Bathroom lighting: installation

Illumination in the bathroom must be mandatory, and there are a lot of options for its implementation. The ceiling has long ceased to be the only place where you can attach a lamp - today for this use any surface, including mirrors and the baths themselves. In this article we will try to figure out how to safely and effectively organize the lighting in this particular room.

Bath lighting principles

The main task when choosing a bathroom lightroom is the creation of a functional and user-friendly system, which at the same time would be absolutely safe. Water and electricity concepts are incompatible, but it so happened that it is in the bathroom that the light must penetrate into all the corners. Experts argue that the lighting in this room should not just be bright and cold in the operating room, but close to lighting adjacent rooms. This method of organization allows you to achieve functionality and does not create a feeling of discomfort when leaving the bathroom.

The first thing you need to understand, going for the bathroom fixtures - their design should be in harmony with the interior of the room, including the plumbing and accessories. For example, if the bathroom has many shiny surfaces( chrome towel warmers, glossy tiles, etc.), it is better to install hidden or as inconspicuous fixtures, otherwise numerous glare will irritate and quickly tire your eyes. But in a room with discreet plumbing you can install bright ceiling lights that will "revitalize" the situation.

Modern lighting products are so diverse that you should not deny yourself the pleasure of choosing the latest novelties. For example, for a bathroom you can buy an inconspicuous at a glance LED light bulb, but it's worth including it, as it instantly changes, giving out color glare, a game of shadows or refracted streams of light.

During the installation, do not forget the safety precautions, which should be the first place in the issue of electrifying the bathroom. Each light source must have a reliable protection against direct contact with water. More on this later.

Directional light

The bathroom is a special room not only because of constant humidity and temperature changes. The atmosphere here should be such that, if desired, a person can relax or, conversely, cheer up. To achieve such an effect mainly helps color design and lighting. If you are going to decorate a bath in red, we recommend the article "Design of a red bathroom: photo, interior ideas".

Directional light in the bathroom is needed to isolate a zone. Usually it is a working area with a washbasin and a mirror, a bath or a shower booth, a washing and ironing area. To profitably organize zoning and create a favorable atmosphere, try to send not too bright streams of light directly to the bath, leaving the rest of the space in the twilight - so during bathing you will give rest to your eyes and psyche.

Very often in the bathroom is installed sconces with shades of colored glass, which allows you to get a soft soothing lighting of your favorite shade. If you are dealing with a two-position lamp, install multi-colored lamps in it, for example, cold blue and warm red - the first one will help wake up, and the second one will relax after a hard day. For a roomy bathroom with a low ceiling, it may be advisable to group several colored lights at the top to "color" the functional areas in different tones. Also a good zoning is obtained if you hang it over a small lamp above each piece of sanitary ware.

Backlight placement in bathroom

For the installation of lighting in the bathroom is suitable for any surface. There are fixtures for ceilings, mirrors, furniture and even those that can be installed under water. It is important only to determine the location of the installation, and to choose the appropriate products is not difficult.

Ceiling in the bathroom

Bathrooms and toilets have long ceased to be used for drying clothes and storing old basins, now it's a full room with its own climate, atmosphere and features. And like any other room in the house, the bathroom has the right to full coverage. Since Soviet times, most people have become accustomed to a single bulb in the center of the ceiling, but today with such a development of the light industry such a "classical" solution will simply be blasphemy.

The illumination of the ceiling in the bathroom can be represented only by one lamp only in the case of a very modest quadrature. For large rooms, one light bulb will not be enough to ensure an even distribution of light across all functional areas.

Helpful Hint: The more lighting equipment is installed, the less power you can set for each one. Maintenance of small low-power fixtures is much cheaper. Especially relevant in this regard, LEDs and LED strips.

Multiposition ceiling lighting in the bathroom is often organized with small halogen lamps. However, there may be a problem - most halogen bulbs are rated at 12 volts, and you can only get this voltage by using a step-down transformer. Unfortunately, the cost of such equipment is almost equivalent to the price of a large set of lighting equipment. Some for this reason choose cheap Chinese models, but they are very noisy and quickly break down, and you will not be able to relax in such a bath at all desire. If you decide to purchase a step-down transformer, do not save, but rather choose a model with an attractive decorative case that will complement the interior of the room.

Halogen lamps can be of an open or embedded type. The latter are used mainly for suspended ceilings or cut directly into the ceilings. Usually they give a beam of light directed to the floor, which is not very functional, so it's better to choose spotlights with the function of changing the angle of rotation.

