An essential component of any well-lit and oft-used bathroom, bathroom vanity lights pack a powerful punch for practical, attractive task lighting. Simple and easy to style, these fixtures come in a range of shapes and looks that can really take your bathroom lighting design to the next level. Bathroom vanities require special considerations for task lighting — the type of lightning required to perform specific tasks like shaving and applying makeup. Your bathroom is the space where you’ll start and end your day and you’ll want to have functional lighting for chores like shaving, makeup application, and hair styling. Bathrooms of all sizes will benefit from these tips and tricks, from the spacious and spa-like to petite powder rooms. To complete your design, consider enhancing your vanity lighting with a vanity top cabinet. Those looking for vanity lights for a small bathroom or half bath lighting have just as many opportunities for bathroom beautification as those with a more sprawling layout!

What Is A Vanity Light?

Vanity lights are a particular subset of lighting fixtures designed to be mounted above the bathroom vanity. The vanity area is typically comprised of a vanity sink, countertop, and vanity mirror. Vanity lights are considered task lighting and should not be expected to fully brighten a bathroom on their own. Incorporate other layers of light throughout your bathroom, especially if you have natural light available. Bathroom ceiling lights and pendants (or even chandeliers for a trendy, modern flair) are great for providing ambient lighting to the room. The primary function of bathroom sconces and vanity light fixtures is to evenly light your face for all your daily self-care tasks.

Vanity Lighting Fixture Shapes

The range of vanity light shapes available will allow you to truly flex your design skills and chose a fixture that perfectly suits your bathroom aesthetic. Some of the most popular shapes include:

· Bar: Bar vanities have a classic feel. These are typically comprised of a long rectangular shade enclosing multiple lamps, which makes them a great option for long-lasting LED arrays, which provide a cool, or white, color temperature. Some LED bulbs also offer adjustable colors, allowing you to change the color tone or ambience of the space.

· Cage: Cage vanity lights evoke a more rugged, industrial bathroom mood and frequently allow the light to shine unobstructed, without a diffuser, for an open, airy look.

· Globe: Globe vanity lights are a modern/contemporary bathroom lighting mainstay, and perfect for creating a sleek, clean, yet slightly quirky aesthetic. Globe light fixtures enclose the lamp in what is typically a clear or frosted globular shade and lend your vanity area sophisticated panache.

· Shaded: Shaded vanity lights cover a wide range of shapes and styles that enclose the lamps with shades. While these fixtures are diverse and versatile, it’s important to chose fixtures with metal or glass shades, as fabric shades (unless they are safety rated for bathroom use) are frequently not suitable for damp environments. If you love the look of a vanity light with a fabric shade, be sure to choose one specifically designed for damp areas, or consider mounting in your powder room, where airborne moisture from tubs and showers won’t compromise the materials.

· Tube: Vanity tube lights are similar to bar fixtures, but these rounded fixtures have an even more futuristic air. The long, tube shape keeps things sleek and simple for more understated rooms.

Choosing Vanity Lights For Your Mirror

Vanity lights function primarily as bathroom mirror lights; they bring task lighting to the area over your vanity and should easily light your face when you use your bathroom vanity mirror. Since these lights work in tandem with your bathroom mirror, it’s important to consider the shape, size, and style of your mirror when selecting your vanity fixtures. Here are a few vanity light and mirror pairings we recommend:

Whatever your chosen style and decor, matching your light to your mirror will allow you to create a unique space you’ll be proud of.

Choosing Light Bulbs For Your Bathroom Vanity

edis Once you’ve found your perfect bathroom vanity fixture, it’s time to refine your look with vanity light bulbs! Whenever possible, choose bathroom light bulbs with a high Color Rendering Index. A CRI of 90 or higher will ensure you see the most accurate colors in your room (which is particularly important if this is where you'll apply make-up each day!) Except in the case of integrated LED arrays, vanity light bulbs are sold separately on ShadesofLight.com so you can fully customize your lighting experience.

