Lighting is a very important element of what we create in our bathrooms at The Brighton Bathroom Company. Good lighting softens hard edges (ours and the objects around us!) and gives a space an atmosphere that helps our clients to relax fully and enjoy their space at the end of a hard day. It’s what takes us down a notch or two and gives the room a boutique, luxury look elevating it far beyond a functional room that we wash in.
Louise Home, our Head of Design at The Brighton Bathroom Company has shared some ideas on getting the lighting right in your bathroom.
- Consider the natural light available in the room. This can be utilised using large mirrors to reflect the light and create a great feeling of space.
- Think about working with ‘layers’ of light which will enable you to create different moods at different times, for example, dim light for a relaxing bath or bright for morning shower. It’s important that different lights are individually controlled with downlights on a dimmer. We often use LED lights to highlight features within bathrooms recesses or install lighting around a basin, either wall-mounted or within a mirror. A great example of this is in this Hove bathroom, where the lighting helped create a real sanctuary for its owner.
- Don’t rule out coloured lights. Some LED lights can change colour, slowly running through the colour spectrum or you can choose which colour to set it on depending on your mood. If this is something that appeals to you, take a look into the health benefits of chromotherapy to create your very own spa sanctuary. Different colours can have different healing effects on the mind and body.
- Highlight certain features using lighting within your bathroom, for instance a textured feature tile-wall or low lights to pick up a sparkle in your floor tile. We were really pleased with the effect the Hansgrohe lit shower head had within this uber-luxury bathroom and with the recess lighting used here.
- We’ve sourced showerscreens for clients which have a warm ambient light running through the glass or a lit handle which looks very cool and contemporary. Check out Merlyn Arysto for more details.
- Sadly, not all lights can go into a bathroom environment. We always carefully consider IP ratings on behalf of our clients (or Ingress Protection and International Protection as they are also known), which are used to define the degree of protection provided against intrusion with electrical enclosures. You should always seek advice from a qualified electrician before you install lighting within your bathroom.
- Get food for thought or start building your own Pinterest board from products at Astro for a more contemporary look and Jim Lawrence for more traditional options.
Please also take a look at our inspirational Mood Lighting Pinterest board here.