Bathroom Lighting Ideas | More Bathrooms

Published: 18 November 2021

Although it’s often an after thought in the bathroom renovation process, the right lighting can really transform your suite.

It can set the mood, add ambience and more generally brighten up your bathroom.

This article provides bathroom lighting ideas and breaks down how bathroom lighting zones and how IP ratings work.

Bathroom Lighting Ideas

Depending on the amount of natural lighting you already have within your bathroom and the areas and or features you wish to highlight, different layers of lighting can be installed within your bathroom. This includes:

Task lighting

The clue being in the name, task lighting illuminates the area you need to complete a required task within the bathroom which is most commonly shaving or putting on makeup.

If you’re searching for bathroom wall lighting ideas Task lighting is often fixed to walls around your bathroom and or provided via illuminated mirrors.

Ambient lighting

Ambient lighting is commonly found in the ceiling and or walls of the bathroom and is used to provide the overall illumination. It creates enough light to safely manoeuvre around your bathroom and a smart option for those who are considering bathroom ceiling lighting ideas.

You can set the ambience of you bathroom by fitting a dimmer switch creating a lighting level that better suits your mood and or the task required.

Accent lighting

Similar to task lighting, accent lighting is placed within and highlights specific areas of your bathroom.

Adding depth to bathroom designs, accent lighting can be placed on the wall, in alcoves, cabinets and under baths.

Recessed bathroom lighting

Recessed lighting can be used to create task, ambient and or accent lighting, but is most commonly used in the ceiling. They are directly installed into the surface and create an equal distribution of light in the chosen area helping to add depth and set the mood in your bathroom.

Bathroom LED Lighting Ideas

LED Lights

An energy efficient option - LED lights can use up to 90% less energy than traditional bulbs.

They are available in a range of formats including spotlights, strip lights and candles and can be set up throughout your bathroom, to illuminate the entire room or specific areas.

Illuminated mirrors

Often used for task lighting, illuminated mirrors are available in a range of sizes and styles and also consist of LED lighting at the side of the mirror to illuminate the area.

If you have a small bathroom illuminated mirrors boucle light around the room creating the illusion of more space.

Electrical zones & IP ratings

Once you’ve decided on the bathroom lighting ideas you’ll need to consider your bathroom lighting zones. If you’re adding lighting as part of a full renovation read our bathroom renovation guide.

Bathrooms are separated into different zones (0 to 2) with each zone best suiting lighting with specific IP ratings.

What are bathroom lighting IP ratings?

IP stands or ‘Ingress Protection’. It is the measurement of protection the lighting will have against solids such as dirt and dust ( this is the first number) and liquids (this is the second number).

They are broken down as follows:

Zone 0

The areas inside your bath and or shower are known as zone 0. Any fittings within this zone must be low voltage and IP67 – meaning the lights are water resistant/ protected against the effects of temporary water submersion.

Zone 1

The areas above your bath and or shower to the height of 2.25m from the floor are known as zone 1. For this area you should choose a light with a minimum rating of IP44 although IP6 is generally usedwhich protects against water splashing form any angle.

Zone 2

Zone 2 includes the area stretching 0.6m outside the perimeter of the bath and to the height of 2.25m from the floor as well as the area around the basin within a 0.6m radius of any tap.For this zone lighting with a minimum of IP44 is also recommended.

Outside Zone

The area outside the zone 0,1,2 is known as the outside zone. There is no specific Ip requirements for this area.

To gather further information on bathroom lighting ideas or how you can install bathroom lighting as part of our full bathroom design, supply and installation service you can call us or book a free design appointment.

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