What Lights Should I Have Around Bathroom Mirror?
When you own your home, maintenance and improvement never stop and you are always looking for ideas to turn your house into that dream home.
20/02/2021
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Despite the fact that I have lived in my home for over 20 years, I never stop looking for ways to keep my home updated with the latest trends, whether it's modern light fittings to replace the old ones, new doors and handles and, at the moment, looking at how I can improve in my main bathroom.
My main bathroom is pretty boring, even though I write so many articles on how you can improve a plain bathroom. It isn't that it's not functional because it is, but you live in a house for 20 years or more and you don't take as much notice of things as you used to. For example, I replaced the pedestal sink quite a few years back with a DIY SupaWood His 'n Hers Bathroom Vanity, I even added a glam framed mirror on the wall above the vanity. But since that time, not much else has been done.
This year, I have decided to focus my attention on adding a few cosmetic touches to give the bathroom a much-needed update. I am looking at adding a window treatment with wooden blinds (no problems with moisture or condensation in the room and the window is far away from the shower) and installing a new ceiling light and lights around the bathroom mirror. This got me thinking about the best type of lighting around the vanity and mirror, lighting that would let me put on my skin care and makeup without having to squint. So, it's time to do some online shopping at Builders to see what lighting is on offer.
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THE BEST LIGHTING FOR AROUND A VANITY MIRROR
At the moment, I only have a central ceiling light in the bathroom, which is useless when I stand in front of the mirror. When you are putting on makeup you want to be able to see what you are doing, be able to adjust your makeup if it needs it. That means the lighting around - not above - the mirror should be such that your face is free of shadows when you view yourself.
The best way to install light fittings that give you shadowless illumination is to install a pair of wall lights on either side of the mirror or within the frame. The lights need to be mounted at eye-level so that you can stand in front of the mirror and not see any shadow areas on your face.
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DON'T INSTALL LIGHTING ABOVE A VANITY MIRROR OR IN THE CEILING ABOVE THE BASIN
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WARM OR WHITE LED OR GLOBES FOR LIGHTING AROUND VANITY MIRROR
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to selecting the right lighting fitting to go on the sides of a mirror or mirror frame and that's because there are so many options to choose from and it becomes difficult to know what is best and hard to find the information you need to make an informed choice.
LED lighting is a perfect choice if you are looking to light up a bathroom mirror. LEDs are the closest lighting source to natural sunlight and you will want to select a light fitting that has a light source (LED or globe) that has is between the range of 2,700K to 10,000K or a CRI (Colour Rendering Index) of at least 90. That's according to lighting experts worldwide. But how does that help you when you are shopping for lighting and the store has no idea of the 'K' or 'CRI' values? The most information you get is the type of light source a particular light fitting uses and even when you take a close look at the light source, it only provides the wattage and whether or not it's warm or white.
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- Warm White
Not as bright as white or cool white, warm white is mainly used for atmosphere or ambience. This is not what you need when you are grooming or putting on your makeup.
- Cool White
Cool white lighting is on the higher end of the 'K' spectrum (as mentioned above) and offers the closet light source to natural light. When installed around a bathroom mirror you will have zero shadows on your face and be able to apply your makeup as it would be seen when you're outdoors.
For applying makeup or grooming, choose a light source that provides a high 'K' rating or is as close to 'daylight' as possible.
www.remer.com.au