Bathrooms are the areas of your home more focused on function than form, but that doesn’t mean that you have be stuck with plain old lighting. By replacing your old fixtures with exciting new vanity lighting or selecting a pair of vibrant new sconces on either side of your bathroom mirror, you can give your home an instant upgrade with the craftsmanship and quality that makes Quoizel fixtures truly “timeless lighting”.
Most bathrooms have a single source of light – typically a long bar of lights over the bathroom vanity mirror above the sink. The function of these lights is multifaceted, it provides ambient (read: general) lighting for the room while at the same time providing task lighting for the myriad of close-up primping and preening that we must do in our mirrors. Changing out your basic vanity light is one of the easiest home upgrades you can do, and the results can be truly transformative. But how do you choose the right vanity lights? We’ve got you on this… here are our expert’s suggestions:
Choose the right size. Although bath vanity lighting comes in sizes anywhere from two to eight bulbs, the real answer to sizing appropriately is in the length. For a single mirror, try to keep your light’s width about 75% of your mirror’s width. Four a double vanity, pretend you only have one mirror and select your vanity light based on 75% of the width of your mirror, then buy two of them (one for each mirror).
Choose the right finish. Although most homeowners choose to standardize their bath fixtures with a single finish (you’ve selected plumbing fixtures in brushed nickel, so most follow this through with brushed nickel lighting fixtures), there is an increasing trend of “mixed metals” that may see soft brass light fixtures above chrome or polished nickel bath fixtures.
Choose the right style. Selecting a style is easier with wide-ranging styles like traditional (classically ornate), Contemporary or Modern (minimalist with a focus on function), or transitional (the middle ground, clean simple lines without the ornate touches). More specific styles, like a bathroom with Coastal, Nautical, Mission or Art Deco styles will have less options available, but those that fit your niche will look like they were designed specifically for your bathroom (or should I say, “Head” for you nautical folks…).
Choosing glass and bulbs. Clear glass and exposed bulbs are pretty and have been trending strongly for the last few years, but keep in mind that you’re going to be close to those bulbs when doing your mirror close-up work. We recommend using fixtures with frosted or opal glass shades to help diffuse the light and make your eyes comfier. How much light do you need? Keep in mind that older eyes need significantly more light (65-year-old eyes need 4x the light as their 25-year-old counterparts), so keep the wattage (or wattage equivalent for LED bulbs) high and use a dimmer switch to soften the amount of light when “brilliant” isn’t necessary.
