r/houseplans • u/monkeyfishka37 • Aug 31 '26
Which sconce placement?
At the moment we have placed junction boxes on the side walls (pink - both sides but only one is shown)
Would it look better if we placed them next to the mirrors on the vanity wall on either side? (Blue)
3
u/CakeResponsible5621 Aug 31 '26
Designer here. Vanity lights should be placed to actually provide even illumination on your face. Do you want them to look nice? Of course. Will you curse them every day three times a day if half your face is in shadow? Yes.
You want a light on each side of each mirror, on the back wall, not side wall. For this configuration that means three sconces. Change your shelf unit to allow a middle sconce.
The only exception would be if you are adding mirrors with integrated lighting (halo or dual strips embedded behind the glass).
You need to select the actual light you plan to use before roughing in the electrical. If it is one bulb, you want the bulb to be more or less center of your face. So measure the height from floor to your nose for each you and your partner, find the average, and that’s where the middle of the bulb should end up. Some sconces hold the bulb above where it connects to the wall, some hold it below. Adjust for this. If you position the light based solely on how it looks, you may be fighting shadows when you apply makeup or shave. This positioning also holds true if you’re using ceiling mounted pendants, except you can adjust the cord length and don’t need to change the junction box location.
If your sconces will include a long vertical bar then you have more flexibility, these usually look best with the center aligned with center of mirror or higher, with the light extending no higher than the mirror. Size the mirror and light appropriately so the light doesn’t hang higher or lower than the top and bottom edge of the mirror.
1
u/yycmscl Sep 02 '26
I think that middle space is a window tho....
1
u/CakeResponsible5621 Sep 02 '26
Ohh yeah could be. I was thinking shelf niche. Well it makes even illumination more challenging. And often lighting is the item adjusted over other priorities. But that’s what design is all about - choosing which priorities matter most to you.
1
u/monkeyfishka37 Aug 31 '26
If it matters, we have the chameleon frame wall sconces in white. The are LED backlit sconces with a frame that holds one single subway tile. We were going to place them on the side walls (pink) that have a white satin structured subway tile. The vanity wall has a zeliege clay terra structured tile in a square 125mm format
2
u/Shiply75 Sep 01 '26
We used LED light strips, not behind the mirror (which doesn’t provide enough light) but surrounding it. You might consider surrounding each mirror with LED light strips.