Upgrades can help solve bathroom lighting problems
Proper lighting is essential to the look and function of the room where you get ready to face the world everyday. So why do so many people put up with uneven shadows and having to strain to see their faces in the mirror every morning?
Following are some simple, cost-effective solutions from the American Lighting Association that will help you solve the most common bathroom lighting problems.
• Problem: You often nick yourself while shaving in the shower. Solution: In order to be fully functional, lighting in the shower stall or over the tub should be bright enough for cleaning, shaving and reading shampoo labels. If you have an older home, built before UL-rated bulbs were available, add some recessed downlights designed for use in wet areas and put shields around them.
Shielded fixtures will protect reclining bathers’ eyes from glare. An adjustable accent light aiming from outside the tub is glare-free and great for those who bring books to the bath.
• Problem: You are often frustrated by uneven shadows or glare and feel like the lighting is inadequate when you look into the mirror.
Solution: Upgrade your lighting by taking the old fixture down and buying new ones. The best lighting at the vanity utilizes cross illumination, which provides shadow-free lighting.
“If you have a single ceiling-mounted fixture over the vanity, or a light bar over the mirror and don’t want to cut new holes for electrical connections, you can mount a track over the existing electrical outlet and hang a decorative fixture over the sink and pendants from either side of the mirror,” said Monty Gilbertson, CLC, manager and buyer for Lighting Design by Wettsteins in Lacrosse, Wis.
• Problem: The unit housing your bathroom’s overhead light and exhaust fan is yellowed and cracked and it looks out of place with your current decor.
Solution: “In recent years, a number of lighting companies have come out with decorative exhaust fan/overhead light combinations that really help dress up the room,” said Kimberly Green, of Ferguson Enterprises in New Port News, Va. “You can coordinate the unit with your faucet, your other lighting fixtures, even the tile on the floor.”
• Problem: You don’t want others to be rudely awakened when someone in the household has to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Solution: Install a low-voltage linear lighting system in the toe spaces beneath the vanities and cabinets.
“But be conscious of the fact that depending on your flooring material, whether it is wood, granite, tile or marble, there may be glare. You can cut down on it by adding an ‘L’ reflector underneath the lamps,” said Al Thomas, CLC, executive director of Seattle Lighting’s Design Services.
For more information or to find a lighting showroom, visit www.americanlightingassoc .com or call (800) 274-4484.
This article was provided courtesy of ARA Content.
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