A bathroom lit by one ceiling fixture leaves shadows under your eyes every time you look in the mirror. I split bathroom lighting into two jobs, ambient light for the room and task light at the mirror, size the vanity fixture to the mirror's width, and match every fixture to the IP rating its zone actually requires. Here is the brightness target for each layer, the vanity light size math, and the safety ratings that keep a bathroom fixture legal near water.
Already know what you're shopping for? Here are the bathroom lights and fixtures sized and rated for vanities, showers, and general room lighting.
How bright should a bathroom be?
Ambient light, the general room fixture or recessed cans, needs roughly 40 to 60 foot-candles for comfortable use, per the residential illumination levels published by the Lighting Design Lab. That is well above a living room or bedroom, since a bathroom is a task room first.
Task light at the mirror is a different job again. Plan for 70 to 80 foot-candles at face height for shaving, makeup, and skincare, from a vanity light or sconces mounted at the mirror, not from the ceiling fixture. A single overhead light casts shadows down from above and makes fine detail work harder than it needs to be.
Shower and tub niches need their own sealed fixture rather than spillover from the room's ambient light. A damp or wet-rated fixture placed directly over the water keeps that zone properly lit without relying on light bouncing in from the vanity across the room.
What size vanity light fits your mirror?
Size the vanity fixture to roughly three-quarters of the mirror's width. A 30 inch mirror suits a 22 to 24 inch vanity bar, while a 42 inch mirror suits one closer to 30 to 32 inches. Center the fixture horizontally on the mirror and mount it 74 to 78 inches above the floor, measuring to the fixture's center.
| Mirror width | Vanity light length | Mounting height (to center) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 to 30 in | 18 to 24 in | 74 to 78 in |
| 32 to 36 in | 24 to 28 in | 74 to 78 in |
| 40 to 48 in | 30 to 36 in | 74 to 78 in |
If you'd rather flank the mirror with a pair of sconces instead of a single bar, space them 28 to 36 inches apart. Mount each one at 60 to 65 inches above the floor, roughly at eye level for most adults, so both sides of the face light evenly and a single centered fixture doesn't throw a shadow across one cheek.
Ready to match a fixture to your mirror's numbers? Browse bathroom lights and fixtures filtered by length and mounting style, sized for standard and primary bathroom mirrors.
What IP rating do you need for each bathroom zone?
Bathrooms are split into safety zones based on distance from water, and each zone has a minimum IP, or ingress protection, rating a fixture must meet to be used there legally and safely.
| Zone | Location | Minimum IP rating |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 0 | Inside the bath or shower itself | IP67 |
| Zone 1 | Directly above the bath or shower, up to 2.25 m | IP65 |
| Zone 2 | Within 60 cm of Zone 1, or around a sink | IP44 |
| Outside zones | Rest of the room, away from water | No minimum, IP20 recommended |
A pendant or chandelier with no water rating belongs outside every zone, generally over a freestanding tub set well back from any water source, never directly above a shower or inside Zone 1. Checking a fixture's IP rating before you buy costs nothing and avoids a fixture that fails, or an installation an electrician won't sign off on.
Where should vanity lights or sconces be placed?
Center a single vanity bar horizontally over the mirror, not over the sink, since mirror and sink centerlines don't always match on a double vanity. Mount it 74 to 78 inches above the floor so the light falls forward onto the face rather than glaring back from the mirror's surface.
For a double vanity with two mirrors, use two separate fixtures, one centered over each mirror, rather than a single long bar spanning both. A single fixture centered on the whole vanity often leaves one side under-lit relative to the other.
For the finish and style choices that work well on a bathroom sconce specifically, I cover that separately in our guide to wall sconces in modern interiors.
What mistakes make a bathroom feel dim or unflattering?
The same handful of mistakes show up on almost every bathroom lighting plan I get called in to fix.
- One ceiling fixture doing the job of both ambient and task light, with no dedicated vanity fixture.
- Cool color temperature (4000K or higher) that makes skin tone look flat under the mirror.
- A vanity light mounted above the mirror instead of at face height, throwing shadows down from overhead.
- A fixture with no water rating installed inside or directly above a shower or tub.
- A single centered light over a double vanity, leaving one side of the mirror dimmer than the other.
Building your bathroom lighting plan step by step
Plan a bathroom in this order: measure the mirror, size the vanity fixture, confirm the IP rating for each zone, then set the ambient layer. Working in that order keeps the plan built around how the room gets used, not around a single fixture picked first.
- Measure your mirror's width in inches.
- Size the vanity light to roughly three-quarters of that width, or plan a symmetrical sconce pair instead.
- Mount the vanity fixture 74 to 78 inches above the floor, centered on the mirror.
- Confirm the IP rating required for each zone near the tub, shower, and sink.
- Add ambient ceiling light or recessed cans rated for damp locations to reach 40 to 60 foot-candles.
- Pick one warm color temperature, 2700K to 3000K, across every fixture in the room.
Ready to see fixtures sized and rated for these numbers? Browse bathroom lights and fixtures built for vanities, showers, and general bathroom lighting, with length and IP rating listed on every product.
Not sure what size or rating fits an unusual bathroom? Send me your mirror width, room layout, and where the water sources are through the free custom lighting quote and I will recommend a size and rating for your space, no cost.
About the author
Konstantin Khanasiuk is the founder of Mirodemi and works with luxury lighting day to day, helping homeowners and designers size and choose fixtures for bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms. He writes from hands-on experience selecting and shipping fixtures for real rooms, not showroom mockups.
Frequently asked questions
How bright should a bathroom be?
Roughly 40 to 60 foot-candles of ambient light for the room, with 70 to 80 foot-candles of task light at the mirror for shaving, makeup, and skincare.
What size vanity light fits my mirror?
Roughly three-quarters of the mirror's width. A 30 inch mirror suits a 22 to 24 inch vanity light, a 42 inch mirror suits 30 to 32 inches.
What IP rating do I need for a bathroom light?
It depends on the zone. Inside a shower needs IP67, directly above one needs IP65, within 60 cm of a sink or shower needs IP44, and the rest of the room has no minimum, though IP20 is a safe baseline.
How high should a vanity light be mounted?
74 to 78 inches above the floor, measured to the fixture's center, so light falls forward onto the face instead of down from overhead.
Sources
Lighting Design Lab: Foot Candle Lighting Guide (residential illumination levels)
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): IP rating zones for bathroom lighting fixtures