how far out from the wall is the cabinet? We had a similar issue trying to find lighting that would extend past the mirrored cabinet because we also could not use sconces on either side and have low ceilings so no pointing the shades up.

I had to look for a light fixture that extended at least 8" from the wall. I got the Bennett triple sconce from Pottery Barn. it is being installed today so I hope it works out okay.

I hope it works! Our cabinet comes out 5" from the wall. Is that similar to yours?
Please let me know how your sconce works. I love the look of it and will order it in a heartbeat if it will work for us!
Thanks.

I'm not sure how far out our cabinet comes out...it is recessed but has moulding that comes out at the top. I will post a picture once it's done later tonight.

gardnr - my medicine cabinet comes out almost 3" from the wall. The electrician did not make it today, but is expected on Monday. Will post pictures when it's done

I'm worried about that same issue, but plan to make lighting my last choice.

So far I've found that Rejuvenation offers a light you can get an extension on, so it sticks out further. They are a bit expensive though. If regular lights don't do it, then that's the way I'm going.

I haven't gotten the medicine cabinet yet, mine is all still on paper waiting for construction in March.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rejuvenation Pendleton

hey gardnr
our bathroom was finished today so here is a picture of the Bennett Triple sconce over our medicine cabinet....

the fixture is a little bigger than I thought it was going to be but since I ordered ot on ebay (PB was out of stock) it will have to do. because we were able to go high enough with it on the wall, the shades do clear the top of the medicine cabinet. If we had less height available, the shades would be just touching the edge of the cabinet trim.

Hope that helps you to see if it will work with your surface mount cabinet.

We ran into this same problem when we discovered the studs in the wall were not deep enough to accommodate our recessed medicine cabinet. My contractor suggested building out a box about 2.5 inches deep and 1 inch wider on all sides than the rectangular back plate of our light fixture. (Our medicine cabinet sits 5 inches from the wall.) He had the light junction box within this box. I was nervous about the look of this, but after painting the box the same color as the wall, it really isn't noticeable.

This worked so well that we repeated this design in a second bathroom we just finished. Our light fixtures point upwards, so this time I decided I only needed the built out box to be deep enough so that the light bar instead of the back of the light shades cleared the front edge of the medicine cabinet.

jreed22,
Your Pottery Barn Bennett lights look great! I am considering the same one. How is the light? Is it enough? I was concerned that they wouldn't be bright enough with only 40w in each shade. I will have 3 other high hats in the same small bath, so I thought it might be ok.
Any feedback you can give would be appreciated!
Thanks

Good idea on building it out, I never thought of that! We got some sort of nickel ceiling/track light with 8 little adjustable lights, I think they are halogen or something. We fiddled with it and were able to mount it on the wall, but it's meant for a ceiling. If we were inclined to wire a box onto the ceiling that would have been the the way to go.. It sort of waves and each light can be adjusted. It's not great, in fact it throws a lot of heat. The bulbs are bright though so even though they don't shine straight down ( afraid they burn the top of the med.cab) they throw a lot of light. They burn out often, I don't know why. I wish I has thought of building out for traditional light. Hubby still working on the molding!

We have that light--or something very similar--in the ceiling in our FL house...

will be replacing when we remodel as it is too contemporary for what we want to do...but we will have surface mount medicine cabinets so I am grateful for the photo of the light w/the extension...

we have only 8 ft celings in that house and I am also concerned about the room over the mirror for lighting--we have concrete block walls and dont' have any studs to recess the cabinets in...

Hey, Skimmton_Chi, what is the name/company for that fixture? And how wide is your cabinet? Thanks!

As a professional makeup artist will say that light when applying make-up should fall directly vertically (not horizontally, and not from the top down. To avoid creating a shadow). In professional dressing rooms used such mirrors: https://goo.gl/GxGlzX You should think about something like that, to achieve the most good result.

Old post, but I have the same issue.. HELP. We're building a new home/condo, the rough electric is completed. My husband's "only thing he asked for"... was a medicine cabinet and it is a surfaced mount, not recessed. Builder can't do a recessed one. I need to find a light that will extend over the medicine cabinet for proper lighting. Any Ideas???? thanks!

