Bathroom Vanity Lighting

There are three main types of vanity lighting.

Vanity lights can be installed either pointing upwards or downwards.

So, here are two questions for you to think about; what kind of vanity light do you want, and what purpose do you want it to serve? Knowing this, you can begin to narrow down your perfect bathroom light fixture.

There's no rule of thumb to follow when it comes to the "right" size light for your vanity. It's all about how big your bathroom is, how many sinks you have, and how much light you need. Let's say you have a 48- inch vanity with one sink in the middle. To provide adequate light, you may want to go with a horizontal vanity light with four bulbs. If you have two sinks with two individual mirrors, you can go with four bath sconces (one for each side of the mirror) or go with a long horizontal bath bar. There are an infinite amount of bathroom light fixture combinations.

Once you've chosen the style of vanity light, you can begin thinking about the bulbs. The kelvin color spectrum denotes the color of your light. The higher the kelvins in the vanity bulb, the cooler and bluer the light will appear (think LEDs), the lower the kelvins, the more yellow or amber your lights will appear (think night light). It's important to note that different companies will differentiate color temperatures in their own ways, so a 2700K bulb from brand A could appear to be a 3400K bulb from brand B. Take a look at the chart below to get a better understanding of how many kelvins give off a certain color.

There's a measurement for bulb brightness, called lumens. Similar to how kelvins work, the higher the lumens in your vanity lights, the stronger and brighter the lights will be. How do lumens compare to watts? The more lumens in your bulb, the more electrical power consumption will take place. Remember, you can have two 60 watt bulbs, but they can have completely different brightness!

Now that you know what to consider when shopping online for Wayfair vanity lights, here are some personal tips from bloggers to enlighten you about their vanity lighting makeover process!

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

K: This was a top to bottom remodel, so new lighting was essential in the design process.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

K: Often, I'll remove an over-the-mirror sconce and hang a freehanging mirror with two sconces. But in this bathroom that wasn't feasible since the mirror may have felt cramped in between two side sconces, so I kept the location of the electrical box intact and opted for a modern rectangular sconce to contrast with the round mirror.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

K: I always look for something the perfect scale and shape with a contemporary feel. The 2 light arm sconce was perfect for this space.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

K: Making sure the tile was installed properly around the box was the biggest challenge, but when I combined a skilled tile installer with a detailed explanation of the new fixture's final look, all went well.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

K: LED lights are ideal!

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

Z: Style, cost, and function were highly considered factors when we were choosing the vanity lighting. It needed to be clean and modern with a touch of elegance, but still priced reasonably. In addition, the lighting needed to produce the right amount of light and illumination for the entire bathroom, not just the space over the sink. We chose a four-light sconce in a brushed nickel design with frosted shades. It worked out to be just what the space needed. We turned the shades facing upward but they could also be adjusted downward.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

Z: Installing the bathroom lighting did not pose any challenges. It really was a very easy install.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

Z: Choosing light bulbs for vanity lights is a very important step toward having the proper room lighting. Not only should they match the style of the vanity, but they should be able to produce the right amount of light for the space. We were not going for mood lighting. We wanted it to be bright, but without the over-shine. In other words, the bulbs should not have been too bright to cause us to look away when entering the bathroom. Neither should they have been too dull to cause us to strain to see. We chose soft white bulbs as opposed to day light bulbs. There is a huge difference between both. As an example, a 100W day light bulb is much brighter than a 100W soft white bulb. Don't mistake the two. The soft white bulbs we chose produced the right amount of light the bathroom needed without it being too bright. In addition, the frosted shades on the vanity lighting helped to keep the light bright.

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

G&H: When we decided to renovate our guest bathroom, a new vanity light was part and parcel of that project. We changed everything in the room—tiles, toilet, colors, and lighting.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

G&H: We were going for a light and airy coastal feel that combined elements of traditional American coastal style with the more earthy Turkish Mediterranean coastal style. The vanity lighting we chose was more of the American style, as it reminds me of a ship's light or a lighthouse light.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

G&H: No challenges with the vanity lighting. The only challenges were with the re-wiring of the switches and outlets, as I had mislabeled one of the wires when I took everything apart two months ago. Oops.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

G&H: While we worked on the project, we used one of my bright daylight photography bulbs as a work light, and it really made everything look brilliant in the bathroom. But for every day, real-life use, bright daylight bulbs aren't very cozy, especially at night, so we went with traditional incandescent bulbs. Nothing beats incandescence for warmth and comfort. The bulbs were salvaged from the old vanity, and they are perfect. We swapped in a dimmer switch, and now we can give the bathroom a warm, inviting glow at night.

