Bathroom pendant lighting can turn even the smallest of bathrooms into a statement space, yet all too often it’s overlooked as we add those hero lights to more obvious areas, such as above a kitchen island. Yet with a little inspiration and bathroom IP rating knowledge, you can use bathroom hanging lighting to transform your room. If you are looking for bathroom lighting ideas, then you’ll be amazed at the designs now available
You can choose from on-trend caged designs to coloured glass pendants, chandeliers to flush-fitting solutions. And you don’t have to hang centrally either. ‘Pendant lights work well above a vanity, bringing light straight down on to the countertop and providing exceptional task lighting,’ says Niki Wright, founder of Lights & Lamps.
‘They also allow you to step away from the traditional “one bright bathroom light”, and layer lighting within the space, using task lighting in spots where you need it most, and ambient lighting to create a relaxing feel.’
Image credit: Future PLC/Lizzie Orme
Frame a washstand with a pair of glass pendant lights, hung either side of a mirror, directing light to where it’s most needed. The rest of your bathroom lighting can come from spots fitted into the ceiling. This allows your pendants to shine while creating a mini pamper zone.
Add to the period feel with a finish for your bathroom pendant lights that echoes warmer metallics used for ironmongery and accessories.
If you’re hanging pendants against a busy bathroom wall tile idea, stick to clear glass, allowing the pattern to show behind.
Image credit: Future PLC/Simon Whitmore
Splashed out on a luxurious roll top? Make sure your lighting does your investment buy justice. Think how pendants are used to draw attention to a kitchen island idea or dining table and apply the same theory.
Choose a fisherman’s pendant light, where the bulb hangs lower than the shade for plenty of directional light. Brushed chrome finish echoes the industrial elements of this space and copper detailing mirrors that hero bath.
Ask an electrician to fix your pendant to a dimmer switch. This allows you to create a soft pool of light around your bath, which is perfect for those long soaks.
Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole
Make a single bathroom pendant fitting work hard, by choosing a design that allows you to point the light at key bathroom zones – the bath, the basin and the shower.
This is a great fix if you don’t want the expense of running spotlights during your bathroom reno plans. There’s also the added benefit that the pendant’s separate heads can be adjusted to suit.
Go for matt black to work a black and white bathroom idea. Then you can echo this finish in your choice of radiator and even brassware.
Image credit: Future PLC/Emma Lewis
Make your bathroom pop with a coloured glass pendant light. It’s an easy makeover, especially if your monochrome bathroom needs a lift. Complete the look with neon-bright towels, adding to the bright fun.
Pick a pendant that reflects the lines of your bathroom. This could be a large round design that picks up on the curved corners of a shower screen. Or the round edges of a bathroom cabinet idea, or even the shape of the loo. Giving careful thought to how to plan a bathroom will help the space feel cohesive.
Image credit: Lightsandlamps.com
Frame a contemporary mirror with equally contemporary pendants. These will create visual balance in a bathroom, where often you are faced with single hero pieces, like a bath, loo and basin.
Use pendants to highlight a handy ledge, where favourite products are displayed. It will cast a soft glow around the wash basin. Choose smart matt black details on your pendants to echo brassware and furniture, especially if you’ve gone for neutral tiles. The black touches help lead the eye around the space.
Buy now: Matt black Silio one-light pendant, £69, Lights & Lamps
Image credit: Future PLC/Alasdair MacIntosh
Think how any pendant will be reflected in a bathroom mirror. You can easily make more of a light, doubling the impact by placing in front of a mirror. A trio of exposed bulbs hung from a central fitting allows you to also adjust the drop of each. Once again this adds brilliant visual interest to a bathroom scheme.
Look for different shaped bulbs – they will need to be IPX4 above a basin and be at least 600mm radius clear of its top. It’s important to choose lighting according to their IP ratings for safety.
Image credit: Iconic Lights
Bathroom pendants have changed so much in recent years – you can even embrace the trend for caged light fittings with that all-important IP rating. Think about scale – bathrooms are often the smallest room in the home, so unless you want to create a big “wow” moment, shop for smaller designs. Reflecting any pendant in a mirror will boost its impact.
Black caged pendants look striking against a darker wall, adding to the industrial feel. Co-ordinate with brassware and small details, like the framing of a bathroom mirror idea.
Buy now: Diablo IP44 pendant in black, £56, Iconic Lights
Image credit: Fritz Fryer
In a traditional bathroom, a glass pendant always looks great. Hang centre stage above a roll-top bath, and hunt down a ribbed or fluted design, which will cast soft shadows when lit, plus interest when not.
Think about any pendant’s cable – a twisted design lends itself to the period feel perfectly, while a coloured length might add a splash of your chosen accent colour.
Buy now: Wellington ribbed glass bathroom pendant light, £370, Fritz Fryer
Image credit: Future PLC/David Parmiter
In a vintage-style bathroom, a chandelier pendant hung high above a bath is a lovely finishing touch. You need to shop for an IP44 rated design and avoid the temptation to hang it too low. If a low-ceiling is an issue, then look for a flush-fitted design, which will sit much closer to the ceiling.
A chandelier will help create that sense of a sanctuary or pamper zone, providing a lovely indulgent atmosphere when relaxing in the bath.
Image credit:
Giving your bathroom an art deco look? You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to bathroom lighting. As a style, it suits flush-fitting and wall lights brilliantly so you can match a central bathroom pendant with a pair of wall lights either side of your basin.
Brass touches enhance the art deco look – this design was inspired by a 1920s school light and it’s IP44 rated. You can also change the effect by the lamp you pop into your bathroom pendant. Choose a warm LED or cool one, depending on how you want to feel in your bathroom space.
