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Bathroom lighting is the one category in the house with rules attached. Fittings near a bath or shower must carry an IP rating suited to their zone, and most decorative fittings do not — which is why a beautiful pendant bought for a bedroom is not an option above a bath.
We are curating this range now. The illuminated mirrors in Bathroom Mirrors already solve the hardest lighting problem in the room — light on the face rather than on the wall behind it — and the guidance below covers what to check on any bathroom fitting.
Lighting — coming soon
We’re curating this range now. In the meantime, here’s what we do have.
In stock nearby
Start with the zones. Zone 0 is inside the bath or shower and needs IP67. Zone 1 is directly above it to 2.25m and needs at least IP44 (IP65 with a shower). Zone 2 extends 60cm beyond and needs IP44. Beyond that, ordinary fittings are fine.
Light the face, not the ceiling. A single central downlight puts your own head between the bulb and your face. Wall lights either side of the mirror, or an illuminated mirror, are the fix — everything else is a compromise.
Choose colour temperature deliberately. Around 2700K to 3000K is warm and flattering and right for a bathroom used in the evening. 4000K and above reads clinical, and is genuinely useful only where someone needs cold accurate light for shaving or make-up.
If the bathroom has no window, a dimmable circuit is worth more than an extra fitting. The same room needs bright light at 7am and almost none at 11pm, and one fitting on a dimmer covers both.