Do-It-Yourself Bathroom Remodeling

Practical Ideas for Bathroom Lighting

We spend many hours a week in the bathroom, perhaps not as many in front of stoplights, but certainly enough to warrant careful planning for the type of bathroom lighting that we will need. We perform many intricate tasks in the bathroom like applying makeup, shaving, styling hair and many other daily hygiene tasks. So we need to be practical and make we sure we have enough of the right kind of light to accomplish these tasks without having to spend too much time in front of the mirror or having to start over again because we mis-applied the mascara. We must take into consideration what we have to work with in our bathroom that would affect our bathroom lighting situation.

Finding Natural Light

The first thing to look at is the kind of natural light that is available in the bathroom. To what extent do we need to augment the natural light? Should we put a window, a skylight or can we get away with some nice vanity lighting? What kind of surfaces and colors do we have in our bathroom? Are there a lot of light colors and reflective surfaces? If so then we may not need as much artificial light as we think. The best and most effective lighting for your bathroom is natural daylight. You can create a large window, a bay, or a bank of smaller window units next to the bathtub to add luxurious natural light to the bathroom. Nevertheless, no matter how much natural light you have in the bathroom you will need to use some electric lighting for night time and to fill out the bathroom corners. All corners of the bathroom need to be well lit. Dark corners makes a bathroom look smaller. So we must take into account the overall lighting situation in the bathroom in order to create balanced, strategic artificial light for all our important bathroom tasks.

Bathroom Vanity Lighting

The bathroom vanity is where lighting needs to be the most strategic. We want to minimize unwanted shadows and be able to have full frontal illumination while looking at ourselves in the mirror. We should be able to see clearly what we're trying to tweeze and crimp while up against the mirror. Lighting coming in from the side from a wall sconce coupled with modern bathroom vanity lighting totaling at least 150 to 250 watts is usually adequate. With lighting mounted directly above the mirror, there should be some additional reflected light from the mirror that will even out the light. It's always good to start the day off feeling positive about the way we look and balanced, reasonably strong bathroom lighting goes a long way in helping us achieve this.

Shower and Bath Area

The shower or bath area is another critical place that needs to have the appropriate amount of light. Usually bathrooms come equipped with two main light switches, one for above the shower which may also power the vent fan and the other for the commode and vanity area. The bathroom lighting fixture above the shower area should be made brighter with a higher powered bulb in case the shower curtain is of a dark color. The person showering should also be able to see the floor clearly. In many instances people can slip and fall in the shower because they cannot make out the position of the friction strips or they failed to see the soap bar that fell. Shaving nicks can also occur in the shower if the lighting is poor. Shower lighting can be just as critical as your vanity lighting.

For the amount of time the average person spends in the bathroom, it is always more than worth it to have the best illumination possible to get us looking our best. Good lighting makes our bathroom tasks seem more like fun than a chore. Powerful, balanced lighting for our vanity is easily accomplished and shower stall lighting can be a pretty simple chore.When we're not in a rush and can clearly see what we're doing when trying to look our best can get our day off to a glowing start.

Arthor and Source: Ted Gambel

Bathroom Lighting Design Ideas

Bathroom lighting is an great way to give your bathroom a whole new look and feel. Proper lighting is important in a bathroom since this room serves as a retreat and a place to relax and unwind. A bathroom must have a complete and layered lighting scheme in order to create the desired effect.

Bathroom Ceiling Mounted Fixture

Since most bathrooms are small enough that only a single fixture may be required to supply an ample amount of light. A ceiling-mounted fixture can be quite useful. There are many beautiful flush and semi-flush mounts that are available on the market that could be used to create the right lighting design in any bathroom. Today's ceiling lighting can be quite attractive, especially if you look beyond the bathroom for ideas. There are many lighting fixtures that weren't necessarily made for the bathroom that could be seen as possibilities for your bathroom remodel.

Layered Lighting

For the best lighting effect, you should apply your lighting in various layers. These layers of lighting include ambient, task, and accent lighting. Task lighting is the lighting necessary to carry out specific activities in the home. Generally, task lighting is higher in intensity than other types of lighting.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting is a term used to describe the total amount of light that is present in a space. We can say that a room has high or low levels of ambient lighting. Placing surface mounted fixtures at the ceiling can create ambient lighting. Accent lighting is any type of lighting that brings attention to itself or to an object.

Bathroom Lighting Design Ideas

You can certainly feel free to have more than one type of lighting for your bathroom, particularly if you have a larger bathroom, you can mix a few wall sconces with a ceiling fixture or group of pendant lights, if you have a high enough ceiling. Depending on your bathroom space you can become creative with your bathroom lighting design. If a bathroom vanity works well in your bathroom, don't be afraid to embellish it by adding a sconce on either side. A small ceiling fixture, combined with your vanity or bar can create a more contemporary feel to your bathroom. You can customize your bathroom lighting to create your own unique lighting design.

