do you have a clear shower curtain? or at least one that is clear at the top?

I do, but the issue there is that I have EXTREMELY hard water that basically stains the entire dang thing orange and does a great job of turning any clear curtain I buy into a nice orange partially transparent curtain, blocking a good 60% of light. Amazing what itty bitty particles of iron and other assorted minerals can do to plastic.

It does make for a cool lighting pattern inside the shower though.

i think you should work on some water treatment issues.... : (

Sadly, already have. Everywhere I've been has said that the water is perfectly fine to drink (it's basically mineral water)... and that I'd have to pay twice as much to install a water treatment system because it would clog up twice as fast thanks to the sheer amount of minerals in the water. Homegirl doesn't have a spare $200 to pay every month just to fix something that's largely cosmetic. Small price to pay for free water and peaceful rural living.

Have you had your water tested by an independent source? When I read this I thought of Flint, not far from where I live and their water issues. Better safe than ....

Multiple independent sources, actually. Like said. Water's safe, it'll just stain everything light colored varying hues of orange.

Try the brightest daylight bulb you can find in the light fixture over the sink.

You need an electrician to add a shower light. It is not the big deal that you are trying to make it be. It is simple, and not terribly expensive if you have attic access.

Do you have a photo showing shower and existing lighting? Is there an exhaust fan somewhere? You can get exhaust fans with built in light.

@Sophie Define "attic access" and "not terribly expensive." The place is a "mobile home" (although it's permanently anchored down with foundation and such, so I suppose it's more "modular" and less "mobile"), so there might be SOME attic access. My budget is maybe $150 at most when it comes to why I was asking about the expensive bit. I just assumed that anything requiring adding new wiring in a cramped space with limited access would be moderately pricey, on top of the grunt work of cutting out the hole for the recessed light.

@apple_pie_order (making me hungry over here): I don't have any pictures, since I like to hide that shower away as much as possible, but I never really thought about the exhaust.

Learn to DIY if you can't afford the ~$200 that an electrician would charge.

I agree with making sure that the bulbs in your existing light fixture are "daylight" not soft white... but be careful not to put a higher wattage bulb than your fixture can handle. New CFLs, being lower wattage, allow you to go up in brightness without compromising safety. After that, how about a couple of strategically placed mirrors to bounce light around? Large vanity mirrors are more expensive, but if you have wall space, you could find inexpensive portrait sized mirrors in frames, paint the frames a light colour that works in your space, and hang a grouping that's positioned to catch light and bounce it toward the darker areas? Also a fresh coat of bright white ceiling paint might help. With some good deals, those updates should be $50 or less, leaving you room for other options if those don't help enough. Good luck!

You know, you could call a few electricians to either give you a ballpark quote over the phone or a free on site estimate-just ask up front if their estimate is free because some charge to come to your home. That way you'll know exactly how much it will cost and you can go from there.

Is the exhaust fan in the shower or nearby? There are many fans with lights under $75, some much lower (and louder) Broan is a good brand carried widely by big box stores. You'd need to take a close look and some photos of the current fan (look for a label). Then pick a new one rated for wet areas, that will fit and have similar exhaust capacity (measured in CFMs).

I have an exhaust fan with light but that isn't enough light even though the fan/light is just on the other side of the shower curtain. I haven't found any that take a high wattage bulb. Bathroom walls are freshly painted bright white and it's still not enough. The vanity sink with light bar is on the other side of the wall from the shower so that is not helping much. As we get older, a lot of us want more light, especially in a shower for safety reasons. I have a crawl space attic so a number of electricians don't want that kind of work.