What are the different types of lighting?
What are the IP rating and zoning requirements for bathroom lighting? 
Is it the same for wet rooms?
What are the legal regulations for bathroom lighting?
How do I light a bathroom vanity mirror?
How do I light a small bathroom?
What is the best lighting for a bathroom?

The bathroom is one of the most utilised spots in our home. It’s a space where we begin our day by freshening ourselves up. So, it goes without saying that such a high-traffic space deserves particular consideration when undertaking a build or renovation. This naturally extends to lighting plans, which require extra care in order to ensure safety.

As we know, electricity and water do not mix well, so it’s crucial to consult your electrician every step of the way. As part of this journey, we’ve created our definitive how-to guide for bathroom lighting, which includes the types of lighting you can use, how to use it, and where to put it. Once you've read our guide have a look at our Bathroom lighting collection.

What are the different types of lighting?

As with any other key interior in your home, your bathroom benefits from a good lighting plan. The best approach is to layer your lighting to achieve optimum functional and aesthetic results.

• General Lighting: This is the general light for the bathroom. These can be varied and can include anything from a single flush mount light in the centre of the room, to multiple downlights installed across the ceiling. General lighting usually acts as a stand in for sunlight in bathrooms that have little to no windows and natural lighting, and therefore provides light for general movement throughout the bathroom. Good visibility is essential in bathrooms to easily pick up on any water spills near showers, bathtubs and basins. The design elements of your bathroom also influence your lighting scheme. For instance, additional lighting may be required for shower areas fitted with frosted or opaque screening to ensure that you don’t end up showering in low light.

• Task Lighting: Task lighting is ideal for situations in which you need targeted, focused and directional lighting, e.g. applying makeup, shaving or even just brushing your teeth. In these instances, extra light is required to ensure you have good visibility for the task at hand, as no one wants to cut themselves shaving in a dimly lit bathroom! Ideally, the most practical spot for task lighting is near the vanity, as this is where most tasks will be undertaken. Keep reading to find out the best placement for these lights, and the ideal colour temperature for vanity mirrors.

• Accent Lighting: If you have a creative spark, accent lighting is where you can really have some fun. Like the icing on the cake, accent lights are mainly used for decorative purposes, and to complement the existing lights. They typically reflect the style and décor aesthetic of the bathroom and add an additional element of style. The dry areas in a bathroom are where you can most flex your creative muscle as restrictions don’t apply. Read further to identify these zones.

What are the IP rating and zoning requirements for bathroom lighting?

With the types of lighting in mind, it is important to now focus on the suitability of lighting placement. Many people ask, ‘Can you put any light in a bathroom?’, and the answer largely comes down to the IP rating and its placement.

As mentioned earlier, water and electricity do not mix. It is crucial to consult your electrician when choosing lighting for your bathroom, as there are many rules and regulations that must be adhered to, to ensure safety, such as IP ratings. An Ingress Protection (IP) rating is a classification of the level of sealed protection of the electrical features of a light from solids (the first digit, which ranges from 0-6), and liquids (the second digit, which ranges from 0-8). The higher the number, the more protection the light has from these elements. IP ratings are generally associated with outdoor lighting; however, as the second digit in the IP rating refers to its water resistance, it is also applicable for bathroom lighting. Here’s a breakdown of the criteria for each level:

First digit – solids protection:
1 No special protection
2 Protection from a large part of the body such as a hand (but no protection from deliberate access) from solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter
3 Protection against fingers or other objects not greater than 80mm in length and 12mm in diameter
4 Protection from entry by objects of 2.5mm or more
5 Protection against objects larger than 1mm (e.g. fine tools)
6 Protected against dust that may harm equipment
7 Completely dust tight

Second digit – moisture protection:
1 No protection
2 Protection against condensation
3 Protection against water droplets deflected up to 15° from vertical direction
4 Protected against spray up to 60° from vertical direction
5 Protected against water spray from all directions
6 Protection against low pressure water jets from all directions
7 Protection against strong water jets and waves
8 Protected against prolonged immersion
9 Protected against temporary immersion

For an in-depth look at IP ratings have a read of our IP ratings guide. 

With this IP rating system in mind, we’ll now explore how zoning works. In bathrooms, electricians break up your bathroom into zones in order to determine how much water an area or zone will be exposed to. These zones can be broken down into three categories:

• Zone 0: Zone 0 refers to the inside of a bath or shower. Any lighting used in this zone must have an IPX7 rating, which means that it is fully protected against immersion in water. It must also be low voltage.

• Zone 1: Zone 1 refers to the area above a bath or shower. Any lighting used in this zone must have an IP rating of above IPX4.

• Zone 2: Zone 2 refers to the areas immediately surrounding the bath or shower. Any lighting used in this area must have an IPX4 rating.

Understanding these zones and their individual requirements will help you purchase suitable lighting and will guide you on the power socket placement for items such as electric razors, hair dryers and heated towel rails. So, if you’re wondering, ‘Where do you put lights in a bathroom?’, then you must follow the above rules on IP rating, zones and placement to answer this question.

Moreover, understanding the correlation between IP rating, zoning and steam is also crucial. Lighting over a shower must be waterproofed with an IP67 rating; this protects the light fitting from steam, which can cause electrical problems. Easy solutions include recessed lights with glass covers, as they prevent steam and condensation. Such considerations are vitally important from both a safety and longevity standpoint.

Is it the same for wet rooms?

Wet rooms are open spaces that remove the need for additional lighting in specific areas such as showers and baths. Wet rooms work by essentially removing the shower stall and is commonly used in homes across Scandinavia. Using the same showerheads and splashback walls, the entire floor is sealed, treating the whole space as a shower stall. Generally, a shower curtain is simply used for water splash prevention. This is particularly beneficial for small rooms where a separate shower stall would consume too much space; however, it requires extra planning and consideration.

