass-toned bathroom lighting, go for it! Mixing metallic finishes is a fun option that can add so much sparkle to the space.

Go for Contrast

Bathrooms are unique rooms that can stand apart from the rest of a home’s design and decor scheme, sort of like a little wonderland full of surprises. If you want to mix things up in your bathroom, consider choosing bathroom light fixtures that appeal to your taste, even if you don’t plan on using them elsewhere in your home. For example, if your general decor scheme throughout the house focuses on a subtly elegant nautical theme with traditional lines, maybe you want to embrace an industrial look for your bathroom with lights that have dark metallic detailing and visible rivets.

Consider Your Bulbs

Frosted glass shades are a popular option for bathroom lighting, but you’re more than welcome to opt for clear glass that leaves light bulbs exposed. When you expose your bulbs, you give yourself the opportunity to use those elements themselves as decor. When paired with a diffused overhead light, swirly Edison-style light bulbs shining out through clear glass shades add an extra dimension to your bathroom decor. Most of these decorative bulbs give off a warm glow that’s just right for some cozy mood lighting while you unwind and enjoy a good soak in your newly illuminated bathroom.