Tips on lighting up your bathroom

7 december, 2018

When updating your home’s interior, it´s easy to focus on the décor of your living area, bedrooms, and even kitchen — but rarely does the bathroom get the attention it deserves. And yet it’s the bathroom that sets the mood for your day as you prepare in the morning, and it’s the bathroom that helps with your transition to sleep before bedtime. Even your guest bathrooms serve exquisitely important purposes; these spaces, too, should provide short respites from the stresses of daily life. The bathroom’s relative smallness and its specific usage make lighting both a high priority and an easy fix.

Here are a few cool tips on bathroom lighting.

1. Employ all three types of basic lighting

Regardless of your bathroom’s particular design, three layers of light should significantly highlight the beauty of the space.

  • Ambient lighting: the base layer of light that illuminates a space.
  • Accent lighting: light that literally highlights specific elements of the space, e.g. detailed tile-work or an all-glass sink.
  • Task lighting: spotlighting for specific activities such as applying make-up or shaving.

Clearly, a single fixture is insufficient for your bathroom. For even distribution, go for a mix of ambient lighting for evenly illuminating your bathroom space, accent lighting for drawing attention to your bathroom's aesthetics, and task lighting for everyday grooming activities. See smart bathroom lighting fixtures from Philips Hue.

Bathroom mirror with spotlights lighting above

2. Install side-mounted spotlights

Side-mounted spotlights are one of the best lighting options for your bathroom and can be installed on both sides of the mirror. Just be sure to install the spotlights a bit above your eye-level.

Tip: If your mirror is centered above the sink, mount light fixtures a few inches to the left and right of the mirror – reasonably close to where your face will be.

Spotlights lighting next to bathroom mirror

3. Shine a light on the bathtub

The right light setting can influence your bath experience and help you feel relaxed. Choose bathroom lighting fixtures that provide both direct and indirect light output.

Tip: Control the setting of your bathroom lighting with a wireless dimmer switch to enjoy a hassle-free bath. See the dimmable bathroom lighting options from Philips Hue.

Woman relaxing in a bathtub

4. Go shadow-free with the vanity lighting

Add a touch of elegance with the Philips Hue Adore bathroom illuminated mirror which comes with a built-in ring of adjustable light. For side lighting, add sconces with bright LED bulbs on each side of your mirror to fully illuminate your face. You can also add overhead lighting to avoid shadows - a horizontal fixture with multiple lights above your vanity mirror will do the trick.

Philips Hue Adore vanity mirror above bathroom sink

*When a bulb displays "Up to" a certain number of lumens in its specifications, it displays the maximum lumen output of the bulb. It shows how bright the bulb can get at 2700 K (White bulbs) or 4000 K (White ambiance or White and colour ambiance bulbs). Learn more about brightness