There are SO many cute lighting fixtures that can add a great deal of style to a powder room, I would do something other than the recessed cans. jmho

Agreed

What would I change about my house? More places to put light fixtures. I find more cute fixtures than I have places to put them. They can really bump up the look of a home. Even building inspector commented on my fixtures. :-)

Don't limit yourself to BR fixtures. Love the look of a chandy in the BR.

I have basically three options: recessed light, a wall fixture, or a ceiling flush-mounted light (or maybe a pendant).

And the next question is, since it's the only light source in he room, what do I need to keep in mind, re. how far from mirror or how far down from ceiling?

I could go with something like this:

Wow, not seen that fixture; very cool. My lighting is on side walls, the vanity is in an alcove, and the wall mirror really increases the brightness of the room.

Find a fixture you love. I would keep in mind the total wattage of the fixture. In my dressing room I have a fixture that has 6 x 60 watt bulbs, it is nice and bright. Overstock and Wayfair have a huge selection.

My one bathroom has 2 fixtures that can take 100 watts each. I stocked up on halogen (72watt?) that are comparable. It is very bright in my 6.5x9' bathroom with light gray/blue walls. Very bright for husbands shaving. Now with the powder room, you wont need that bright. I'd think a couple sconces with lower wattage such as 40 or 60watt equivalent lumination would be fine. How big is your room. You can always put lower wattage bulbs in a fixture. I have dimmers, but find that i seldom use them. I like going into a powder room that isn't like a surgical suite. I like lights to add ambience with twinkle and drama, and a powder room could be a great place for that IMHO.

My powder room is small, all of 6x4.5' but it has a 30" wide and 40" high window that needs covering for privacy. Vanity is about 30" .

The light above comes in all kinds of color finishes. It has 4 bulbs, so perhaps too bright.

but you could put low wattage bulbs in it. The picture with the curly tape bronze, looks like it has candelabra bulbs in it. That might be a nice fixture. I don't know what wattage this would provide. What watt do you have in the room now, with the 2 cans?

a better comparison is to use lumens. But I don't know all the conversions between types of bulbs, incandescent, halogen type, LED, compact florescent.

Wow, this is gorgeous!