Lighting Critical to Bathroom Design

The type of lighting you select for your bathroom is critical to your bathroom design. You should consider ceiling, vanity and recessed, accent (lighting from below counters, inside showers, etc.) and decorative as in sconces. If you are planning on vanity lighting the lighting should be provided on both sides of the vanity mirror.

Bright Bathroom Lighting

Do you want to create a brighter bathroom? Do you plan to have built in any features that would need to be accented? Whether you are creating a new bathroom or remodeling your existing one, you will find that lighting design is an important consideration in bathroom design.

Bathroom Electrical Wiring

When it comes to brightening up a drab existing bathroom you will find that there are lots of things you can do with the existing wiring. Give careful consideration to planning out the lighting if you're fitting a brand-new bathroom. If the new tiles have been installed over the wiring, for example, it will be very hard to change.

Size and Zones

The decision on selecting bathroom fixtures for your bathroom lighting will be influenced by the size and zones in your bathroom. A bathroom lighting fixture can be for ambient or general lighting, task lighting for specific purposes or subdued lighting for relaxation. With the just the right amount of planning and selection of the proper bathroom lighting you can transform your ordinary bathroom into something really stunning.

Arthor and Source: James Mahoney

Bathroom Vanity Lighting Tips

If you want to save some money on your electric bill, adding natural light to your bathroom lighting is a great way to do it. It can be done quite simply. Most bathrooms already come with a small window. You can have even more natural bathroom lighting by adding a bathroom skylight or a high cluster bathroom window. The bathrooms window that you have now can also be enlarged. The blue white coloring of natural light helps illuminate the surfaces in your bathroom. Making the bathroom feel larger then it is. To highlight the bathroom tile or the bathroom vanities try to add some indirect natural light. You may need to filter natural sunlight if you have gloss laminate bathroom vanities or textured surfaces because you can get a glare. To make the bathroom lighting a little subtler you can use diffuser panels that remain stationary, or that are moveable. These panels disperse the lighting. You could also add an awning to the out side of your home. Either option will allow the benefits of the natural bathroom lighting without the glares.

Using Artificial Bathroom Vanity Lighting

For bathroom vanity lighting there are two types you can choose from. You can have the incandescent lights or lights that use fluorescent lighting. The incandescent lights are usually small and very bright. They can be used in recess bathroom lighting, surface mounted, or suspended. They also generate a little heat. The fluorescent lighting does not generate heat but they are a bit bulkier because they need a ballast running to them. Usually a good combination of the two will make your bathroom lighting more even and eliminate shadows. A neat way to incorporate bathroom vanity lighting is to run low wattage bulbs under the bathroom vanity near the toe kicks, this is a great night light idea.

7 tips for your bathroom vanity lighting:

• To avoid glare do not have exposed light bulbs, especially eye level.
• With lighter color palettes, use softer lighting to make the bathroom feel larger.
• If your bathroom ceilings are low use a flat light or incorporate recessed fixtures.
• If you have high ceilings you have more chooses, in fact you can include a suspended light fixture that will further enhances the volume of the room.
• Small light sources create a sharp shadow and the large sources give more of the diffused shadows.
• The color of the lighting should flow with the bathroom décor colors and not clash against them.
• For a calm effect use soft lights. Bright lights can be used if you want a stimulating effect.

Arthor and Source: Daryl Plaza

5 Bathroom Remodeling Themes

Here, you will be introduced to the top 5 bathroom remodeling themes. Remodeling this particular room has been found to be a very exciting endeavor to many homeowners. This excitement occurs for many different reasons. First, remodeling the bathroom is a relatively easy task that anyone can perform. Second, it takes very little time to remodel this room. Third, many individuals view this room as a private area where they can relax and unwind in a warm bubble bath, or even a hot shower. Individuals can instill a sense of creativity in this room, and add a spark of their unique personality by selecting a theme.

What is a Bathroom Theme?

A theme is a general subject of a room. It is a particular style, or type of decoration that you choose to center your bathroom around. This theme should reflect the personality of the individual performing the decoration, the interests of that individual, or simply a subject theme that is common to the bathroom. There are many methods in which a person who is remodeling the bathroom can integrate all components into one. If you are trying to decide on the most appropriate decoration style for your bathroom, you may consider the ideas listed here as extremely beneficial in your decision. Now, I will introduce you to the top 5 bathroom remodeling themes.

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