You must consider the positioning of every fixture and fitting in the bathroom, as it has a greater risk of water exposure. Switches should also be installed outside the bathroom, and towel racks must be placed further away from the shower.

Conversely, wet rooms are a way to create open, uninterrupted spaces for opulent effect in larger bathrooms. It also eliminates the need for additional lighting for a shower stall.

Wet rooms are also a great option for people with access requirements and mobility impairments, as they offer people a shower without the need to step in or out, as well as space for chairs, rails and other equipment.

As always, your electrician will be the most useful go-to source for advice in this regard, as they have legal requirements on what they can and can’t do before they sign off a bathroom.

What are the legal regulations for bathroom lighting?

Any domestic installation of lighting must be carried out by a licensed electrician in Australia. As per AS/NZS3000 (developed by Standards Australia), stringent rules and regulations must be adhered to, particularly in wet areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundries.

Moreover, there are requirements relating to the voltage of bathroom lighting. In general, you can install a 240V light fitting in a bathroom, if it is outside of unsafe zones. A 240V standard pendant, for instance, is permitted over a bath, as long as it’s not in zone 1. For a pendant to be placed within zone 1, it needs to be of low voltage, IPX4 rated or double insulated.

We advise contacting your electrician for professional advice on bathroom lighting placement and installation, in line with legislative requirements that are designed to ensure safety.

How do I light a bathroom vanity mirror?

So, now that we understand the fundamentals about the types of lighting and the safety requirements, we’ll outline our top two tips for how to light a bathroom vanity mirror:

• Placement: Wall lights are the ideal lighting solution for bathroom vanity mirrors, as they create an evenly distributed glow of light across both sides of the mirror. Side-to-side lighting is preferred over top down lighting and is the best bathroom lighting for makeup application. While recessed lighting in the ceiling above the mirror can cast shadows across your face, lighting placed at the top end of the mirror works well provided you select lighting that evenly spreads. Keep in mind that the protected zone above the wash basin extends up to 400mm and up to 150mm on either side. Special requirements are not needed for lights outside this zone leaving room to personalise with decorative details.

• Light colour (Kelvins): Choosing the right light bulb for your space can be the difference between liking what you see in the mirror and not. Natural light is the most flattering source of light; however, if you don’t have ample natural light in your bathroom, choose a light bulb with a similar colour temperature. A temperature of 2700–4000K will provide a warm white light that will mimic natural light. We recommend installing a dimmer to control the brightness of the light. This is perfect for the early morning risers and night owls who don’t want to wake up the rest of the household!

How do I light a small bathroom?

As mentioned earlier, wet rooms are a great way to maximise a small bathroom space. However, where there’s limited space to add lighting fixtures there are other ways to conquer renovating or decorating, such as lighted mirrors, bathroom vanity lighting, lighted medicine cabinets, lighted under cabinets and tape lights, and flush mount ceiling lights. These create both task and general lighting and utilise a small space with the greatest efficiency.

What is the best lighting for a bathroom?

Now that you know the types of lighting, safety requirements, and how to illuminate a bathroom vanity mirror, it’s time to have some fun with the rest of the bathroom. If you’re wondering ‘How many lights do I need for my bathroom?’, we believe that the best bathrooms have a mixture of general, task and accent lighting in varying combinations. Here are our recommendations for the types of lighting for your bathroom:

• Downlights: Downlights are a great starting point for your bathroom. They can be placed across the ceiling for a general glow, or in certain areas to highlight features. We recommend LED downlights for their energy efficiency and long lifespan.

• Flush Mount Lights: If you have a small bathroom or powder room, you might not have the space to install numerous downlights. In this case, a single flush mount light would be perfect, as it sits against the ceiling without cluttering or overwhelming a small space. Ceiling lights atop a shower are also a great way to create ambient light.

• Wall Lights: As mentioned earlier, wall lights are ideal vanity lights as they provide you with task lighting with a decorative aesthetic. We recommend installing wall lights on either side of a bathroom mirror at eyeline.

• Shower Lighting: An innovative way to illuminate a bathroom, shower lighting incorporates lighting with a shower head. Using LED lights, shower lighting is mostly a decorative rather than functional option and contributes to the room’s aesthetic.

• Pendant Lights: Contrary to popular belief, pendant lights are great for bathrooms. These hanging ceiling lights can be used as both task and accent lighting. Hang a pendant light near your bathroom mirror or over a feature bath (depending on their IP rating, of course!).

• Chandeliers: So long as you adhere to zoning rules, chandeliers can be a great bathroom lighting option. Choose a chandelier with arms that spread out, rather than drop down. They are perfect for a luxe master bedroom ensuite as they create a seamless transition between the rooms.

• Strip Lights: Due to advancements in LED strip lighting there are several new and creative ways they can be used. Their small size, made-to-measure customisation and suitable IP rating allow their application in bathrooms. Installed in a shower niche, for instance, strip lights add display and mood lighting. Similarly, they create an attractive lighting profile placed along cabinet kickboards, beneath or behind vanities and even along bathtubs. 

If you choose to use pendant lights and chandeliers in your bathroom, consult your electrician to determine the correct height for installation, as this is critical for safety purposes.

No matter how you style your bathroom, remember that it’s all about layering, and choosing a mixture of task, general and accent lighting. Through clever product choice and strict adherence to IP rating and zoning requirements, you can find lights that overlap between these three lighting categories. And, if you’re still stuck on bathroom lighting ideas, why not get in touch with our friendly team at Fat Shack Vintage? We’re always on call to assist in creating the perfect bathroom space.