The mirror is undoubtedly an indispensable piece of furniture in every bathroom. Without the mirror, which is almost always placed above the sink, it would in fact be extremely difficult to carry out almost daily tasks such as applying make-up, shaving, arranging one’s hair or performing the various steps for perfect skin care.

The mirror and washbasin area cannot therefore receive light from a central lighting source alone, such as a pendant or ceiling light, but needs direct light that can be provided by a wall light or spotlights.

In order to choose the right light for your bathroom mirror, it is also necessary to take into account two fundamental aspects: the aesthetic and the functional.

Wall sconces and spotlights are in fact true furnishing objects and as such must be selected on the basis of the style with which the bathroom has been furnished. The aesthetic criterion therefore recommends using modern wall lights and designer wall lights in bathrooms characterised by a modern and contemporary style; rustic wall lights and vintage wall lights, on the other hand, are perfect for lighting a bathroom furnished in a classic or vintage style.

 

 

Which type of light to choose

As we have said, the choice of bathroom mirror lighting cannot be based on aesthetics alone, but must also take into account the functional aspect. The bathroom tends to be a humid environment, which is why LED bulbs are the ideal lighting technology. In addition, they provide substantial energy savings.

Depending on the activities that are carried out in front of the bathroom mirror, it is necessary to select the right light colour, i.e. the temperature of the bulbs. In general, a temperature of around 3000 – 4000 degrees Kelvin is preferable as it allows the mirror to be illuminated without distorting the colours, shadows and morphology of the face, guaranteeing a light that is very close to neutral. The important thing is not to mix warm and cold lights within the same room and to select the same shade for both the central light and the mirror light accordingly.

How to design mirror lighting?

Once you have selected the style of the wall light or spotlight and the light colour, you must decide where to place the light source in order to best illuminate the mirror. If the mirror is very wide horizontally, it is advisable to place two adjustable spotlights or two vertically placed wall lights on the sides of the mirror. In the latter case, the diffuser of the wall light must be opaque and anti-glare.

Another solution, especially suitable for bathrooms furnished in a contemporary style, is the mirror backlit by LED strips. This solution is only feasible if the mirror is frameless and has a depth of at least 2 cm.

The most preferred solution, however, is to place a single wall light above the mirror. For example, the Elegance wall light is horizontal and has a downward directed light beam that illuminates the entire mirror.