Buy now: Caden bathroom semi flush antique brass opal glass light, £93.60, Dar Lighting
Yes, but you need to follow the IP rating rules for bathroom lighting, choosing a design that’s suitable for the zone you plan to hang it in.
‘Statement pendant lights can be used to add personality and reflect your unique individuality – but watch out for finishes on metal that may rust with the humid conditions in a bathroom,’ says Mary Buchanan, Creative Director of Laura Ashley Lighting & Mirrors. ‘Good metal-plated options are best and sealed units are safer, along with glass in patterned textures or opt for white frosted finishes to hide any unsightly bulbs for an amazing result.’
While we often think of pendants above a kitchen island, they can add provide invaluable task lighting in a bathroom too. Don’t limit to a single pendant hung centrally – try a pair either side of your wash basin, or a trio of smaller designs above your bath. ‘Single pendants on either side of a mirror adds additional practical light as well as a considered design element,’ says Scarlett Hampton, founder of Lights & Lamps lights&lamps (www.lightsandlamps.com).
If you can’t hang your bathroom pendant in the centre of your ceiling, try the space equidistance between the basin and bath – this will cast a soft glow for both. Or alternatively, hang pendants where they can reflect in a mirror, doubling the style of a statement design. Do check its position from the door before you commit, as this will be what guests see – unless they are prone to lying down in your tub!
When it comes to height, bathroom pendants will need to meet IP ratings – above a basin, IP44 that’s a 600mm radius to meet zone 2, while above a bath, zone 1, a height of 2.25m from the floor and a minimum rating of IP45 is required, although IP65 is used too.
The post 10 bathroom pendant lighting ideas to add style to your space appeared first on Ideal Home.
Bathrooms aren’t always known for being the most colourful of rooms. But one Instagrammer didn’t let that stop her, and came up with a bright pink and blue scheme for her drab bathroom that’s cheerful and beautifully creative.
Lauren, 29, from Sheffield, was keen to change the plain magnolia decor in her bathroom idea to something more in keeping with the rest of her home, which she documents on Instagram at @the.tiny.colourful.terrace. ‘My interior style is a vibrant spin on retro design,’ she told UK Radiators, ‘and I like to use bright colours and graphic shapes with traditional elements to add a modern touch.’
Faced with a room that didn’t have anything particularly wrong with it, but wasn’t to her taste, Lauren decided to carry out her bathroom makeover on a budget. ‘The total cost came to £124 and I mainly used paint,’ she says. ‘The beauty of it is that I didn’t use all of the paint I bought for this room. I’ve been able to use what was left over for other projects.’
The bathroom isn’t the only room Lauren has made savings on either. Elsewhere she’s used her DIY skills to transform items she already owns. ‘In other parts of my house, I’ve upcycled a lot of different things, including bed slats to make wall panelling, scaffolding boards for shelving. Plus an old coffee table to make a bench and painting and wallpapering the back of an old bureau from eBay,’ she says.
Image credit: @the.tiny.colourful.terrace /UK Radiators
Lauren was determined to get rid of the stone-coloured tiles and magnolia walls in the bathroom. As the price was a factor, all the fittings would stay, which helped keep costs down. ‘All of my room transformations have been done on a budget,’ she says. ‘I only have my nursing wage and some money from my interior design business to transform my house – which means I have to get creative.’
Image credit: @the.tiny.colourful.terrace /UK Radiators
Looking at this picture it’s hard to believe it’s the same bathroom! The candy-pink and dark blue colour combination make a striking statement. ‘I think it’s important to do your research and plan before a makeover,’ says Lauren. ‘Find inspiration and then look at ways you can create your space on a budget. Re-tiling would have been a lot more expensive than painting my tiles.’
In fact, it was the tiles that were the first thing to be painted. Lauren prepped them using sugar soap, followed by water to clean away any sugar soap residue. ‘I wasn’t able to get the tiles wet for 24 hours after painting them,’ she says.
Image credit: @the.tiny.colourful.terrace /UK Radiators
After leaving the tile paint to settle, the walls were the next part to get the painted treatment. ‘I went for a charcoal colour,’ says Lauren, ‘and when this was done, I came onto the fun part of painting the bath, the arch murals and a large stripe down the wall.’
You’ll find perfectly painted arches elsewhere in Lauren’s home, too. ‘I use a piece of string attached to a pencil at one end and a pin at the other,’ she explains. ‘Place the pin in the wall at the centre point of where you want the arch to be, then use the pencil to mark out the outline of the top of the arch. Once you have done this, remove the pin from the wall and use a spirit level to mark out the sides of the arch. Apply masking tape to the outside of this line to get a crisp line when painting and paint the arch in your chosen colour.’
Image credit: @the.tiny.colourful.terrace /UK Radiators
For the floor, the existing dark black tiles didn’t work with Lauren’s new proposed scheme. ‘I tiled the floor myself with budget-friendly blue vinyl tiles for £56,’ she says. ‘When cutting around tricky areas, such as the sink or toilet, it’s a good idea to use paper as a stencil to get the shape right first, before transferring it onto the tile and cutting. That way you know you’ll have got the perfect fit.’
Image credit: @the.tiny.colourful.terrace /UK Radiators
Pretty accessories complete the scheme. The result is a far cry from the neutral room it was before. ‘The bathroom is one of my favourite transformations,’ says Lauren. ‘Your house is a reflection of you and anything you want to transform, so be creative with it and do what you love. Living in a space that makes you happy improves your quality of life!’
What’s your favourite part of this makeover? Is the pink and blue colour combination something you’d go for in your home?
The post Homeowner spent just £124 turning this dull magnolia bathroom into a bright pink and blue haven appeared first on Ideal Home.
