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lights over make up vanity

13 years ago

Make up vanity. I am going to have a counter about 32" t by 40 " w in a corner of my bathroom. I want to buy an inexpensive mirror to put on the wall where the makeup vanity will be. The mirror can be approximately any size I want. Then I also bought a 1 piece unit with 2 lights in it to go over the top of the mirror. The wall there is only 7' tall. Can I have the light mounted a couple feet down the wall or will this look bad? How tall of a mirror would you buy & where would you put the light fixture, how far above the mirror? DH said I have to have my wiring done before the drywall goes in so I need to decide where... Good thing I am not building a house with all of those decisions...I would go crazy. Just gutting the master bath & redoing that room is driving me crazy...LOL Thanks, Terri

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Comments (6)

alku05
13 years ago
Are you locked in to over the mirror lighting? Side lighting is much better for makeup application, so if you can fit them in, you'd probably be much happier with sconces of some type.
sunshinetm
Original Author
13 years ago
No, I could actually take those lights back & get something different. Sugestions? Terri
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Thank you so much Stacey, you always seem to find exactly the type of thing I am looking for. Lots of great idea's there that I can use. I have already spent way over what I originally had planned & DH is laughing saying the only part left is the make up area to buy & all the sudden I want to save money. LOL I really haven't been buying the best of anything, except maybe the panasonic whisper fan, but it adds up fast as I am sure you already know. Bathroom is a total gutted mess but starting Monday it should be getting put back together. Keep your fingers crossed everything goes as planned. Ended up having to hire a plumber & contractor is doing most of the rest of the work. Terri
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Stacey Collins
13 years ago
Terri, I'd get side sconces. Mount them to either side of the mirror. Why don't you try sitting down in a chair there, and have your DH hold a plugged-in lamp in the approximate location. Move it up and down to see how the light hits your face. Remember that you're lighting just one side in this little experiment: in real life you'll be lighting both sides for even, flattering light.But you'll be able to see how high to mount the lights. too high, and you'll get unflattering downshadows on your face.
ideagirl2
13 years ago
Third vote for side sconces. Much more flattering, which is nice because who wants to see a ghoul when looking in the mirror, and also the lighting is more thorough and even so you can see your makeup better and thus not overdo or underdo it.

Also, 32" seems too deep. It's too far to sit from the mirror. Even 24" is too far and I can tell you that because I'm sitting at a 24" desk right now and I just tested the concept by setting a hand mirror I happen to have up at face height against the wall behind my desk... and it is definitely too far away for me to put on makeup well. If I had a vanity that size I would lean well forward to put my makeup on, which gets hard on your back after a while. But you do need to have the mirror against that back wall or at most a couple of inches from it, because it should be a couple of inches behind the lights, or at most level with the lights, in order to get the best lighting.

The other possible issue is that in a vanity that deep, either things will get lost at the backs of drawers or the person sitting at it will have to pull the drawers out to their full lengths (so, counting the part of the drawer that remains inside the vanity, they would be sticking out a good 20" when extended to find stuff in the back).

It really only needs to be deep enough to sit at comfortably. That probably means roughly 4" to 7" deeper than the length of the thigh of the person who will be sitting there, to leave enough room for her feet and some freedom of movement. (I mean the length of the thigh as measured from the front of her hip when she's sitting down.) You could mock it up to get a better idea, or perhaps go to some stores (furniture stores, antique stores--there are lots of antique vanities around) with a measuring tape to see what feels most comfortable for her.

Oh wait. I just re-read your post and saw you wrote 32" t. As in tall. Not deep. Ok... so nevermind! :-)
sunshinetm
Original Author
13 years ago
I will exchange the lights & go with side sconces instead. LOL yes Tall not deep!!! Thanks for the tips & I will be sure & not have a top that is to deep. I think DH will be making a simlple sort of vanity for me for now. It will not have drawers like I would like but I will probably use decorative baskets on shelves for now to hide the clutter. Keep the tips coming. Terri
jjaazzy
13 years ago
Just a note, I have not finished my space yet so things might change but I think I put my side lights too high. I should have dropped them down a bit but I thought they looked better where they are I suspect that when I actually get a vanity and counter top the light will get bounced back up to my face but right now it's not perfect.

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