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Bathroom Lighting for Making you Spend Hours in your Bathroom
It has been found out that we humans spend about 25-30% (it could be more for all those beautiful women’s out there) of our life inside the bathroom. Just like the rest of the house, nowadays bathroom too reflects individual’s changing lifestyles. More spacious multi functional and cozier, these once functional quick in and out place have become glamour havens -- private corners designed for relaxation, escape and self-indulgence.. Good bathroom lighting is important for you so whether you are putting on makeup or combing your hair, you need a positive view of yourselves, which can only be accomplished by using the right lighting shades and fixtures. The bathroom is the part of the house with the densest assortment of materials and finishes with wall tile, floor tile, shower tile, faucet hardware, towel bars, large mirrors, bathtubs, shower fixtures, etc all in a space often smaller as compare to other parts of the house.
However before going further in designing your bathroom lightings, few precautions or guidelines are necessary. IEEE (An international electrical standards body) recommends some bathroom lighting guidelines which we will discuss here. Firstly it is important to understand the rating by which bathroom are classified. IP rating stands for ‘Ingress Protection’ and is always followed by two characters. These two numbers refer to level of protection and it is important that you choose bathroom light fittings with the correct rating according to where they are to be sited within the bathroom. Lighting inside the bath or shower itself must be low voltage, (max 12v) and be rated at least IP60 which is total immersion proof. Area above and around the bathtub, shower corner, wash basin or any other water using space to a height of 2.25m from the floor, a minimum rating of IP44 is required. If the fitting is 240v which is common for UK homes, a 30ma residual current device (RCD) must also be used to protect the circuit in this zone. Lastly other area of the bathrooms which is in no contact with water, generally no IP rating is required.
In bathrooms, it is quite important to provide adequate light around the vanity and other practical areas like mirrors. While lighting your bathroom, avoid excessive illumination and use your judgment depending upon the size of your bathroom. The general thumb rule is to go on the basis of task lighting or with the lights that do the most work. Like for mirrors, use one for each, then for showers corners, toilet and the rest for proper illumination of the whole bathroom. If possible use switchers or regulators to control any excessive lights depending upon the mood needed and natural light conditions. When illuminating the whole bathroom, always go for a combination of recessed halogen flood lights with other forms of lights to give proper illumination. Using just halogen flood lights can lead to scary shadowing effects and thus other lightings like Bathroom Wall mounted lights in their variety of sizes and shades are useful. Bathroom ceiling fixtures is also another option to give needed illumination. A decorative light fixture suspended from the ceiling provides an elegant touch while adding extra light. Shower lights can or bathroom wall mounted lights with IP64 can brighten up enclosed corners. It should be bright enough to help avoid spills while making washing and shampooing yourself easier. If you have tubs, then like showers, need good general light, which can be provided by a recessed fixture. To avoid dull lights, focus the light's beam at the outside edge of the tub. Reading lamps by the toilet provide more focused light if you want one. Good bathroom mirror lighting, like that provided by warm fluorescent vertical wall sconces or bars, will provide the even facial illumination necessary for eliminating dark circles and shadows. Choose mirror lights to give a proper, with glare and shadow image of yours since you have a practical job to do, grooming and looking your best. If needed, use single sconces on either side of the mirror to remove shadow on your face.
Bulb selection is as important as choosing and placing the right fixture. For lighting vanity areas, try colored or low coated bulbs designed to enhance facial features. Look for wall mounted fixtures that beam down so the heat dissipates easier from the sockets and creates a longer life for all bulbs. In general, fluorescent is not a best choice; it tends to make people colourise. Instead try incandescent bulbs, or bulbs that advertise their similarity to daylight. Remember that the wrong bulb can make anyone look terrible. In all, use energy efficient lights bulbs which are good to look and ease on energy savings. Also keep some spare one for emergency cases. Also, fixtures should be easy enough to maintain and should be guaranteed. Before installing them permanently, hold them up to daylight and be certain you like what you see.
Thus with proper bathroom lighting plan and inspiration to spend quality time out in your bathroom, lighting it will be a just a click of a button.
You can also view this article in our website's news and article sections at:http://www.foryourhome.co.uk/newsdesk_info.php/newsPath/11/newsdesk_id/31
About the Author
We at For your Home are specialist in helping you make better homes and gardens. You are always welcome to visit our online home and garden store at http://www.foryourhome.co.uk and our bathroom lighting space at http://www.foryourhome.co.uk/index.php/cPath/373_479
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