No matter the size—whether a spacious family bathroom, a compact ensuite, or something in between—lighting plays a crucial role in both function and atmosphere. The right lighting not only enhances aesthetics, preventing your bathroom from feeling cold or uninviting, but also ensures safety and practicality in a space where visibility is key. Thoughtfully chosen fixtures can transform your bathroom into a calm, welcoming retreat while providing the illumination needed for everyday tasks.
Ready to get it right? Our expert guide covers everything you need to know for a beautifully lit and highly functional bathroom.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the general overhead lighting. This type of lighting will determine whether your bathroom feels well lit or not. The overhead lighting works with wall lights, pendants and downlights to create a perfectly lit space. Ambient lighting can complement natural lighting or be used in its place.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is exactly what it sounds like – it’s typically lighting that helps illuminate areas that are usually used for standard bathroom tasks such as applying makeup, brushing teeth or shaving.
Accent Lighting
While ambient light ensures the bathroom is well lit overall and task lighting zeroes in on giving extra light where needed, accent lighting adds a little something to the design side of things. Accent lights can essentially be a design touch used to add to the overall feel of the bathroom, whilst also being functional.
LED vanity lights, sleek recessed lighting, linear sconces and feature lights that add a design touch are some of the best fixtures to add to your bathroom to really make it sing. Below we drill down on the benefits of the different types of lighting.
LED strip lighting
Use these around mirrors or under vanities for subtle light. LED strip lights are also good options for night time light with the use of sensors. When used right, incorporating these into your bathroom design can make you feel like you’re entering a luxe spa – perfect for a room that should ideally make you feel calm and rejuvenated every time you step into it.
Recessed ceiling lights
It can be easy to overwhelm the space with light fixtures that are simply too large. One way you can avoid this is by incorporating recessed ceiling lights into the bathroom design as they are a lot more seamless and subtle but keep the room well lit. These provide even illumination without cluttering the space.
Other lighting choices
If you want to pull together a design style and make your space feel cohesive, your lighting choices can play a huge part in achieving this. Make lighting choices which suit your design style and add an extra element to your space. For example, antique lights can help nail the modern rustic look if you’re aiming for that aesthetic.
The right lighting in your bathroom can enhance the overall space but there are some easy to make mistakes that can potentially take away from the most ideal results, with common issues including poor placement of lights and harsh lighting.
Lighting placement
When incorporating downlights in your space it is important that you get the placement right, avoid downlighting directly over the mirror, as it can cast unflattering shadows on the face. You want your bathroom lighting to emulate natural lighting, especially for tasks like applying makeup and shaving.
Fixtures that aren’t wet-friendly
Regular fixtures may not be safe for wet areas — look for damp — or wet-rated lights, especially near showers and tubs. Using the wrong fixtures here means they won’t hold up in the conditions the bathroom was designed for. This means that while they’ll look good at the start, durability will be low and they will inevitably become unsightly or unsafe, costing you money to replace for better suited fixtures.
Large fixtures
Don’t overwhelm the space with fixtures that are too large. They can steal the focus in a bathroom – and not in a good way. When choosing fixtures make sure they’re an appropriate size for the room and when in doubt, opt for a smaller and more subtle design.
Not planning for future upgrades
It’s tempting to only look at what works for the immediate future. But hardwired, non-upgradable fixtures can be costly to replace later. Choose versatile options that allow for bulb changes and future style updates if you want to avoid headaches in years to come.
