What’s on Your Ceiling

The proper use and placement of bathroom ceiling lights for interior design provides the homeowner with the perfect solution to solve their illumination needs. Correct radiance is not only important for safety but it can also be used as a dynamic design element. People spend a lot of time and money choosing the lighting fixtures for their living room and kitchen but regularly ignore one of the most important rooms in the house: the washroom!

Lavatory ceiling lights are often overlooked because of the diminutive size of the room and it is common to walk into a home that has nothing but a single lighting fixture installed in the middle of their dingy bath ceiling. Besides looking boring, in most cases this fitting does not provide enough brightness to effectively perform your daily washroom tasks.

There are numerous things that must be taken into consideration before coming up with options for lighting your washroom. Look at your present illumination and ask yourself the following questions: Is there enough artificial light to perform grooming? Is your illumination too harsh or too soft? Does the light shine where you need it most? Do you like the look of your lighting fixtures?

Remember you can design a beautiful interior space but if no one can see it or use it because the lighting is ineffective, then you will have wasted your time. So keep these questions in mind when choosing stylish indoor lighting options for your ceiling.

3 Types of Lighting

Before strategically laying out the lighting design for your bath, let’s quickly examine the three types of illumination for your restroom.

• General lighting

• Accent lighting

• Task lighting

Based on the size and design of your bathroom you need to decide what type of lighting is more suitable for your lavatory and what are the best options for lighting your washroom surfaces. General lighting refers to the illumination that encompasses the entire room; this is normally lit by a central ceiling source that can be flush, recessed or hanging from the surface.

The larger your bathing space , the more bulbs will be required to light up the room. A practical luminous solution is to get a wide contemporary ceiling light such as a 12-inch flush mount fixture that shines with timeless beauty so you are not replacing it in a year or two because it has gone out of fashion.

Layer Your Illumination

Consequently, a single overhead light may not be enough for a large bathroom, another option may be a canopy type fixture, where three or more bulbs are mounted around a circular ceiling base to illuminate the entire room.

Accent lighting refers to those fixtures that focus on a specific place or item in the lavatory. These are usually recessed or spot lights, and they are great for creating a specific mood in the room. Down-lights are renowned for their versatility, practicality, efficiency and economy.

Whether you are looking for general down-lighting, wall washing, or accent illumination, all recessed light housings are normally sold separately allowing you to select a model to match your particular décor style and are suitable for dry ceiling location installation (not to be installed above a shower area).

Adjustable 6-inch cylinder spotlights can also be used with a recessed housing and are great with their multiple aiming capabilities. These fixtures can be adjusted 30 degrees vertically for versatile beam precision. Just keep in mind that down-lights are just one part of your room ‘s system to brighten your bath.

Once you have layered your illumination with general lighting and task lighting then you will have a grooming space that is luminous throughout and usable no matter what time of the day.

Finally, task lighting refers to the fixtures that provide focused illumination to the areas you use the most. You can usually find these fittings in front of the mirror, on the ceiling as you exit your bathtub or in the form of track lighting pointing t[...]