If you want to make some positive changes in your bathroom, the best place to start is simple – the bathroom mirror. Every bathroom needs a mirror and the majority of people who enter your bathroom will use it. But not all mirrors are created equal. To be beneficial for helping you apply make-up, shave, or check your appearance before you go to work, the mirror must be well-lit. Gazing on your faces covered by shadows is not the best way to start the day or to end it. When renovating your bathroom, think about how you can improve the look and function of the room with an illuminated bathroom mirror.
Use Soft yet Powerful Light
Many make the mistake of thinking that brighter bulbs are automatically better when it comes to bathroom lighting. After all, the goal is to see better, so shouldn’t more wattage be the ultimate end result? Not really – overly bright light produces harsh shadows and is also not helpful when it comes to colour matching (you need effective colour matching when you are applying make-up, for example.) You need bulbs that produce a soft effect but which give good quality, colour-matched light. For example, you need lights that have a high Colour Rendering Index (CRI) to allow you to match make-up colours to your skin tone. Illuminated mirrors come with a range of different options for bulbs (take a look at the options on http://www.lightmirrors.co.uk for example) – choose the best for your needs (and always avoid fluorescent light).
Add More than One Light
A bathroom with one overhead light will not be the best when it comes to looking good – an overhead light produces shadows under your chin, and in your eye sockets. Plus, it highlights your wrinkles and areas of discoloration. The best location for bulbs or light sources is one set of lights to one side of the face and another set to the other. Install an illuminated mirror with lighting set at either side, at face level. You can have an overhead light for when you want to take a shower or use the toilet, but for close-up work you need the matching strips of lights directed at your face.
Put Some Other Task Lights in the Room
You put lamps and other lights in various places in your living room, so why not in your bathroom too? Use spotlights in the shower, or a spot accenting a painting or a wall decal. Be careful, though, that the light from these spots doesn’t disrupt the flow of light on your face from the illuminated mirror. When you are applying make-up, use only the light from this source.
Good lighting is crucial in your bathroom. Your mirror is the best place to install lighting for make-up, shaving, and other detailed tasks. With an illuminated mirror you don’t need to worry about shadows or poor quality colour rendering.
