Bathroom lights to get you in the mood

Create a relaxing mood in your bathroom with a combination of bathroom lights and lighting fixtures to transform your bathroom from a purely functional space into one that's also a sanctuary.

Lighting bathrooms used to be a straightforward affair: a single, central fitting that hugged the ceiling or a couple of downlights - with dimmers if you were thinking ahead. However, the possibilities have expanded dramatically, as design-savvy consumers transform once purely functional areas into sanctuaries and spas. "I think people are looking at nicer ways of doing things," says Peter Lodge, manager at Euroluce Lighting in Darlinghurst. "They grew up with one light in the bathroom ceiling and it was all a bit drab. With people spending so much money on homes, I think they want an overall package and bathroom lighting is part of that."

Lighting bathrooms can be tricky, because they are generally smaller rooms crammed with lots of fittings and fixtures, and cater to various tasks from putting on make-up to relaxing in the bath. They also have to cope with moisture. As a general rule of thumb, Peter recommends a bathroom light fixture style with an IP (ingress protection) rating of 44 or above: the first numeral relates to dust (rating 1-6) and the second to water (1-8).

The next step is to choose your type and style of bathroom lights and fittings. Peter suggests using a combination of general-purpose downlights, task-orientated mirror-mounted fittings and ambient wall-mounted fittings or sconces. However, general-purpose lighting can also be mood enhancing. Bathroom mood lighting can be achieved with halogen downlights on dimmers turned down low - to generate a warmer, orange-toned light that's cosy, while also giving complexions a rosy glow, he says. Generally, it's more problematic and costly to fit energy-efficient fluorescent lights with dimmers, although some halogen downlights can take fluorescent globes, he says. "You can jump in the bath with lots of candles around or, instead, simply jump in with the lights down low," Peter says.

For pure bathroom mood lighting, he suggests wall-mounted fittings. "These will give just a nice, overall glow to the bathroom but not necessarily be aimed at anything in particular," he says. However, he suggests sticking with a discreet fixture that emits white rather than coloured light. "It's best to keep bathroom lighting fixtures as simple as possible, so they're easy to combine with other things in the room," he says, adding he normally recommends a chrome finish or brushed nickel to match the tapware.

And while chandeliers have been making forays into bathrooms, Peter is less than enthusiastic. For standard-sized bathrooms, chandeliers will simply lower the perceived height of the ceiling, clutter the room further and might pose problems with moisture and mildew, depending on condensation in the room and the style of light and materials. They could also add to cleaning time and get in the way of such things as swinging towels. "I think a chandelier's getting pretty busy," he says. "A combination of downlights, mirror-mounted fittings and sconces will give you the control you need in terms of bathroom lights, so at the end of the day when you're a bit frazzled, you have something that's a bit more forgiving."

Light up your bathroom - and your mood - by finding your local bathroom lighting fixture retailer online: