Yes, the frosting will decrease the light output. To compensate, you could over budget by 10% for incandescent lighting. On the other hand, using the Robern Candre CFL sconce as an example, the output from the 26W CFL is such that there might not be any need to compensate. There are other ways to address the issue - such as 1. Using a combination of sconces and overhead lighting located between the mirror and vanity front edge. 2. Using lighted mirrors. 3. More sconces.

Socalsister, I should begin with a caveat that I'm neither a lighting nor electrical expert, so these are just my opinions... ;) I'm not a real fan of chandeliers in bathrooms, but I know many people love them. If you could put one where the ceiling is higher than 8', there's less chance of it being in the way. (In a bathroom, people put their arms up in the air more than in a dining room, LOL!) Shadows are caused by light coming from one direction. Recessed lights will definitely help cut shadows. The only thing I'd be careful about is if you put them at the vanity, and since you have a deep room, whether it might not be bright enough a few feet away from the vanity. (Is your vanity on the 10' or 12' wall? Is your shower on the side opposite the vanity? If you could post a picture or sketch of the room layout, that might help.) Normally, I'd be inclined to put the recessed lights down the middle of the room, to illuminate where people walk. When you're at the vanity, you'd then have some light in front of you from the sconces and some light behind you from the recessed lights, resulting in far fewer shadows. Depending on the sconce and shade, you might also consider a few small recessed lights over the vanity as task lights illuminating the work surface of the vanity, and a few down the middle of the room for general lighting. If you think recessed lights will create big holes in the ceiling, remember that they don't have to be the full-size 6" wide ones; I used 4" in my bathroom, and they also make 3" ones. With a white baffle (assuming you have a white ceiling), I find they're very unobtrusive. In terms of wiring recessed lights, you certainly don't need attic access above to do it (although that does make it easier). The electrician might need to make a hole or two in the wall to get electrical wire from the vanity wall where your current fixture is into the ceiling (Or, if you prefer to add a separate switch for the recessed lights so you can control them separate from the sconces, to run a line from the wall with the switch up into the ceiling.) After that, it depends how your ceiling joists run; he may need to make a hole or two in the ceiling to drill through the joists to get the electric line to the right spot for the lights. I'm not sure why the slope of the ceiling would be a problem though; they do make light trims for sloped ceilings, or you could put in an eyeball to control the angle of the light. You might also consider using a difference sconce -- something with a white or fairly translucent glass shade which projects light evenly out into the room, rather than mostly or exclusively up and down as a sconce with an opaque shade will do. -- Eric

Strictly personal opinion - I'd prefer two-two bulb flush or drop down fixtures, perhaps each 2 feet out from the short walls. That way you can experiment with bulb size ( maybe 30-40-50 watt equivalents x 4) to adjust to the lighting level you want. Having two light sources that are separated will give better light (if this is a pantry with shelves). I'd myself also prefer something with a frosted lens to soften the light. A foyer type light in such a small room strikes me as tacky. But everyone has different taste.

It's more than 3' from the tub. Yes, my fixture has a dark shade. :) The rest of the bathroom is black. It'll work I think, just be a little more directional. (If it doesn't, moving on to Edison lights and steam punk.) I was wondering if CFLs run cooler such that you can use a 100w CFL bulb where a 60w incandescent is the max rating. I wasn't sure about that but had heard that with LED bulbs that are 60w, they've been tending to look quite a bit brighter according to some people on this forum. Might try those.