Helpful Hint: When planning lighting in the bathroom, pay attention to the construction with conductive busbars and strings - they can be used for modeling lighting systems. Such devices can be installed horizontally, vertically, under the ceiling or against a wall, or can be removed altogether from the system without violating its integrity. In this case, the light sources can be directed to either side.

Floor in bathroom

Having dealt with the most typical place for installing lighting, you can finally go to more modern solutions. The floor, as it turned out, is also very suitable for mounting fixtures. Moreover, so you can create a unique atmosphere in the room.

For this purpose, special recessed floor lamps are used, characterized by increased water resistance, shock resistance and strength. Similar products are used to illuminate garden paths. The standard diameter of the device is 5 cm with a depth of installation of 9 cm and a bulb power of up to 5 watts.

It is worthwhile to understand that the functionality of these lamps is not enough, therefore they play mainly a decorative role and are used as a supplement to the main lighting. With their help it is very convenient to conduct zoning of space, separating, for example, a bath or a per capita shower.

Furniture in the bathroom

For lighting furniture use mainly LED strip. Such products are ideal for installation in the bathroom, since it operates with low voltage and is well protected from contact with water and steam. Lighting in furniture is needed not only for beauty - it helps to quickly find the right thing on the shelf or navigate in space, for example, if the tape fringes the end of the curbstone with the sink.

Illumination of the bathroom cabinet is absolutely necessary, especially if general lighting is not enough. Imagine that from the light sources there is only an old-good light bulb in the center of the ceiling, you open the locker under the sink to get a sponge, a rag, a bottle of detergent, etc. With your body you obstruct light from the ceiling and ordinary searches take much longer.

Illumination of the mirror

Continuing the theme of zoning, you can not fail to mention the mirror with illumination in the bathroom. This is a popular way to highlight the workspace, create functional lighting and get a beautiful and stylish interior element. The space around the mirror should be evenly illuminated from all sides. It will be useful not only for girls to apply make-up evenly, but also for men - for high-quality shaving.

How to install a backlit mirror in the bathroom:

1. Light sources should be bright enough, but the light should not "cut" the eyes and dazzle. Ideally, it is necessary to make diffused light using matte glass or plastic lampshades( they must be white, as other shades create distortions of reflection in the mirror).
2. The most common way to organize mirror lighting is to symmetrically arrange a pair of luminaires on both sides. Thus, you prevent the appearance of black and white transitions and ensure a uniform distribution of light across the face.
   
3. If you have a wide mirror, place the light sources horizontally along the entire length at an altitude of about 2 m from the floor level.
4. For mid-sized mirrors, experts recommend installing spotlights around the perimeter.
5. For the mirror zone, you can use a variety of light bulbs - the choice will depend on the design of the lamp itself. The only thing, the spectrum of light is better to choose the closest to the natural.
6. You can attach the fixtures to the wall or to the mirror with a special glue. It's easier and quicker to make LED mirror lighting in the bathroom with a special tape - so you get a comfortable work area and an original design effect.

Rules for mounting lighting

Regardless of whether you want to make a cabinet in the bathroom with a backlight or to build fixtures in the floor, you need to know the rules of wiring. In the case of the bathroom, they are characterized by increased safety requirements, since the risk of direct contact with moisture is great.

Rules for placing wiring in the bathroom:

1. Forget about junction boxes and other ways of connecting wires in this spirit - in the bathroom they should not be. It is clear that without some connections can not do, but we must try to protect them as much as possible. This will help you quality insulating materials and hermetic terminal blocks.
2. Be sure to ground, even if you only use low-power LED lighting. This will not only protect you personally, but will also save electrical appliances.
3. Do not disregard the protection - install the RCD to avoid electric shock. This is a special device that instantly reacts in the event of a current leakage and turns off the damaged device. For example, if you accidentally get two fingers into the socket, the RCD immediately de-energizes it and you remain intact.
4. Separate system - sockets, plumbing electronic devices and lighting should be connected separately. For each subsystem, it is necessary to equip the local automatic protection( switch).

Specialists recommend to install in bathrooms a low-power lighting system of 12 watts, because this voltage is absolutely safe for humans. In addition, the humidity and temperature drops do not pose a threat to the overall energy chain. The most important thing is to take the low voltage transformer( adapter) out of the bathroom.

Helpful Hint: Tag each post by connecting it to the junction box. For this purpose it is convenient to use stickers or self-made tags with the name of the connected device( ceiling light, hand dryer, light mirror, extractor, etc.).

Bath Light: photo