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Will anyone recommend wall sconces that let off good light?

14 years ago

I love the look of wall sconces at my bathroom vanity rather than a fixture over the mirror. My electrician strongly recommended that I not do this since he thought it would not give enough light.

How much light do you think I need? This is a 10 foot long vanity with a tall cabinet in the center and 2 sinks. Each sink base is approximately 4 feet.

I've scoured sconces online, and the most I can find for bulb wattage is 60W per sconce. Will this be enough light if I have one on each side of the mirror for each sink?

My style is casual contemporary and my faucets will be nickel if anyone wants to send any suggestions my way. :)

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Comments (8)

jlyn
14 years ago
I'm hoping to do my own master bath renovation soon, and am also looking at sconces. I'm going to put a simple, contemporary, streamlined soffit above with good downlighting (something that just visually 'disappears'), and then put the sconces adjacent to the mirrors as you described. These will be switched separately from the overhead lighting. It adds some cost, but lets you have the soft glow of the sconces and maybe a beautiful fixture over the tub when you want mainly ambiance, but gives great lighting from above and for makeup when you need it. The deal with sconces is they aren't really meant to give high levels of light and just don't look good if they do, but the supplemental side lighting is great. Do a google image search for Candice Olson's bathroom designs - I think she does a great job of this (though she tends to use recessed cans at the ceiling)...you can purchase her sconces as well if you happen to like them.

Have fun with this. I know I'm going to when we finally get started!

Here is a link that might be useful: my design blog
shelly_k
Original Author
14 years ago
jlyn -- good info! Thanks! I

I do have recessed cans in my master bath, just behind the vanity for additional light, so I am hoping that sconces will give good light for makeup with the cans on. I will check out Candace's bathrooms -- I love her designs!
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Instead of trying to find a light that will fit a square peg in a round hole, why not just have the electrician come out and lower the boxes. When the light comes at you, it's much more flattering than from above you. I joke all the time that I'm bald in the closet (overhead light only) but gorgeous at the vanity. LOL If you get the right sconces and placement, I'd bet you won't even turn on those overhead cans except to clean. Good luck!
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kentisland
14 years ago
I'm also at the beginning stage of looking for sconces. I've found several online that I'm considering that take higher watts. Not sure if these are your style, but it's a start and indicates there are some with higher watts:
Quoizel "Downtown" 100 watt
hinkley 4650BN 100 watt
Signature Hardware "Metro" sconce 75 watt
jlyn
14 years ago
Shelly - did you decide to use sconces? and did you find some that suit the purpose? Would love to see photos when you're done!
sabigabatini
14 years ago
I wanted the same thing - wall sconces in the bathroom but lots of light. I also have 2 hi hats recessed in the bathroom ceiling (I like a lot of light). Here are the sconces I chose - each one takes two 60W bulbs, so you have 120W on each side... that plus a dimmer gives me have the choice of lots of bright light, in-between, or less. Perfect! (Plus, you can always decide to use bulbs with less wattage if you prefer).

http://www.brandlighting.com/wac_bath.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: W.A.C. bathroom sconces
pajamanyc
14 years ago
I'm struggling with the same question. Our bathroom is tiny, but lighting is so important. Not sure how much wattage will be needed, but I am considering the "Cade" sconce at Restoration Hardware which uses 2 30-watt halogen bulbs. One on each side would give us 120 watts for the room, which should be plenty.

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_collections_gallery.jsp?navAction=jump&navCount=1&categoryId=cat160147
sabigabatini
14 years ago
Re Restoration Hardware sconces... I was going to get some of them too, but my contractor told me that he's installed lots of them and they are quite dim. Not sure if that's a result of their casings or what, but I decided against them. YMMV.
novacat_2010
14 years ago
I read somewhere on the web that for ever 18" of mirror you need 50 watts. I dont know if this is a general rule of thumb or what, but i hope this helps.

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