When you’re planning a bathroom refit, it’s exciting to think about new colour schemes and luxurious shower and bath possibilities. But try not to overlook the lighting. Far from this being an afterthought, it’s crucial to consider and plan your lighting from the early stages of design. The location, styles, and levels of your lighting have the power to transform the look and feel of your bathroom. In this room especially, ambiance must balance perfectly with function. It’s lighting that plays the key role here.
Types of lighting
Bathroom designers often talk about lighting in terms of levels, elements, or states. This basically means lighting that comes from different sources. These varied methods of lighting combine to build ambiance, and frames the style concept to elevate and finesse the design.
Natural light
During daylight hours, it’s vital to maximise the amount of natural light that reaches your bathroom. Some bathroom spaces benefit from large, south facing windows which bathe every corner in natural light. Some rooms simply aren’t that fortunate! This is where you can employ specific techniques to optimise the impression of natural light in your bathroom. Avoid over-dressing windows. Most bathrooms will be fitted with obscured glass, so curtains and blinds aren’t strictly necessary. If the room is poor in natural light, make sure that there is plenty of reflectivity in the room design. So gloss finishes, sparkling stone surfaces, and large mirrors.
Ambient lighting
As you might expect, ambient lighting creates the overall ambiance in the bathroom. It’s achieved through overhead lighting, whether that is through ceiling LEDs or, if the space allows, pendant lights. Remember that light fittings must be located at the correct distance from water sources. A wonderful way to enhance the strength of ambient lighting in a bathroom is to use lighting strips under surfaces or wall cabinets. With different colour possibilities, these lights really can change the appearance of the room.
Accent lighting
The role of accent lighting is to highlight a specific feature or area. By directing light in this way, the design creates depth through shadow. This makes the room feel more dynamic. A speciality at Stone & Chrome, our lit recessed shelving is a wonderful way to include accent lighting. Whether within a shower or alongside a bath, or even a wall section, recessed storage space is unimposing and useful. With coloured LED lighting, this functional feature becomes a design statement.
Task lighting
Of course, the bathroom is a functional space. In order to perform the tasks, be it tooth brushing, shaving, or make up application, you need to be able to see what you’re doing. This is why task lighting is so important for bathrooms. Most commonly, we see task lighting focussed on mirrors. However, there’s several ways that you can achieve this. You may prefer integrated light within the mirror itself, or focussed fittings surrounding the mirror area. Or perhaps even backlight the mirror. All are really useful and effective ways to include task lighting.
What can good lighting achieve?
Of course, bathroom design means more than aesthetic appeal. Good design involves excellent functionality too. So what are the practical aspects of user friendly design that lighting is able to achieve?
Visibility
Not just being able to see where you are, your lighting should be directed towards specific bathroom tasks. Whether this is grooming or relaxation, use underlighting and integrated task lighting to make detailed visibility a focus.
Mood
With a soft glow emanating from recesses and under units and surfaces, you can create the ultimate calming mood in your bathroom. Smart, multicoloured lighting makes this even more flexible. Make sure that you can individually control different parts of your bathroom lighting to create a huge range of moods.
Spatial enhancement
Light diffusion is key when it comes to increasing the sense of space in a bathroom. So think about the direction of both your artificial and natural light sources. Use surfaces like quartz or marble to naturally reflect light around the space.
Lighting to support design concepts
Let’s say you have a very specific style concept to fulfil. From retro to contemporary, spa to classical, lighting is an excellent tool to enhance and enliven the design concept of the room. Here are a few choice examples:
- Spa – Make sure that your lighting sources have individual controls, enabling you to create a soft, relaxing hue at the touch of a button.
- Contemporary – Clean lines and integrated lighting works well in these design schemes, with lit mirrors and LED strips.
- Retro – If space allows, look at statement pendant lighting. Alternatively, illuminate retro accessories with accent lighting in recessed shelves.
- Classical – Maximise natural light, and the feeling of natural light with plenty of reflectivity in your bathroom design.
- Minimalist – No-fuss fittings and clean light will keep clarity as a priority within this design concept.
In many ways, bathroom lighting is the structure that holds a design concept together. With flexibility and range it can adapt to your needs and mood. Our creative and experienced designers at Stone & Chrome are here to elevate your next bathroom refit to the really special.