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Lighting Design Dilemma Bathrooms

Need help with lighting and fan layout for bathrooms

last year

Please help with lighting layout for our 3 renovated bathrooms.

They are all pretty small so I don't want to go overboard

but also don't want to miss an opportunity to add lights to make them more interesting.

They all need vanity lights- ideally sconces over bar but that depends on space.

And they need vent fans*.

Should we do light/fan combination?

Or a separate fan and a pretty light?

Or light/fan over showers and a pretty light more central?

*on a timer? humidity sensing? suggestions?

Obviously I am overthinking this! Please help!

Kate

Featured Answer

artemis78

last year

Both our existing and new bathroom are similar to your bathroom 3--rectangles with all the fixtures in the main space. We are using the same lighting for the new one as for the current, since we are happy with it. For that, we have a fan/light combo centered in the space, and then two sconces on either side of the medicine cabinet. In the new bathroom, we're using a humidity sensor switch, because our state's current code requires either that or a sensor in the fan itself. (The fan sensors are supposed to work better, but don't allow for manually turning the fan on and off, and we wanted to be able to do that.) In our current bathroom the fan is on a timer (but my kids constantly forget to turn it on, so that's high on my list to change out based on how we like the sensor switch in the new bathroom). Our sconces are on vacancy sensor switches (also required by our state code) and both are switched at the vanity rather than at the wall with the ceiling light. I had actually forgotten until I read through an old thread I posted here that this was not our preferred configuration when we updated the electrical in the existing bath 8 years ago--but as it turns out, we really like that setup so replicated it in the new bath.

In your Bathrooms 1 and 2, though, it looks like you have walls separating the toilet room and the shower. Assuming those are full walls, you would want lighting for those areas separately from the main room. There, I'd probably use a fan in the shower area, and then light the toilet and sink areas separately.

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Comments (6)

houssaon
last year
I prefer sconces on either side of a medicine cabinet. I would put the exhaust near the shower. Light in the shower, in the water closet and close to the center of the room. The exhaust can be a light combination. Use LED at about 2700k.
k8cd thanked houssaon
kandrewspa
last year
@houssaon has good suggestions. I will just add to have all of the lights on separate switches (if you're able to), and on dimmers. This gives the greatest flexibility. If you're not in the shower you don't need to have the light on over the shower and if you're not in the water closet you don't need to have that light on, etc. The switches don't necessarily all need to be in a row in the same location. The one for the water closet could be on the wall right outside or inside the room for example.
k8cd thanked kandrewspa
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k8cd
Original Author
last year
artemis78 Thanks for the information about the humidity switch being the only way to override the humidity sensor. That saves me some time trying to hunt down a fan with a sensor that can be overridden! And I think our bathrooms are small enough that the switch would detect the humidity.
acm
last year
Yeah, Bath #3 can use one overhead light/fan (controls are separable) near the shower and bath, and then vanity lights on a separate switch. In #2, you'll need a waterproof light in the shower, a light in the toilet area, and probably a fan in the middle of the room, all separate from the vanity light. In #1, you really have a tiny space near the vanity, but I think I'd put a fan/light there in addition to a light in the toilet room. (Probably not one in the shower if it has a glass door.) And vanity lights. Lots of lights in a bathroom, and walls dividing things up definitely mean more lights are needed! Some ceiling fans have a room light, a nightlight, and a bluetooth speaker, so that might make you feel like you were getting something extra in a master!
k8cd thanked acm
k8cd
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone! I definitely want separate switches and dimmers!

In the primary, the wall that the shower door is on is a half wall topped with glass. And so are the walls in Bathroom 2. It sounds like for 2 & 3 vanity and fan/light combo would be enough.

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