Bathroom Lighting

Bathroom lighting, as with any lighting fixture used for any other part of the house, is essential in illuminating one of the least noticed yet nonetheless very indispensable rooms in your home, the bathroom. Providing style as well as functionality for one of the most used and most private rooms in the house, this seldom noticed fixture actually comes in multiple styles and designs to fit every home-owner's discerning taste.

Depending upon the bathroom's size and incorporated elements, as well as placement of these bathroom fixtures in the room can also play a part in the selection of viable lighting.

While lighting may not be of much consideration during the daytime since sunlight provides light for any room in the house, choosing a lighting fixture that can provide ample brightness and can go with the room's motif as well as fit the consumer's budget can be somewhat tricky. 

Bathroom lighting can be found in hundreds of designs, colors and finishes, making the choices a bit more complex than it should be. Since there are quite a lot of styles and designs to choose from within a specific price range, choices should then be made with a few key factors in mind.

Some of the points to consider when installing bathroom lighting would be the inherent uses for the people who will be living in the house and who will, subsequently, use the bathroom.

Activities like shaving, putting on make-up or even the most basic grooming act of brushing one's teeth may be considered when choosing the lighting for your bathroom. The size of the room also plays a part in the choices a person makes, with a wall mounted mirrored light being suitable for a smaller room while additional ceiling mounted or brighter light additions may be needed for somewhat larger or roomier powder rooms.

Some of the bathroom lighting designs to choose from include pendant fixtures, vanity light bars and wall sconces. A pendant fixture, one of the few types of ceiling light fixtures, come in ornate and simple designs. Chandeliers belong to this kind of bathroom lighting type as well as hanging lamps or mini-pendants. Vanity light bars often surround a mirror.

This effect can be achieved with either a few wall sconces lined up above a mirror or can be the typical four to eight bulb bar lights often seen surrounding vanity tables and old dressing room mirrors. A wall sconce is a wall mounted lighting fixture that is oftentimes placed in certain intervals along the wall of the room.

In bathroom lighting, the wall sconce or even the more ornate torchier, is usually found on both sides of the bathroom mirror. Dimmer switches for any of these lighting options can also be installed to improve ambiance and further expand illumination choices.

Although one can choose to contract a well-known builder or lighting expert to do the job for them, there are other options to choose from when it comes to installing or remodeling the lighting system of your bathroom.

Since cost does come into consideration more often than not, it is therefore wise to consider doing the choosing and installing yourself, if you believe you are capable enough to do the job. Self installation and remodeling kits are also available from certain hardware stores and do it yourself shops. These kits have detailed instructions and the lighting fixtures in one box as well as a list of other materials and equipment needed for the project.

A simple project you can do is one that involves replacing an existing unfashionable florescent light fixture with a more appealing lighting selection, like track lights, for example. As with any electrical based project, extreme caution and the proper tools are needed to get this done.

Before starting this venture, make sure that the circuit breaker is turned off and stays off while you are replacing your existing bathroom lighting fixture, which, in this case, is a florescent lamp. Remove the old fixture and its base and test the wires with a circuit tester to double check that the power is indeed turned off. Remove all other add-ons from the previous lighting, leaving only the wires and junction box.

You will then need to install the mounting bracket of your new gear to the existing junction box. In the absence of a junction box, one must be purchased and installed to comply with present building safety regulations. Making sure that the colors of the wires correspond accordingly, red to red and white to white, connect the wires on the new lighting to those on the junction box, covering the new connections with electrical tape or securing them safely with wire nuts.

Push the newly connected wires into the junction box and attach your new lighting choice to the bracket on the mounting plate. Install the bulbs and the other accessories that come with the new lighting package and turn the power back on after you are certain that the installation is secure.