Bathroom mirrors and lignts

[VanillaSugar2022]

I am replacing my family bathroom and I need to start thinking about the lighting and the bathroom mirror.

Help, I need some inspiration! Do I really need a demister mirror that works by sensor? And if so, do I need to give the electrician specific details? I’ve looked at John Lewis and their mirrors don’t come with wall fixings. Where would I buy these? I’m trying to do this separately as the bathroom fitter uses a company whose mirrors are between £300 and £500. Do I really need to spend this much?

Also… lighting. Do you have inset LED lights? Do these go over the shower? Are they safe over the shower? I’m getting a hotel- strength extractor fan but I’m still worried about moisture getting into the area around the light fittings. Do you have two sets of lights or one dual setting light to create mood lighting?

The bathroom is for the kids and guests. Do I really need all this? Should I save some money and use these fancy things for my en-suite bathroom when I eventually get it replaced? Will a single light with a socket outside the door suffice? Is that too basic for people nowadays?

Lots of questions but I have to make my decision soon as the bathroom people start next week.

Thanks!

Quick bump.

Show me your mirrors. 🪞

You don’t need any of it really. There is a difference between need and want

Yes leds fitted properly and the correct ones for a bathroom are suitable over a shower, mine are and we’re done by an electrician.

As for the lights, my bathroom cabinet does demist itself, lights up and even has a blue tooth speaker in it, so when I switch it on, my phone blue tooth’s in and I can listen to music as I shower, do make up etc

Do I need it nope. Do I want it. Yes. Could I have put a normal twenty quid mirror in instead. Totally.

Thanks Bluntness.

I guess the other question is if you bought a house, what would your expectations be? I’ve sold a few houses and some potential buyers have been extremely picky.

Heated with built in lights are great, wiring should be simple enough, you could have it come on with the main lights.

If you're tiling the wall, you might consider fitting the mirror back box before tilting. Means less tiling, and the mirror will stand out less. (but a PITA if you need to change the mirror to a different size later)

So far as lighting, I fitted Philips Hue lights with a motion sensor. No more arguments about who left the bathroom lights on, and no grubby sting pull!

(I used GU10 IP rated down lighters so they can go over the shower and bath, check with quailified Part P electrician)

I also connected the mirror and fan via Philips Hue smart plugs, so they can be controlled by timer/motion/Alexa/Siri or a physical switch.

You can also set different lighting for different times of day.

Different "scenes" can be set via Siri, i.e. "Wife bath time" Dim the lights to blue, turn off the fan, play radio". It may sound bit crazy but it makes the room so much nicer to use.

Thanks Dbank - very useful and much appreciated. Am off to google Phillips Hue lights.

@VanillaSugar2022

Thanks Bluntness.

I guess the other question is if you bought a house, what would your expectations be? I’ve sold a few houses and some potential buyers have been extremely picky.

I think it depends on the house. Most houses are priced for the condition they are in. If I was buying a run down end terrace price to sell I’d expect very little, if I was buying a seven figure renovated property I’d expect a high end mirror.

No one is not going to buy a house because th bathroom mirror isn’t heated,

We've just installed this one ...light, de-mister, shaver socket. It's less than £90 on Amazon - various designs and sizes. Has good reviews and we've been happy with ours so far.

We didn't specifically set out to get one with a de-mister (we just needed one with the shaver socket in a specific place so that it worked with a nearby shelf) it just happened that this one had one.

This is mine from Wickes, I am unsure why the two reviews are bad, we had ours professionally installed, the shelves are great, and the speaker doesn’t beep as the reviewer says, my phone jist connects immediately. Suspect the cabinets are not installed correctly.

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Grantham-Bluetooth-LED-Triple-Door-Bathroom-Mirror-Cabinet/p/230208

I find it a very useful storage space, the speaker is good and the de mister means I can do make up etc and not be bothered with steamed up mirrors. They do single and double door versions also.

If you want something really low cost, Argos do a great range

www.argos.co.uk/product/4039448?clickSR=slp:term:mirrored%20bathroom%20cabinet:1:142:1

www.argos.co.uk/product/4072670?clickSR=slp:term:three%20door%20bathroom%20cabinet:1:33:1