I am looking at something like this: https://www.litfad.com/linear-vanity-sconce-contemporary-metal-28-wide-led-silver-vanity-mirror-light-in-third-gear-s-150131.html I checked with the company and they say it extends out 8" from the wall. My cabinet is 5" deep so I'm hoping that's enough clearance.

Same problem here. Contractor installed a 20 wide x 26 long 4.5 “ deep kohler med cabinet from Home Depot. Can’t find a light bar for the life of me that protrudes out far enough! No room on the sides either :(

last leg of 2 bathroom remodel and now this is the worst part!!!

I found this helpful! https://trubuildconstruction.com/reviews/how-to-choose-the-best-light-above-medicine-cabinet

We also had the same problem finding a 3 light vanity light for over our medicine cabinet that is surface mounted. The medicine cabinet stuck out 5.25", but we found a light by Nuvo Lighting, (MFG # 60-5203), collection: Parallel, 21 " wide x 7.75" height with a extension out from the wall of 8.75". It also available in one light (60-5201) or two light (60-5202) or four light ((60-5204) or flush mount (60-5207). Another three light we found was by Progress Lighting, collection: Elevate (MFG #P300022-015) 24.75" x 7.50" x 8" extension from wall. I hope this is helpful.

I know this is an old thread, but I faced the same issue: surface mounted medicine cabinet 4 7/8" deep. I found a Kohler Tone 3-light vanity fixture Model #31770-SCO3- BNL (brushed nickel one) that was perfect. It extends 10 3/4 inch out, but it's only 6 inches high. It was beautiful, but after ordering from Lowe's, it went from delivery 6/12 to delayed to out of stock. Damnitall. Whoever reads this...it will be available in October, 2023. I talked to a Lamps Plus clerk who said the entire bulb must fully extend out past the medicine cabinet to avoid all shadow. This Kohler model does that. I had to totally switch gears to a fixture that pointed up. I hope it will work to provide enough light. I'm not as thrilled about it, but you have to be practical to get the bathroom remodeled in time. I hope this is helpful. Good luck to all who face this issue!

Try looking for a retractable adjustable light. I saw one on amazon, be sure to look at pic, it looked nice. https://www.amazon.com/Aipsun-Dimmable-Adjustable-Bathroom-Fixtures/dp/B08JHMW56W/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_4?pd_rd_w=W6znK&content-id=amzn1.sym.225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95%3Aamzn1.symc.40e6a10e-cbc4-4fa5-81e3-4435ff64d03b&pf_rd_p=225b4624-972d-4629-9040-f1bf9923dd95&pf_rd_r=HXF9PJSDPHSGXGTK7GTC&pd_rd_wg=s0dnD&pd_rd_r=c87d13ae-bb86-45f8-a70f-2ee77c685545&pd_rd_i=B08JHMW56W

Thanks everyone for these comments. Its Nov 2025 now, I will check the links to see if they still contain useful info. One idea I had: why not build out a little soffit above the medicine cabinet, and adjust the junction box and (regular size) fixture accordingly. Any thoughts??

These days they sell medicine cabinets (recessed or surface mounted) with built-in LED lights, so that is another option. It also means you can order a taller medicine cabinet because you don't have to leave room for lights above.

I used this one in a teen's bathroom in my previous house. Two bright LED strips, than could also be dimmed and had a nightlight button.

Thank you so much. Question: do these LEDs deliver enough lumens to light the entire bathroom? My challenge is that the strip of lights over my medicine cabinet is the only light source in the bathroom. These lights look gorgeous, but I have been told they are really just a nice way to light up your makeup. Is that your experience?? Thanks so much. JO

These LEDs were pretty bright, but the bathroom also had recessed light in front of the sink and in the tub/shower. I plan for plenty of lighting for different areas/uses and have them switched separately and with dimmers.

Have you looked into having more lighting added? Sometimes it can be done easily and sometime it can't.