When choosing the best bulb for your room, there are several factors to consider. First, you should double check the technical requirements of your chosen fixture and ensure you select bulbs with a bulb base that will fit your lamp’s sockets and that match the recommended wattage of your fixture. From here, you can zero in on your ideal aesthetic — if your chosen fixture has uber trendy clear shades or exposed bulbs, you can further customize the look with decorative bulb styles.

Bathroom Light Bulb Styles

Vanity light bulbs come in all shapes, sizes, and styles so you can choose the best look and shine for your space. Some of the most common light bulbs for bathroom vanity lighting include:

Light Bulb Color Temperature

The color temperature of a bulb can often be referred to as 'mood lighting', as the atmosphere of a space can have a psychological impact. If you are designing your bathroom fixture with a certain tone in mind, it's important to consider color temperature when choosing your light source.

Best Bathroom Vanity Lighting For Makeup

For those looking to create the perfect vanity for makeup application, a few special considerations should be taken into account:

Enthusiast makeup artists won’t find professional makeup vanity with lights on ShadesofLight.com, but for hobbyists, a general LED Lighted Mirror might be just the ticket! The most important factor to consider when designing bathroom lighting for makeup is to ensure your face is lit evenly and there are no harsh shadows under your eyes, cheeks, or chin, which can make it difficult to blend makeup properly. Ideally, makeup enthusiasts will use light on either side of the mirror, as above-mirror lighting or overhead lights can sometimes create shadows that make makeup application difficult.

The best lighting for makeup is natural light, so take advantage of windows or skylights when designing your vanity space! When that’s not possible, either due to the architecture of your space, or the time of day, choosing LED fixtures or vanity bulbs without any colored tint is the next best option.

Chose bulbs or LED fixtures that emit bright white light with a high CRI (around 90-100) for the most accurate colors. Bulbs in the ‘soft white’ range of 2700K – 3000K are recommended for general bathroom use, and makeup application in particular.

Vanity Light Size Guidelines

Vanity fixtures are available in a range of sizes and lamp arrays so you can choose the version that best suits your space. Single vanity light fixtures (which may also be referred to as bath sconces) are ideal for smaller spaces and narrower mirrors. Bigger mirrors and longer vanities might call for two, three, or four lights. Pay special attention to the width and height of your chosen vanity light, as well as the number of lamps per fixture, as these specifications will help you determine if the light in question matches your space.

Should Vanity Lights Hang Over The Mirror?

Because they’re intended primarily as task lighting, vanity lights should be positioned optimally for illuminating the head and face evenly, and eliminating any shadows that might impede tasks like shaving or makeup application. In many cases, this will entail hanging the light above the mirror. However, some spaces may be best suited to single- or double-light bathroom vanity sconces instead. If your mirror is narrow enough, two sconces placed on either side of the mirror hung at the proper height will cast even lighting across your face.

How High Should Vanity Lights Be Above The Mirror?

Whenever possible, vanity fixtures mounted above the mirror should be positioned roughly 78" from the floor, while vanity fixtures mounted to the sides of the mirror should be positioned at about 60" from the floor - or roughly eye-level. Lights in this style should be hung about 28" apart. If the width of your mirror, or some architectural feature like a window or attractive tiling prevents these optimal mounting positions, consider using a different lighting approach.

Perhaps your space is best suited to using both vanity sconces hung beside the mirror and a vanity light hung above the mirror in conjunction. Mounting light fixtures directly to the mirror itself to create a mirror with lights is another option that adds an edgy, modern layer to your room.

You might even decide to do away with wall-mounted fixtures entirely, and instead use a series of hanging bathroom pendants as your lights; lights in this style should be hung generally using the same parameters as above (60” high and 28” apart), and only fixtures suited for damp locations should be used.

Pendants are an especially good option for children’s bathrooms, as the height of the fixtures can be adjusted to accommodate growing kids without having to install new fixtures or plan a full bathroom remodel. Because these fixtures should be placed at roughly eye-level for the best bathroom task lighting, pendants can be hung a little lower for smaller bodies, and raised later to maintain the ideal placement as your kids grow.

Should Vanity Light Fixtures Be Wider Than Your Mirror?

How wide your vanity light is in relation to your mirror can be a matter of personal taste, but there are a few simple tips you can adhere to in order to achieve a posh, balanced look.