I lived in a building where all the light switches for the bathrooms were outside the door. Oddly enough all the switches for the exhaust fans were inside the bathroom but not within reach of the bathtub or the sink, but also far from the door. And placed right inside the door, the light switches all would have been either very near the sink or almost lined up with the rim of the bathtub because of the layouts.--This may have had something to do with it.

I am not sure that the only lightswitch being outside the bathroom would be code compliant any more because someone could turn the lights out when someone else was in there. Could it be moved even a matter of a few inches in order to keep it inside the bathroom?

We just moved ours for this precise reason, and we love it. I disliked the wall-covering mirrors and wanted huge recessed med cabs instead. We flip on the light before stepping into the room. But we approach our bathroom down a short corridor between our his-n-hers walk in closets, so it is very convenient. The electrical inspector passed it, no problem. I should add we have two other light switches (plus the bath fan switch) inside nearer the shower.

Nothing code wise says it can't be outside the bathroom , only problem I run into is if the switches are on the outside the bathroom and in an area where AFCI breakers are required then the bathroom will have to be arc faulted as well .

Might depend on where you are. My contractor told us the light switch had to be inside the bathroom for it to be code. But then again, he told us a lot of things that weren't true before we fired him, so can't vouch for accuracy. We ended up putting the light switch for the light above the sink outside the door and the switches for the bathtub light, the fan light and the fan in another spot inside the bathroom. It made the most sense to us to be able to switch on a light as we were walking in and the spots right inside the door couldn't be used (pocket door on one side and wet area on the other).

Lisa

I can't wait until we can move our outside light switches INTO the bathroom! I can't stand having them outside the room. If you forget to turn on the bathroom fan, you have to open the door to do it (what if you're already stripped?). When my husband gets up in the morning, I'm blinded by the bathroom light when he turns it on. I was worried that my kids would tease each other and turn out the lights on one another. (Hasn't happened yet.)

In this house, it definitely feels like a mistake or poor planning. I don't know how all the bathroom switches ended up outside the room. It makes no sense to me.

Nothing is more annoying than really having to go in a bathroom in which you are unfamiliar and having to tell your innards to wait while you play a game of hide-and-seek for a light switch.

I hate going to someones house and trying to find the light switch for something.. no matter what it is..

A bladder of my own heart ^.

The light switches for both of our master bedroom closets are outside of the closet, and I hate it. I can't imagine what it would be like for a bathroom.

When I initially read your post I thought if you had your h I use on the market, and I was there for a showing and saw the switch outside of the room I would think it to be strange. I would also wonder what else was funky with the house and would rule it out.

I think some things are "standard" for a reason.

My friend's house has the switch outside the door. Her bathroom is a bit like a hotel, with the vanity separate from the tub/toilet, but the whole thing separate from the bedroom with double doors. She keeps the doors open all the time, and the light switch is behind a door. Every single time you want to flip the switch, you have to swing that door. Grrrr, would not work for me!

I like whole-wall mirrors better than the small mirrors that seem to be in style today, and keeping one that's already in place seems like a smart idea (less labor, fewer materials). With resale a concern, I'd keep the mirror; after all, you're just guessing what other people want.

And remember to use dimmers for those bathroom lights! I love not being blinded first thing in the morning or the middle of the night.

Thanks all - this was really helpful. I do like the functionality of the full wall mirror. The new vanity is taller so the old mirror will likely have to go but we will just put a new one in.

Both our bathroom light switches are outside the bathroom. I find it convenient for telling if someone is using the bathroom without having to knock and ask if it's occupied....

For anyone wanting supplemental bathroom lighting, I highly recommend this. It's bright enough to light our small (6x8) bathroom full enough to use the facilities or brush your teeth. It definitely beats turning what seems like a 9,000 watt sun bulb overhead. :)

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Motion-Activated-Night-Light-Chrome/dp/B002HEMWZ8

what about a motion sensor switch

Tee Hee. My brother went on a mission to curb energy use one winter (in a 4500 sq ft house with two teens on board) and installed several motion sensored switches including the guest powder room. Only the timing is so brief, it's lighted maybe all of 90 seconds. Am I sharing too much when I tell you I've found myself seated in the dark in a windowless room, blindly fumbling for the paper holder and waving my arms overhead to no result, I'm neither in line with the sensor or able to reach the switch manually on the other side of sink.