As millions of women around the world will agree, there’s nothing more annoying than trying to get ready in a bathroom with terrible lighting! After all, different types of lighting in the bathroom have the power to make you look and feel rested, help you to feel invigorated from a warm shower, and most importantly, they are necessary to create the perfect makeup look.
Lighting is one of the key aspects of a bathroom renovation and it’s important to consider it if you want to achieve your dream outcome. Overlapping different types of lighting is essential if you want to enhance your bathroom-as-sanctuary experience. While this design strategy sounds like it could quickly blow out your budget, if you’re clever, layering your lighting can be more affordable than you think.
Here’s how the right types of light can help you create the ultimate bathroom.
#1 – Natural Lighting
The sun produces vitamin D that improves mood, memory, sleep patterns, and the ability to focus. When looking to enhance your interior spaces, any time you can utilise natural lighting, it is worth the time and trouble. That’s because, as much as we’d like otherwise, natural light can never truly be duplicated by synthetic means.
Using light wall colours and placing mirrors opposite natural light boost the effects of this light in a room, so they’re good design tricks to use wherever possible. Because natural lighting comes and goes and can’t be depended on for function, we have to bring in other forms of lighting to take up its place, which we explain in further detail below.
#2 – Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the most general type of light. A ceiling light that floods the entire room with artificial or natural light is considered ‘ambient’. While it is great for providing background light or illuminating a dark space, there is no direction in ambient lighting’s brightness.
However, ambient lighting is the most preferred type of lighting as it blends well with a person’s senses. It’s not too obtrusive or stark, and an overall feeling of brightness comes from this form of light.
#3 – LED Strip Lighting
LED Lighting is an abbreviation for light-emitting diode. These small microchips produce up to 90% more power and do so more effectively than incandescent bulbs. Recently, LED strip lighting has become popular in delivering a tiny strip of bright light in shadowy areas without using bulky lamps.
Versus bright overhead lighting, a strip of LEDs mellows down the bright illumination that can be deafening on a larger scale. Using LED’s as runners along stairways and below cabinets are great ways to watch your step in the dark.
However, LED bathroom lighting may also consist of under-counter strips or strips along the bottom of the beauty cabinet. This type of light is glamourous and luxe to look at.
LED lighting is also used in custom neon signs such as those from www.neonfilter.com which have become super popular recently. We also love the options from Neon Mama if you want to deck your bathroom out in something cool and fun.
Because these strips can offer as much light as task lighting, they have gained huge popularity in recent years, and are showing up along the edges of ceilings, down corners, and vanity backsplashes. They are also a relatively cheap bathroom lighting option. However, random placement should not be done without having a plan in mind. It can be easy to get carried away with LED strip lighting!
#4 – Task Lighting
If you have a task at hand (such as makeup application) and need direct light to shine in that direction, this is referred to as task lighting. Task lighting is often introduced to a space by overhead pendant lights or a lamp with the spotlight on a certain area. It is the opposite of ambient lighting as now, the light is pinpointed. Bathroom lighting fixtures that surround a mirror are often fitted with task lighting bulbs.
The installation of task lighting is tricky. It is recommended to place the light where it hits the face and not in its shadows. This mistake is often made using pendant lighting along one side of a vanity mirror. While the design may be impressive, the task lighting can be off the mark.
#5 – Warm or Cool Lighting?
Warm lighting has a relaxing tone, and being slightly yellow it provides a soothing atmosphere in a room. As such, the overall lighting in the bathroom should include this type of light.
Cool lighting is brighter and whitish in colour. As it provides a clearer picture of the task at hand, it’s perfect for direct projects like applying makeup, A bathroom should have both warm and cool lighting available for everyday use.
In summary
Bathroom lighting ideas are essential in designing the right look and the right feel for your bathroom. However, balancing the overall flavour can be difficult to do. A lighting expert can advise products with dimmers, choose the correct placement, and be ensure that the lighting is not overdone as a whole.
The rule of thumb is to set your priorities when it comes to bathroom lighting. The function should be the most important aspect of lighting design, and everything else is down to aesthetic preference. With that said, save the style, colour, and personal selection for last.
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