Soft bathroom lighting

[LittleEsme]

I'm opting for downlights in my bathroom for every day use, but I'd really like to have a soft single light for nighttime use.

I've seen bathroom mirrors with LED lights but they look too white for me. Has anyone opted for something softer? A single wall light with a soft glow?

I'm also a self-confessed pimple popper so I don't know how to balance this out with bright enough targeted light to do this.

Am I expecting too much!?

We've got a rechargeable lantern a bit like the link below for the garden and I just use that if I want a relaxing bath. It's a cheap and easy solution although I guess if you are getting the whole thing done anyway having something more permanent could be good. Can you get a dimmer switch or smart bulbs you can adjust the brightness of?

www.auraglow.co.uk/auraglow-rechargeable-cordless-colour-changing-led-table-lamp-wooden.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiApL2QBhC8ARIsAGMm-KEcaIU63JkAsJ4WDA7G51jcNS2nSXZjhD6Vs8bPkRI0nyk0n1Ne1JsaAjfWEALw_wcB

We've put in motion activated soft led light strips built in to the wall low down around the toilet, specifically for night time visits (especially for the children). They give off a very soft glow that is perfect.

Most wired in mirrors with led light have the option to change the colour of the light from.bright white to a darker yellow tone. discovered this by accident when I kept pressing the off button!! Well.my old did and so does my new one..

Yes our cabinet can be white or warm light.

We have a double switch, one for the ceiling spots and the other for LED light built in to the niche. We just use the niche light on if wanting low light for night time. You could also have a dimmer switch for the ceiling lights. I wanted this but the plumber said it's not needed in a bathroom.

I've fiddled with my current mirror lighting and it's just set to a cold white light I think! Never mind!

I'd really love to buy a soft white setting on a mirror so I think I'll just ask in the show room for a demo before buying.

I'm renovating a bathroom to include a freestanding bath, and after having had only a shower for the last 10 years, I have a really overwhelming desire to bath by low-light instead of the bright overhead spots.

We recently renovated a bathroom and fitted downlights. in the ceiling and wall lights either side of the mirror and put them all on the same dimmer switch. So you can have soft or bright lighting depending on mood, light, activity. It's a small bathroom so works for us - might that work for you? I love the idea of low level lighting as well.

Like PPs', our mirror is mains wired and has LED 'frame' around it which can be adjusted from cold to warm white glow by holding hand over the motion-activated switch. It's bright enough for task lighting, but I do miss our older-school set up in the previous house with two surface mounted lights on both sides of the mirror which were much brighter and better for pimple popping

I put in a single wall light where my bathrooms were wired for a mirror with light. Just bought an ordinary mirror which goes below. They give a gentle light for nighttime wandering or bath in a gentle glow instead of the downlighting.
I bought mine from Garden Trading.

www.gardentrading.co.uk/lighting/indoor-lighting/wall-lighting/campden-bathroom-wall-light.htm

This one for the main bathroom

And a smaller one for the en-suite which is no longer appears to be on their site. It has frosted glass.

How about this? The linen shade should give a soft light and you can choose which bulb to use. I am getting them for my bathroom.

www.neptune.com/lighting/wall-lights/brunswick-wall-light/brunswick-5-5-warm-white-bronze/

@NoIdeasForWittyNickname apologies for opening an old thread but I'm in search of an LED mirror (I don't have room for light either side of mirror as sink is next to wall on one side) and yours sounds like the kind of thing that would work... Do you rate it? And can you send me a link to where you got it if so?

Thank you!!

@goodinacrisis our current one is HiB Globe 45 (45 is referring to its size - 45x80cm - as Globe model is avialalbe in a few different sizes). It's a simple rectangular shape which suites the space we have, but HiB make a whole range of various illuminated mirror designs featuring similar LED + demista functionality that may be worth exploring if you fancy something different www.hib.co.uk/product-category/products/bathroom-mirrors/

We've had it for almost 2 years and yes, both DH and rate it. We bought it via a local bathroom supplier but it's widely available online (just as an example, www.ukbathroomstore.co.uk/hib-globe-45-led-illuminated-mirror-450mm-wide-78400000 )

@goodinacrisis was going to add - when we refurbed the bathroom in our previous house, LED mirrors were not so widespread, and we had "normal" wall bathroom lights mounted onto the mirror glass (I'm attaching a pic, please don't laugh at the rest of the decor, that was 13 years ago 😄).

We were looking for a large-ish heated* *mirror and found a manufacturer that offered bespoke service who agreed to add lights (we supplied them). To them, an extra bit of electrics wasn't a big deal as they dealt with mirror units that were supposed to be mains wired and IP safe anyway. Suprisingly, it wasn't horrendously expensive. I'd whole-heartedly recommend the company but unfortunately they closed down just a few months ago. Still, surely someone else would be offering similar service these days so maybe it's worth reseaching.

Hi both,

Thanks so much. The lights fitted into the mirror is an interesting idea and I'm going to look into whether that will work in the space we have and if I can find anyone to do it...

I've had lots of people rating the Hib brand and wondered what you thought of the quality of light for task lighting? This is what I primarily want this for and so need it to be great, especially in winter when I have to get ready for work in the dark!

Thanks again!

I've had lots of people rating the Hib brand and wondered what you thought of the quality of light for task lighting?

I use our HiB mirror for make up as well and I'd say it's ok. But I suspect this would vary from model to model, depending on how the lights are set up and the size of the mirror. For example, some of their mirrors have LEDs set behind the mirror edges, creating just a soft glow around the perimeter, which I suspect is not brilliant for make up. Ours has LEDs framing the surface of the mirror, which is good when applying make up. But I suspect if we opted for a larger mirror size, the strips of lights would be further apart and the lelvel of illumination near the centre of the mirror, where you're most likely would want to see your face, would be lower, if that makes sense. 🤔If you still want a bigger mirror as a design statement, maybe it's also worth considering a smaller illuminated task mirror specifically for make up?

I'm definitely getting a 50cm x 70cm one, and not one with lights behind, because as you say, they seem to be more of a mood lighting thing. I'll be getting either lights done the sides or all the way around.