It's the light source. The shade of the fixture should be at the center of your face. Make sure it's not too high or it will create shadows on your face and it's not very becoming.

So, when there will be 2 people using this bathroom (my husband and me), we should go somewhere between what works for me and what works for him?? I'm 5'6" and he's 6'.

I am 5'7 and DH is 5'11 the bottom of the bulb in my new sconces areat 66" from the floor in our master. In my 1920s hall bath the orginal sconces are lower with the bottom of the bulb centered at 61". Both work fine for me to be honest. It is now standard to place higher, people are taller but do not worry to much.

With a shaded light like this I think you have a little leeway to go partway between you and your husband although I would tend toward your height.

If it were glass shades or open bulbs there would be less light diffusion.

The shade on this fixture is glass (opal etched glass, according to the description). Our contractor/designer is leaning toward placing them higher. I've also looked at the numerous Houzz pics I've saved while planning this bathroom and see sconces at lots of different heights. There are just way too many decisions to make when remodeling a bathroom!!

You know I have been looking at both bathroom sconce placements and to be honest I prefer the placement of my lower ones.

66" center bulb

Vs. 61

roarah, it looks like each pair of sconces are placed appropriately for each setting. In the first bathroom (which is quite similar to what's in the plans for our bathroom), what is 1)the width of the vanity, 2) the size of the mirror and 3) the spacing between the 2 sconces? Thanks!

My dresser is only 46". The mirror glass is 19x26" but the brackets make the mirror frame 22" wide. There are 32 inches between the center of each sconce.

Thank you for the info. Our vanity is 54" wide. We are planning to place the sconces with 36" between the center of each one. Just have to figure out the height.

For reference the space between the wardrobes is 55 inches to accomadate a more standard sized real vanity if need be in the future... I hope not to have to move the lighting boxes at that time...

Well, we settled on mounting the center of the fixture (the round part that mounts to the wall over the electrical box) at 63", which then puts the very top of the fixture at 70" and the center of the light source at around 67". I sure hope I made the right decision. The contractor/designer's suggestion was 5" taller than the 63". That just seemed too high for me. The electrician has set the electrical boxes and the piping for the wiring, but I'm still second guessing myself. Yikes!!!

I think it will be perfect! I think remolding details are a bit like wedding planning. We obsess over every silly and minute detail but in the end no one notices what was not done only how beautiful the whole shebang is.

Thank you, roarah, for the very encouraging words. Just what I needed!!

Hi Bac --

Just another vote of confidence; given your heights I think that's a great spot.

Given free reign I notice a lot of contractors will hang sconces much higher than discussed above.

For your heights, this looks as though it should work. If still doubtful, and if you have electricity wired somewhere close enough, have someone hold a lamp at your chosen height. You can thus get at least an indication that you are on the right track.