I prefer down too. Maybe you could get a framed mirror that isn't your "contactor" mirror that will fit with the electrical as is. Like this....

I want to keep the mirrors, they're pretty cool. Hubby suggested putting some kind of spacer to pull the lights out so they don't hit the mirror. But they will still hang in front of the frame, so I'm not sure about that either. This mirror will hang horizontally, it's a large area.

Down. Or just go buy some nicer light fixtures / ones that fit with the mirror. No offense, but those are rather plain looking

I would almost always say down as a professional . Its just more practical. good luck!

Agree where you don't want it to be a dust catcher, but they look 'happier' to me when they're facing up. Agree with previous commenter that they're pretty plain, light fixtures should be fun, they're your jewelry in the bathroom... ;-)

I like that - jewelry for your bathroom! I'm not good at choosing fixtures, any recommendations?

How about a fixture that doesn't look like it should be hung up or down? That would solve the clearance issue. Something that complements your cool mirror.

Moving the electrical boxes is not that big a deal, and it is not a major wall repair; it's a patch.

I like down.

Grover, I agree! I feel like they should've looked at mirrors/fixtures etc before they put the elec box in, we had to pick out the lights months ago. Hubby feel badly about asking them to change it. I'm not as easy going as he is though...

Check out lampsplus.com

Not sure what the overall vibe of your bathroom is, so hard to give advice. I hate it when people have a classic look and put a modern fixture in, other way around seems to happen less often ;-) But try to stay away from HD or Lowe's off the shelf fixtures, they're too bla.

Not much help, eh ;-)

Down definitely looks better. Up it would be a dust catcher and the bulbs a chore to change.

I know you can buy box extenders for outlets and switches and you could likely get them for light fixtures, too. If so, you could add a wide horizontal trim board the width of your vanity and use a box extender to move the fixture out farther away from the wall.

Alternately, you could build a cornice above the mirrors -- literally a 2" deep wall atop the existing wall above the mirrors -- and use one of the more shallow light fixture boxes to hang your light but that wouldn't solve the problem of the light covering your mirror frames.

Solution: If you build the cornice -- new wall over the existing wall -- all the way from above the mirror frame to the ceiling and aim the lights down, there is no reason you couldn't add a new box to the new wall high up enough that the light fixture of your choice, when hung, will not cover the mirror frame of your choice. You could even opt to use paneling instead of sheet rock for the cornice, making it a lot easier for your contractor to cover the old hole and cut a new one in the paneling to fit properly and add some contrast and interest to your wall as you do so.

Wow, great ideas suezbell! Thanks for giving this so much thought! I will talk to the contractor about some of these options.

This is the vanity area, not much vibe at all at this time. Granite is volga blue. Fixtures are satin nickel. Sorry the pic is a little dark.

I honestly think you can do better. There are oodles of light fixtures to choose from, even some of the discount online sites have more interesting fixtures. Since hardware and lighting are the finishing touches, I recommend you look for one not so builder grade looking. Can't see your room, but can you describe your style?

I prefer down light too. Vanity lights come in all different extension depths. You need to choose a light fixture that has a deeper extension than the one you have. Measure how deep the mirror is, and find one that extends beyond it. Looking online is ideal for this, as you probably won't find what you need at the big box stores.

I don't really have a style, per se. Perhaps transitional? It's not traditional or country or contemporary. Not fussy at all. I always feel like it's boring! :)