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

M: When we moved into our home, the light fixtures in all three bathrooms were the standard, builder-grade gold strip lighting that looks like it should be in a 70's Hollywood movie dressing room, but NOT in a modern bathroom! Not only is the strip lighting dated and unattractive, it also is not as bright as we would like and puts off a lot of heat when turned on.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

M: For this project I didn't want to pick anything too trendy so that this makeover would be current for long time to come. I love the classic look of satin nickel and how it fits into the craftsman style I was going for in the space, so we found a three light satin nickel fixture that fit the space we had perfectly.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

M: The bathroom vanity area is not very large, so we had to make sure we purchased a light with three fixtures or less to fit the width of the space. I also knew I wanted to add trim around the mirror, so we had to make sure the light would fit in between the added mirror trim and ceiling.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

K: Our goal was to create an industrial, farmhouse-styled bathroom within a tight budget, and these new lights were budget-friendly AND had the look we were going for. And I'd like to add that these bathroom vanity light fixtures are actually meant to be outdoor lanterns, but who says you can't bring them inside?!

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

K: Having everything "to scale" was definitely important for us. In other words, I think these lights wouldn't have looked right in our bathroom if I only chose one fixture per mirror. So, having five lights over two mirrors makes a much better statement than just two.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

K: I totally agree! I love as much natural light as possible, but I really love bright lights as well! We chose to install the 9W LED, clear globe lights that put out 650 lumens, and we made sure to add the dimmer switch, which we absolutely LOVE!

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

S: We didn't have sufficient lighting in our half bathroom. Not only did we have just one bulb, but the old, 1970's cover was off, leaving an ugly, exposed bulb.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

S: I wanted something modern that would compliment the stencils on the wall. Most big box home improvement stores don't have a huge selection. I knew I wanted black, but we were limited with selection. This one was the most suitable for the modern look I was going for.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

S: Since it's a small half bathroom, I didn't want to overwhelm the vanity. A light with two sockets was perfect!

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

S: I go for bright, white-colored lights. The yellow-tinted incandescent bulbs make rooms feel dated. I wanted this bathroom to look clean, fresh, and modern!

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

C: We had a tight budget for this bathroom makeover, so the most cost-effective option was to give the existing vanity lights a simple makeover. By turning them 180 degrees to point down instead of up, and swapping the dated shades for some clean-lined, modern ones, it instantly changed the look for about $15. With those two updates, you would never know that the main part of the fixture remained the same, and now the lights cast a more flattering light when you're using the mirror.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

C: The bathroom is pretty tight on space, so the vanity lights needed to be compact. I also didn't want them to compete with the hand-painted wall treatment I created, so a simple design worked really well in this case.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

C: Bulbs are definitely important. I'm slowly making the switch to all LEDs in my home, and I've found that the magic "warmth" level for me is 2700K to get the same glow of a traditional incandescent. Also, don't be intimidated by the new wattage levels—most bulbs tell you what the incandescent equivalent is right on the box so that you can choose the right brightness for your needs. I went with a 40W equivalent for each of my vanity lights since they're the main source of light in the space, and it's just the right amount of light.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

H: We wanted lights that were long horizontally to stretch across the huge mirror. We also wanted the lights to hang down over the mirror slightly so that they could reflect off the mirror and make the bathroom even brighter. We were really surprised at how much of a difference that made in the brightness of the bathroom!

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

H: The main challenge we faced when installing the lights was that the hole in the wall where the old light used to be was too large for the new fixture. We used some lightweight spackling to cover up the parts of the hole that weren't covered, then painted over it with the new paint color. The fixture was also pretty heavy, so holding it up while my husband wired it in was a little difficult, but that's just because I'm not as strong!

