Sorry for the delay in responding, we were gone all day and got home too late. Maybe you've already put up the fixture, since you posted at noon (EST at any rate) and your reno is all done! If that's the case, then more pics in your "5 day reno" thread, pretty please! I like that the light faces down in our bath. For a variety of reasons we decided to keep the fixture (and electrical box) above the mirror. There are two recessed lights over the shower and no window at all. To be able to see yourself with any (too much?) detail in the mirror, the light had to be pointed down. Better to have unflattering light than not enough light. You do have a window over your tub (and a separate shower so no curtain blocking the window light). Your old mirror did have side sconces, which I've read is far preferred to top lighting, but now you're putting in only one light above the mirror?? Two nice new side sconces would be better but if you can't do those for some reason (since you obviously already bought one for the top), then up or down is the question. I'm sure one who understands limitations in options :/ . If one or two of your recessed lights is over the vanity (light shining between the person and the mirror), I would think you could install pointing up. But, from your pics, it looks like one light over the tub, one over the toilet, and one over the shower (lucky you with that separate shower!), and the vanity corner looks dark in the pic but maybe it's ok IRL. If you stand there with the recessed lights on and can't see well enough for someone to be able to put on makeup or shave, then it probably needs to be pointed down. I was careful to buy a light that said it could be mounted up or down and that was ok for damp locations. Hopefully your light has the same qualities! Good luck and HTH

Thanks lori_inthenw for your kind words. No, I don't have any formal design training - just lots and lots of generous help from the forum and from the tile shop and cabinet maker (if you are in the SF Bay Area - PM me for the contact info). The designers really helped quite a bit and were patient with all my questions. :) We are super happy with the remodel and indeed, we had a "first world" budget so I can't complain and you are right - all those details fade quickly. Still lots more to do but we will get there! :) This post was edited by laurat88 on Sun, Jul 14, 13 at 20:01

Ha, Stinky! My DH is..."slow to change". He does the exact same thing in the exact same order every morning and gets all out of sorts when he is forced to make accommodations. I've only been married 4 years, but I've learned it is much easier to change the environment than try to force change by direction. He just digs in his heels. Example: about 6 months ago I wanted to hire housekeeper. DH said it was unnecessary. I dropped the idea for a few months. I then started talking about how the dog got lonely during the day when we are at work and how nice it would be if someone would come keep her company. And now, we have a housekeeper who walks the dog..! I don't think I'm being sneaky or devious, but now we are both happy. Sometimes a different approach is needed. He may say the same things about me. But anyway, that's a long explanation of why simply telling DH that he is making a mess by wadding up the towels on the bars won't work. So having hooks may be my way around it. Back to topic, though, I was thinking of something like these from RH? Do they look like the towel would stay on well?

One Devoted Dame......I don’t see that whether or not mixing metals was done historically has any bearing on whether the ops home will look cohesive (or dated) if she chooses to tastefully mix things up a bit. I understand that a lot of folks feel that way, but I can't reconcile the generally accepted notion (here on the forums, anyway), that "timeless = architecturally appropriate" with "today, people mix metals all the time, it's no big deal." Generally speaking, we look back to architectural styles/norms throughout history, to determine if something is trendy or appropriate for any given house. History can give us important clues. If cohesiveness is important to someone, then yes, mixing metals certainly can be problematic. It doesn't *have* to be, but the likelihood is higher. If being "dated" is a concern to someone, then yes, ensuring that the home respectfully nods to historic precedent should be a priority. In the OP's examples above, of the faucet and pulls, I think the *lines* of each piece are similar, but the finishes are too different (on my screen, the pulls look matte-black rustic; the faucet looks shiny-polished silver) to look "cohesive." Whether they look "good" together is a different question, in my opinion.