Dumb Question about Bathroom Lighting

[deadwing]

I have an obnoxious light fixture in my bathroom with 6 big round bulbs.  The bulbs have been dying over the past few months.  3-4 was actually a nice number in terms of amount of light.  I'm down to 2 now, so I need to buy some new bulbs.  Any idea what I need to look for in order to not make my teeny tiny bathroom as bright as the sun?

This isn't my exact fixture, but it's similar to this (although the back isn't mirrored, thankfully!)

[dancingirl21]

If you go to Home Depot, they usually have displays on warmth. I tend to choose “soft white”. They have a nice warmth to them. Don’t choose daylight. That looks like operating room fluorescent lighting.

[simpsongal]

Can you install a dimmer switch so you can control the brightness? I’m not sure if there’s a low enough wattage - my folks have that fixture and I agree it’s too much light.

[julygal]

Along with color check the wattage or lumens. I have a similar bathroom light and have accidentally gotten a 60 watt equivalent of 800 lumens and it’s too bright. 40 watt or around 450 lumens is much better.

[deadwing]

Nov 11, 2022 16:47:42 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Can you install a dimmer switch so you can control the brightness? I’m not sure if there’s a low enough wattage - my folks have that fixture and I agree it’s too much light.

Most of the light switches in my home have dimmers - this one really needs it! It's definitely something to consider.

[SusanBAnthony]

Was white, and look at how many watts the current bulbs have. If they are currently 60, then 40 watt bulbs are probably about right.

[rubytue]

Nov 12, 2022 10:49:02 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Was white, and look at how many watts the current bulbs have. If they are currently 60, then 40 watt bulbs are probably about right.

This is the answer. Reduce the total wattage. I still think incandescent wattage, but the LED bulbs will have a wattage equivalent. Less wattage is a dimmer bulb. 

if you consider a dimmer, you will need to make sure LED bulbs are dimmable (and the dimmer is comparable). It’s still something you have to look for, but is getting more common the last couple years. 

[dr.girlfriend]

I agree with lower wattage and warm white instead of bright white, but overall if you're able I would plan on replacing that fixture as soon as you can. I don't think it's going to come back in style.

[deadwing]

Nov 14, 2022 11:24:55 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I agree with lower wattage and warm white instead of bright white, but overall if you're able I would plan on replacing that fixture as soon as you can. I don't think it's going to come back in style.

This feedback is rubbing me the wrong way.  I admit to not loving the fixture, but the judgment on it's lack of trendiness really isn't relevant or helpful.  It's not worth it to me to spend money on a new bathroom light fixture right now.  I'm also not expecting to sell my house in the foreseeable future.

I have ordered lower wattage bulbs.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 14, 2022 13:22:56 GMT -5 deadwing said:

Nov 14, 2022 11:24:55 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I agree with lower wattage and warm white instead of bright white, but overall if you're able I would plan on replacing that fixture as soon as you can. I don't think it's going to come back in style.

This feedback is rubbing me the wrong way.  I admit to not loving the fixture, but the judgment on it's lack of trendiness really isn't relevant or helpful.  It's not worth it to me to spend money on a new bathroom light fixture right now.  I'm also not expecting to sell my house in the foreseeable future.

I have ordered lower wattage bulbs.

Okay that's fair.  But you called it obnoxious, so it was clear you were unhappy with it.  And as you say, it's clearly not the greatest fixture for a small space.  Specialty light bulbs can get expensive, and by the time you get six of them you may have spent almost as much making that fixture you don't like work for you than a replacement would cost, and still end up with something you don't like.  Other people suggested installing a dimmer switch, which is also kind of an expensive fix to remediate a fixture you don't actually like.  That's all I was trying to say.

[deadwing]

Nov 14, 2022 15:04:32 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Nov 14, 2022 13:22:56 GMT -5 deadwing said:

This feedback is rubbing me the wrong way.  I admit to not loving the fixture, but the judgment on it's lack of trendiness really isn't relevant or helpful.  It's not worth it to me to spend money on a new bathroom light fixture right now.  I'm also not expecting to sell my house in the foreseeable future.

I have ordered lower wattage bulbs.

Okay that's fair.  But you called it obnoxious, so it was clear you were unhappy with it.  And as you say, it's clearly not the greatest fixture for a small space.  Specialty light bulbs can get expensive, and by the time you get six of them you may have spent almost as much making that fixture you don't like work for you than a replacement would cost, and still end up with something you don't like.  That's all I was trying to say.

That's also fair.  I do think 6 lightbulbs for a room that's under 50 square feet is obnoxious.  In addition to this fixture, someone epoxied (??) a full length mirror sideways to the wall.  For better or worse, this feature is in scale to the mirror.  I'm guessing it's epoxied because you can't get a finger under the mirror anywhere - it's completely flush/adhered to the wall.  For now, the bathroom functions and looks OK (room for improvement for sure, but good enough).

[deadwing]

So the original bulbs were only 250 lumens each. I did the math and decided I wanted about 1000 lumens total from the 6 bulbs. I ended up with these. They're comically small, but I'm happy with the light level. They'll do until I'm ready to do a big bathroom project.

a.co/d/dfSJ5iM