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Lighting Design Dilemma Bathrooms

bathroom lighting

last year

Hi all, we are picking all the finishes for our bathroom and our last decision is lighting layout and style. Attached you can see our base palate:
Floors: 3” grey hex tile
Vanity: 72” with two sinks, blue body with white top
Vanity hardware: brass (not polished)
Sink/Shower fixtures: oil rubbed bronze
Shower tile: grey/hint of blue 4x12

This will be our two girls bathroom, but not styling for them just making sure it functions for them.

We are considering 3 separate lights like in the attached picture with round mirrors, our questions are:

is this a good layout
what height should they be (8’ ceilings)
should we do white glass like pictured or clear glass

Note: we have canned light (3 in the room too)

Featured Answer

PRO

Sabrina Alfin Interiors

last year

Not a big fan of Edison bulbs in bathrooms. They throw too many shadows. Something clean and simple, like these, perhaps:

Livex Lighting 1-Light ADA Wall Sconce, Satin Brass · More Info

Mitzi Renee 1-Light Wall Sconce E26 Medium Base Opal Glossy, Aged Brass/Black · More Info

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Comments (13)

Lyn Nielson
last year
regardless of the ceiling height, sconce lights should be 66" off the floor.

I would choose the white globe over clear, I don't like looking into a bare bulb on any fixture.

Looks like a nice room for your girls.
wdccruise
last year
"We are considering 3 separate lights like in the attached picture with round mirrors..."

The sconce and mirror questions cannot be answered until you have selected the vanity and know the locations of the center lines of the sinks and the sink widths. Only then will it be possible to determine the mirrors' dimensions and whether you can use two mirrors with three sconces.
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What you have is one cable bringing in power and the other cable goes to the switch (a switch loop). By wiring the black from the switch to the black from the power (and the same for the whites), you created a dead short from hot to neutral when you turned the switch ON. This was NOT the the way you originally found it. You probably welded the contacts in the switch together when you turned it on, necessitating its replacement. Turn off the bathroom breaker to be able to reset the main. The way it should be wired, for both lights and the fan to be operated by the switch is: Black from the power cable connected to the white from the switch leg. Black from the switch leg connected to the blacks from the lights and fan. Whites from the lights and fan connected to the white from the power cable. All green and bare copper ground wires connected to each other.
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Comments (3)
iI have overhead lights above the sink but also have a lamp sitting on my vanity. Those are the only two lights I have in my bathroom. The lamp can be any height you want....mine is like a buffet lamp...tall and slim.
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Comments (14)
I like both of the leds that ci-lantro posted. We have one horizontal one over a 24" vanity in the standard 5' x 7' guest bathroom, with 10' ceilings, and it lights up the room more than adequately. Yes, there are additional high hats over the tub/shower, but unless someone is using the tub/shower, those lights are never turned on. Edit: PS - I love that tile and yes, fixtures should have square edges, not round.
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Comments (13)
Well, I am trying to make similar decisions on this myself. I too had come across that it is better to have sink lighting from the side rather than above but have found the layout to be challenging and busy. So, I checked houses for sale with 2500 - 3500 square feet and none of them had side sconces around their mirrors. And only one or two had frames around their bathroom mirrors. Most of them had one large mirror across the sink area with lights over it. A bathroom can be a busy area, so from a minimalist standpoint, no frame. Now a mirror in the Livingroom really needs a frame.
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Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
wdccruise - that vanity is this:

Bertch 72" Vanity 6 Drawer (Double Butt Doors V72DT )

There are two sinks center line is 17.75 from the left and right (i.e. centered)
Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
Sabrina Alfin Interiors - yeah we were thinking we would want something where you can't see the bulb (i.e. white milk glass) - we were thinking about this one:

https://www.potterybarn.com/products/jordan-globe-milk-single-sconce/?cm_src=WSIShopRVI&recstrat=RVI%7CRVI

What do you think?
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last year
It's fine but perhaps a little boring. I like the two-tone finish on the one I posted above. A little more interesting, IMO.
Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
Do you think that will go with the Oil Rubbed Bronze faucet that we picked out? So we will have blue vanity, with brass hardware and these faucets and I wonder if the black on that adds tey another color. I do like it it's just the black that had me question it.

Metris C 1.2 GPM Widespread Bathroom Faucet - Drain Assembly Included
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last year
last modified: last year
Ah! Sorry! I was going by your first photo which was showing brass hardware. I actually think a satin or aged brass would look nicer against the blue cabinets.
Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
Agreed. It's going to be a more aged brass like you said, not bright and then match that with oil rubbed bronze faucets and shower fixtures that show some of the gold through as well.
PRO
Lightsmith Inc.
last year
Be aware that current LED sconces put out very little light. The bathroom should have recessed lights in addition that are on a separate circuit. A third circuit for the shower light and fan. By code you need a dedicated circuit for the wall outlets in the bathroom.
wdccruise
last year
last modified: last year
Width of vanity: 72"
- Can you use three sconces? 18.75" x 4 = 71". Yes.
Assume sconces are 7" wide; the left- and right-hand edges of two sconces are aligned with the respective ends of the vanity; and the sconces are 1" from the edges of the mirrors.
- Maximum mirror width: ( 72" - ( 7" x 3 ) - ( 1" x 4 ) ) / 2 = ( 72" - 21" - 4" ) / 2 = 47 / 2 = 23.5"
Are 23.5" round mirrors too small vertically?
- Yes: use taller rectangular mirrors. No: use round mirrors.
@Lightsmith Inc.: "Be aware that current LED sconces put out very little light."

Not necessarily. The Tech Lighting Milan 13 Bath, for example, emits 906 lumens...and there would be three of them.
Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
There will be 3 recessed lights as well
Mnm 01
Original Author
last year
Here is where we ended up, this is our final product

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