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

H: Absolutely. I think my husband tried three or four different bulbs in the fixture before we landed on ones we liked. The old lights were way too yellow, which made our new blue color scheme look green. LEDs are a must for us, so we went with 3000k 800lm LED bulbs, which were equivalent to 60W. We also chose the "soft white" color because it just looked bright without looking too blue or too yellow.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

C: I wanted to stay away from the overhead vanity lights because I knew I was going to add a very tall built-in mirrored cabinet. With such a tall cabinet, the lighting would be too high, and any girl knows you want that light closer to you when applying makeup. For that reason, I was only looking at wall sconces to go on each side of the vanity.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

C: I was worried about this because I have an older home and I knew there were no electrical boxes on each side of the vanity. Luckily, since we were replacing the entire built-in cabinet, we had to remove all of the existing drywall. We were able to have a fresh start to install the proper electrical boxes.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

C: First and foremost, it had to be unique, not your typical bathroom vanity lights. At the same time, I am a believer to sticking with the style and era of older homes. My house was built in 1929. So I knew that I would honor the time period with basketweave tiling and a pedestal sink (the parts of the bathroom that are too costly to change). I knew I could modernize the space with lighting. That was when I fell for the Saber lights.

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

R: When we first moved into our home, there were many features I loved, which is why we chose the home in the first place. The master bathroom, on the other hand, was just not our aesthetic. It was mid-90's builder-grade. Luckily, we knew that the features we didn't like (the lighting, the fixtures, the colors of the counter and cabinet) were all things we could change. We took the chance on the house, and immediately set to work to bring the bathroom more into our style.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

R: The lighting was a stock strip of round vanity lights. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted at first, but I did know I wanted it to be more sleek and contemporary. I started by searching for "contemporary" and "modern" light fixtures within a certain price range. The choice we ended up making was not something I would have expected at first, but worked out really well! The long, clean lines coordinated with the simple, clean lines for the new faucet fixtures we chose.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

R: As we need to get ready in this room every morning, including applying my makeup for the day, it was important that the lighting was a bright, natural white. To be more sustainable, and to save on electricity, we also wanted compact fluorescent bulbs.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

J: Originally, I was going to buy a new fixture with an industrial farmhouse look. Buying was pricey and required electrical work, which I didn't have the skills to do myself. I liked the original frame but was not happy with the dated bell-shaped enclosures, so I decided to replace them.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

J: The biggest challenge was painting the fixture. I did not want to remove it from the wall to paint (again, lack of electrical skills) so it was tricky trying to figure out a way to paint it on the spot. But I figured it out, and it turned out great!

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

J: Once I decided to switch out only the enclosures, my goal was to find something similar in size to the bell-shaped covers. I considered buying new enclosures, but I couldn't find them for less than $6 each, which after adding it up, it was almost as much as buying a new black vanity light.

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

A: I wanted a completely different look in my bathroom and from past experiences, I knew that lighting was a way to get a different look on a budget.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

A: I needed to work with the same mirror and didn't want to move my electrical box. Both of those things meant I needed to stay with the same scale of light, which limited what I was able to look at.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

A: When we took out the original light, we realized that there wasn't an electrical box in the wall. So, we had to buy and install a shallow electrical box to get our lighting up to code.

W: Was there a specific sized vanity light you had in mind when you started the project?

A: Not necessarily a specific size but it definitely couldn't hang down. I needed my light to span from left to right instead of going vertical.

W: How did you know it was time to change up your vanity lighting?

H: We had just moved into this house and I knew the moment we bought it that all the lighting needed updating. It was just all…not us.

W: Take us through your thought process when you were choosing the right vanity lights for your bathroom.

H: I wanted something that would give more light and add a touch of glam. I had these crystal knobs I wanted to use on the cupboard doors and I could just see the whole space glammed up a bit. The one I chose has a mirrored back so it really bounces the light around nicely plus it had small crystals adorning it, too.

W: Were there any challenges you came across when installing your vanity lights?

H: It was pretty easy to install and I did it myself. No issue.

W: The bulbs in a vanity light are nearly as important as the lights themselves! Did you have a particular bulb color or brightness in mind for the finished look?

H: I didn't buy the bathroom vanity lighting because of the bulbs but these ones do give off nice, white light. No yellow tinge so that's great.

Just some time and creativity is all it takes to makeover your bathroom vanity lighting. And as some of our bloggers have shown, it doesn't have to be expensive! Switching up light shades or making them yourself can be a lot simpler and more fun than it initially appears. We hope you take these tips into consideration the next time you're shopping for bathroom lighting.