The first thing to take into consideration when choosing your vanity lighting fixture is what style is most fitting to your current bathroom (or end product, if going for a remodel). If you’ve got a modern or contemporary bathroom, with clean edges and a single color with chrome accents then you’re probably going to want to go with a lighting fixture or fixtures with a clean, sharp appearance. You can find these types of fixtures in an array of colors and materials. Colors generally are metallic or glossy – black and chrome are both popular. Metals would include stainless steel and brushed nickel. All of these choices offer a simplistic, clean appearance that will compliment your contemporary or modern styled bathroom furniture.

However, if your furniture is more of a traditional style, such as those made of wood with ornate carvings then you’re going to want to go with a more traditional look in your fixture. You can pick up fixtures in antiqued brass or oil rubbed bronze that will fit in with this style of furniture. These fixtures are usually much more ornamental than contemporary or modern styles, and add a feeling of classic style to your décor.

The other thing you need to take into consideration is the light itself. You’re definitely going to want bright light in front of you vanity for when you’re applying makeup or otherwise doctoring your appearance. The bright light is necessary to make sure that you look your best. However, throughout the rest of the room, you may prefer dimmer or even natural light. This is accomplished through the globe or light covering. Open ended styles like you find on traditional styled fixtures allow bright light to come down in front of your mirror with nothing to stop in, while the frosted glass surrounding it helps diffuse the ambient light.

Modern and contemporary styles can either be recessed with or without a cover, dimming the ambient light by blocking it, or using a number of bulbs enclosed in frosted glass to concentrate the brightness in the area in front of the mirror while dimming the rest.

If you’re doing your makeup, you’re going to want a clean mirror with lights so that you can apply your makeup properly and look your best. For this, you’re going to want bright light, preferably in front of your face. For this, you’re probably going to go with something like a bar of lights above the mirror, much like this selection from Thomas Lighting. These lights will allow bright light in front of the mirror, but not so bright in the rest of the room that they’re distracting or uncomfortable. Hooked to a dimmer, you can even turn them down for a nice relaxing shower.

Another route you can go, especially if you enjoy a nice hot bath and a glass of wine (or tea) after a long day at the office, is to have dedicated dim lighting over your bath tub. If you’re a DIY type, you can pick up a chandelier type fixture at a garage sale or flea market and wire it yourself. Fit the fixture with candle light bulbs, or even use a candle chandelier, to provide a relaxing, flickering candle light effect. Some soft music, the sound of the water, and your favorite after work beverage will combine to make a perfect environment to relax in after a long day without the long trip to a park or the beach.

For the best of both worlds, you could wire a single light to a dimmer in the center of the room. This would provide you with a light you can dim for your relaxing shower and, if you do it right, the light could be brightened and reflect off the mirror for your makeup or other styling needs – giving you the perfect light to prepare for a date or to relax after a long day.

Bathroom light fixtures come in all styles – you can use ceiling lights, wall lights, even portable lighting if you need. With a little bit of research and a good idea of what you want out of your bathroom lighting, you’ll be able to find the perfect scheme of bathroom lights to suit your personal needs.