Do You Really Need A New Bathroom Light Fixture?

Admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:16:50 +0000

Before going shopping for a new bathroom light fixture, be sure to read this post! I know this goes against everything else that I’ve written on this site, but many people go out and spend lots of money on new lights when they really don’t need to. Of course, some bathroom light fixtures are so hideous that there should be an exorcism to make sure that its spirit doesn’t hang around after it’s gone, but many people can get away with the ones that they already have. This post will show you some simple steps that you can take before going shopping to make sure that you don’t have to spend any unnecessary funds on new light fixtures.

The first step is to clean. I’m not saying that your bathroom is dirty (maybe I am) but there are parts of every bathroom that haven’t been cleaned in years, including the lights. Sometimes a thorough cleaning can brighten up a bathroom enough that new lights aren’t needed. Remove the glass cover (called a globe) from your lights and let it soak in some warm soapy water and proceed to give it a good bath. You’re going to be surprised at the years worth of grime that comes off of it! Also be sure to wipe down the walls to get all of the grime that a steamy shower deposits up there. This will do wonders for many bathrooms, and if you do end up changing the lights you’ll at least have a clean space to do it in!

Second, figure out why you want new lights. If you only want to improve the appearance of your bathroom, choose “vanity” lights! Just kidding. If you’re remodeling, this part won’t help you, but if you need to brighten the bathroom it will. Bathrooms are really dark for all sorts of reasons, but many times you can get away without changing the entire fixture. An important rule to keep in mind is that dark colors absorb light and light ones reflect it, so if you have dark paint, shower curtain, towels, or drapes in the bathroom those might be what’s sucking all of the light out of the room. You can try swapping those out for reflective colors and it should make a huge difference in the brightness of the room.

Also, look at the light bulbs that are in the fixtures. Bathrooms don’t like fluorescent light because it gives skin a yellow tint when looking in the mirror. Instead try a tungsten or halogen light in the vanity light fixture, they’re very bright with a very natural and sunlight-esque tone to them. Traditional incandescent light works well, but they are major energy hogs.

Unless you’re swapping out the bathroom light fixture for purely “vanity” reasons (I’ll stop…) try these other ways to bring some new life into your bathroom. It can save you a lot of money and help you work with what you already have.

Bathroom Light Fixtures » bathroom light fixture

Do You Really Need A New Bathroom Light Fixture?