Think for a minute about all the things you do in your bathroom. While you don’t need to have absolutely perfect lighting for all of them, having a well-lit bathroom makes everything easier. It makes it safer too. As it turns out, there are multiple types of lighting that are a good idea to include in your bathroom.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s lighting that is specifically intended to light up an area devoted to a particular task. In terms of your bathroom, that generally means having lighting installed to illuminate sinks and mirrors, and sometimes baths and showers as well. Typically, this is going to be overhead lighting, but some carefully placed wall sconces on either side of the mirror can be helpful for eliminating shadows. This can also make things like makeup application tricky.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is general lighting that helps make up for a lack of natural light. One of its jobs is to avoid the bathroom being lit either too dimly or too harshly. Because task lighting tends to be quite bright and harsh, ambient lighting can be a good way to soften and calm the atmosphere in the bathroom. Ambient lighting often uses overhead lighting fixtures. Because of this, it’s important to take into account the size of your bathroom and how it compares with the size of the lighting fixture you intend to use to avoid an unbalanced look.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting gives you a way to really emphasize specific elements within your bathroom. Whether you want to draw attention to a piece of art, a mirror, or other decor items, accent lighting is one of the best ways to do it. Types of accent lighting include things like wall sconces, track lights, spotlights, and pendant lights, all of which have their own unique look and effect. Which one works best for your bathroom will depend on the style you’re going for and the intended use of the light.
Lighting in a bathroom can serve multiple purposes. Task lighting, ambient lighting, and accent lighting all have their own roles to play in your bathroom’s overall design. Layering your lighting will help eliminate inconvenient shadows and make sure your bathroom is neither too dim nor too bright, but rather just right.
Sometimes it helps to have a little inspiration. Check out our gallery of Bathroom Remodel Photos to get some great ideas for your own bathroom remodel.
