Bathroom lights are a crucial part of the room's overarching design and practical functionality. One common practice with bathroom lights is to place them over or next to the mirrors. Both applications have their place and can help improve your bathroom's overall lighting scheme. With that in mind, we have compiled some of our favorite bathroom lighting ideas over mirrors and included guidelines on how to use lights in different settings and styles.
Bathroom lighting fixtures come in many different styles, sizes, and finishes. In this modern bathroom, the vanity lights feature a silver finish. That is the only time silver is present in this room, since the other finishes and metals tend to be a matte black. This unique finish subtly allows the lights to stand out as beautiful, practical accents.
Separate vanities and grand bathrooms present unique design opportunities. If you truly want to set your room apart and highlight each vanity as its own entity, use pendant lights or wall sconces to frame each space. You may follow this room's example by hanging symmetrical pendant lights on each side of the mirror, or you may elect to place lights above each mirror. In any case, the lights that you pair with each vanity greatly impact the room's overarching tone and aesthetic.
Many master bathrooms will have multiple sinks and mirrors on the main vanity. In these situations, there are plenty of ways to include bathroom lights by the mirrors. Instead of placing a light over each mirror, consider hanging a pendant light or bathroom wall sconce between the mirrors. That placement will give light to each mirror, act as a central focal point of the wall, and tie the entire space together.
In small bathrooms, it's common to use a unified finish across all the room's metals. Even in these smaller rooms, you can still experiment with different finishes and colors. This bathroom features the black vanity lighting fixture, silver faucet and hardware, and a gold picture frame on the wall. Since these three all fit into the same general aesthetic, they still collaborate beautifully to create a balanced, cohesive design.
Silver is commonly associated with modern interior design, since it presents a cool and sleek finish that suits contemporary tastes. This bathroom leans fully into that trend by using silver in all the primary finishes, which helps create a very sleek contemporary bathroom. Cohesion and unity are vital in modern elegant spaces, so if you are looking to create a more luxurious contemporary bathroom, follow this room's example by using cool metals wherever you can.
Modern farmhouse bathrooms use texture in any way they can. In this small preview alone, there is texture in the floor tile, wood vanity, stone countertop, rope mirror, and galvanized wall sconces. Even if your room is fairly minimal in its accents and decor, incorporating details and finishes like these can make your room feel vibrant and full of life.
This contemporary bathroom is not lacking in detail. The patterned wall tiles, stone floor, wallpapered ceiling, and mirrors all have plenty of detail that make them stand out. Because there are so many points of interest in the room, the vanity lights are more reserved and simplistic. Simple lights like the one shown here are in no way ugly; in actuality, these lights are gorgeous supporting accents for the room's primary features and decorations.
While it's fine to use one fixture exclusively by the mirror, it can also be effective to use that light elsewhere in the bathroom. This is especially true of bathroom pendant lights, which can be hung at different heights and locations to provide lighting to sinks, makeup vanities, and other parts of the room.
Whether you hang the lights directly above the mirror or to the sides, it's important to consider the distribution of light and the lighting temperature. Lighting temperature has a great impact on the room's tone and the ease of putting on makeup. The Aalto pendants displayed here shine a warm light through the colored glass, which helps make the room feel more intimate and comfortable. However, more neutral warm light is typically recommended for main suits where you will apply makeup and get ready each day.
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Practicality is a crucial part of selecting the best bathroom lights for your master or guest bathroom. In some cases, the best option may be to select lights with opaque shades/bowls. By selecting a natural glass light like the ones shown here, you can ensure that the lighting temperature of your bulb will be what's best for your room and that it will shine clearly over your space.
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Many of today's most popular interior design styles appreciate the charm of historic or vintage styles. In general, these styles tend to create a warmer tone than more contemporary aesthetics. One way to reinforce a warmer design or color palette is to use a warm metallic finish in your lighting fixture. Aged brass is especially popular for classic rooms, and as you can see here, it is a fantastic finish for warm vintage bathrooms.
Many people seek out bathroom lighting ideas over mirrors or ideas for lights on the side of the mirror. However, this bathroom reveals another option: placing the light on the mirror itself. Not only does this placement create a unique impression, but it also allows the light to be cast further in and around the vanity since its rays will bounce off the mirror directly behind it.
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Bathroom lights over mirrors obviously serve practical purposes, but they can also impact the room's overarching style. Unconventional lights like the Alyssa Wall Sconce displayed here are ideal for providing necessarily illumination and accenting your personal aesthetic. There is no need to settle for an unappealing bathroom light; you can easily find a light that is both practical and beautiful.
Explore additional Bathroom Mirror and Lighting Ideas!
Bathroom lights are as beautiful as they are practical. Whether you place your lights over the mirrors, to the sides of them, or in another way, you can see how diverse bathroom designs are and how that gives you great freedom in using lights perfectly suited for your unique bathroom. With the guidelines and inspiration photos shown above, you may now confidently go forward in choosing bathroom lights for your home's bathrooms.
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