With the New Year firmly underway, one of the most vital aspects of any bathroom during the winter months is lighting.
Up until recently, bathroom lighting wouldn’t have been high on anyone’s agenda when considering a bathroom renovation. With more emphasis placed on your suite, bath, shower or even your tiles, lighting is often sadly overlooked.
As we all know, the lighting you choose can really help to set the mood in your bathroom. If you’re lucky enough to have a large window that lets plenty of natural light into your room, your lighting can perform a supporting role during daylight hours, however, if you have an internal bathroom, lighting really can make or break the whole look and feel of your interior.
Whatever type of bathroom, ensuite or cloakroom you’re looking to refurbish, we’ve got some great bathroom lighting ideas for your plans in 2018.
Glass for a touch of class
Putting chandeliers in bathrooms is a trend that’s been hanging around for years (if you pardon the pun!). However, it’s certainly not something that will be leaving us anytime soon, and with good reason.
Chandeliers can be used to great effect in bathrooms, adding a touch of glamour to proceedings. Light reflecting off and refracting through the cut glass produces a glittering effect and, when placed above a luxurious freestanding bath, a chandelier can provide the perfect show-stopping centrepiece for your bathroom.
If this is something that appeals to you, when you choose your bathroom lighting, make sure you select a specially-designed chandelier that is suitable for use in bathrooms. Search out the IP rating (which we will discuss later in this blog post) to check whether it is suitable.
Chandeliers work brilliantly well with traditional style bathrooms but can be combined with more contemporary style suites to create a truly unique look and feel.
Set your interiors free with LEDs
A really bright idea, which has caught on in recent times, LEDs are much more energy-efficient than traditional bulbs and can be used to provide additional task lighting, especially if your central fixture doesn’t quite do the job on its own.
LED mirrors are gaining prominence in bathrooms up and down the country, and we can only see them increasing their popularity in 2018. Not only do they allow you to see what you’re doing when attending to close-up work like makeup or shaving, they also provide a discreet and quiet alternative to your ceiling light fixture, especially where your main light switch also operates an extractor fan.
LEDs can be arranged in a variety of different sequences to provide the type of light you need. For focused light, look for models with LEDs within the mirror pane itself, or, for more subdued lighting, go for a backlit option.
As an added bonus, LED mirrors are getting even more sophisticated with hands-free switches, perfect for those moments when your hands are all soapy, and demisters, so no matter whether you’ve just stepped out of the bath or shower, you can use it immediately, without having to wipe and inevitably smear the glass.
Illuminating furnishings
One place you probably haven’t considered adding lighting is your bathroom furniture.
Thanks to advances in LED technology, you can now purchase vanity units (like the Heath vanity unit from Mode bathrooms, pictured below) that come complete with motion-sensor activated lighting. Saving you from fumbling about in the dark recesses, looking for that all-important potion or lotion, it’s task lighting at its very best.
LEDs can also be added easily to existing furniture or shelving, using flexible strip kits. Choose between a warm white or cool white colour to create the perfect mood lighting for your bathroom style.
Taps & showers that (de)light
Deviating from the traditional type of lighting that you’d expect in your bathroom, many homeowners are now opting for a futuristic bathroom style, with lighting in some unexpected places.
A shower can typically be dark and dingy, especially if your main lighting fixture sits a long way away from the enclosure itself. Therefore, a downlight above the shower may be all that’s needed.
However, if you are opting for a more futuristic look, why not fit a shower head that lights up to indicate water temperature, like this hydro shower head:
The great thing about this shower head is that it works solely from the movement of the water, so it doesn’t have to be wired into the mains or take batteries that’ll need replacing every few months.
You may have thought taps were the last place to expect illumination, but you’d be wrong. With the Mode Touch range of taps, an LED ring illuminates, indicating when the water temperature is just right.
Bathroom lighting — important considerations
Before you start thinking about installing your bathroom lighting yourself, stop! Water and electrics don’t mix, so you’ll need to employ an experienced electrician to do the job safely and professionally. You will also need to follow some very strict rules and regulations when choosing any bathroom lighting.
Your bathroom is split into different zones according to usage and the potential for water getting into your chosen fixture. The diagram below shows how a typical bathroom can be split:
Depending on the zone in which you want to place your lighting, the light itself will require a certain IP rating. For further information on bathroom zones and IP ratings, please see our Bathroom electrical safety guide and our Bathroom lighting buying guide.
More bright ideas for bathroom lighting
With an expanded range of bathroom lighting for 2018, why not turn your ideas into reality. Simply click on the banner below to start shopping for your bathroom lighting.
