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.

Related posts:

1. Dark Bathroom Lighting
2. Do You Need New Fixtures To Improve Bathroom Vanity Lighting?
3. Bathroom Vanity Light Fixtures

Bathrooms are the most commonly looked over area in the home by my clients.  Most people just don’t think to invest in bathroom light fixtures, and this leaves that area of the house feeling forgotten and unattended.  Bathrooms are beginning to play a more important role in the home, as multi-head showers and saunas are being installed, but many people are forgetting the importance of lighting and its effect on the entire room.

A bathroom lighting fixture is much more than the light that goes above the mirror.  There are many delicate things that happen in bathroom, things like shaving and putting on makeup need quality light to be done as well as they can be.  A simple plan of where the light shines and how it should look will help you transform your bathroom to extraordinary levels.

When planning your bathroom lighting fixtures, careful attention must be paid to angles and positions of the lights.  Think of the mirror like a flash on a camera, and how harsh and direct light can create sharp shadows on the face.  This type of lighting is going to make shaving and makeup very difficult.  A bathroom vanity light fixture should be above the mirror with bulbs that all the light to shine down.  For increased quality of light, fixtures should be on the sides of the mirror as well.

Choosing the correct bulbs is also very important.  My family is very energy-conscious and uses compact fluorescent lights all throughout our house, except in the bathroom.  CFL bulbs cause the skin to appear very yellow, so we use halogen bulbs that give off a great balance of white light, and last a very long time.  Most bathroom light fixtures are a series of lights that require multiple bulbs.  This can be a major drain on the power meter, so use the lowest voltage light you can.  60 watt bulbs are usually too dim for single use, but when there are 4-5 of them they can be very effective at lighting a large area.

Master bathrooms should always be equipped with a dimmer for the main lights.  This offers the ultimate lighting control and can turn a bathroom from a place to do your “business” to a romantic and relaxing getaway.  Dimmers are surprisingly easy to install, and can be done by the average weekend-warrior who understands how to turn off power to the switch, in just a few minutes.

Bathroom lighting is what makes a bathroom feel like it’s part of the home, and the proper light fixtures are key to making it happen.

Related posts:

1. Bathroom Vanity Light Fixtures
2. Bathroom Wall Light Fixtures
3. Choosing Bathroom Light Fixtures