Proper lighting is essential to the look and function of the room where you get ready to face the world every day. So why do so many people put up with uneven shadows and having to strain to see their faces in the mirror every morning? Whether it’s cost or simply a lack of know-how that’s holding you back from updating your lighting, you’ve just run out of excuses. Following are some simple, cost-effective solutions that will help you solve the most common bathroom lighting problems.

Challenge: You don’t have enough light to read in the bath tub.

Solution: In order to be fully functional, lighting in the shower stall or over the tub should be bright enough for cleaning, shaving and reading shampoo labels. If you have an older home that was constructed before UL-rated bulbs were available, add some recessed down lights designed for use in wet areas, and put shields around them. Shielded fixtures will protect reclining bathers’ eyes from glare. An adjustable accent light aimed from outside the tub is dramatic, glare-free and great for those who bring books to the bath.

Challenge: You are often frustrated by uneven shadows or glare, and feel that lighting is inadequate when you look in the mirror.

Solution: Upgrade your lighting by investing in xenon, halogen or fluorescent technology. Each of these has a higher lumen output than standard incandescent fixtures. If you have a single ceiling-mounted fixture over the vanity or a light bar over the mirror and don’t want to cut new holes for electrical connections, you can mount a track over the existing electrical outlet and hang a decorative fixture over the sink and pendants from either side of the mirror.

Challenge: You don’t want others to be rudely awakened when someone in the household has to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Solution: Install a dimmer to control the lighting level. Basic dimmer controls are simple to install in any existing or new setting.

Bathroom Trends
Mini-chandeliers in the bathroom have become all the rage! It gives you an opportunity to personalize your space and bring a little light down from the ceiling. If you don’t want to pay an electrician to change the electrical from your dated swag lights, add chandelier mini-pendants to update your bathroom. Another current trend in bathroom lighting is a fixture that combines an overhead bath bar with pendants that drop down along both sides of your bathroom mirror. This allows for cross-lighting, which is the best way to light a bathroom. It eliminates the “shadow-effect” on your face that a single light source can create.