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Home Decorating Design Dilemma Bathrooms

Need advice on mirrors/lighting and paint color for bath reno

6 years ago

My husband and I have selected grayish faux wood porcelain for the flooring, large white tile for the shower wall with a stone and glass accent wall and a geometric porcelain shower floor (see bottom photo). We’ve also picked out a white 60” double sink vanity with a black granite countertop (see top photo). Our master bath doesn’t have any windows so we’re leaning more towards overhead lighting vs sconces. The bathroom is a bit on the smaller side so we want it to be light and bright. Any suggestions, including photos, would be greatly appreciated!

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Comment (1)

mindshift
6 years ago
There is no reason you cannot have both overhead and vanity lighting. The vanity lighting is best coming from either side so there are no shadows on your face. You don't need a lot of light so dimmable fixtures may be preferable. When I bought the oversink multiple bulb fixture in the 80s, I quickly found even the 40-watt bulbs to be too bright. The photo below shows both overhead can-lights and side lights for the makeup area in the center.
21st Century Bungalow · More Info

If your shower/bath is open so the overhead light can get to every part then any central overhead light fixture will work. If the shower/bath areas are more enclosed then can-lights might work better. It's not that you need a lot of light when bathing, but you do need light when cleaning. Make sure any single overhead light is located where it will reach every corner of the room. Below is a small bath where the entire ceiling emits light. Likely, a regular overhead fixture would work as well.
Contemporary · More Info
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Thanks Lotteryticket. I was thinking the same thing re the height of the wall tile, I will likely go a bit lower, probably to the bottom of the mirror. My other concern (besides it being too busy) about using the subway tile on the shower walls is that it is a light brown colour (called chocolate) and it might make the bathroom too dark, that is why I was thinking the lighter, larger format tiles on the shower walls. Maybe if I'm not going too high up the walls though I won't mind using it in the shower. I could paint a lighter colour above the tiles on the walls. My contractor (who I've worked with before and trust) is advising I use a shower pan because I don't want the smaller format tiles on the floor of the shower.
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When was the house itself built? The interior design aspects are on point with the mid 1980s but the architecture is earlier mid century. I can't really picture someone building a house in that style and decorating aspects of it in late Modernism/post Modernism at the same time. I can picture someone updating a 1960-odd house this way.
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Kudos for putting a plan together ahead of time. I’m always shocked when someone posts “painters coming tomorrow and I need a paint color”! Paint should be easy to pick, since it’s the last thing you do. It’s. Or always easy to pick before everything is in the room, though. Lighting and interaction between tile walls and tile floors, etc. can’t always be predicted. You should be able to see how the tile and countertop look against the paint sample, though. I’d get a sample pot so you can paint a large sample on a board (foam or drywall). Paint looks different the bigger it gets.
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