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Bathroom mirror placement

4 years ago

I'm finishing up a bathroom renovation and no one seemed to follow the design plan. I have a 72" double sink vanity with plans to place a mirror above each sink with a sconce above each mirror. Of course the current light box is not centered above the sink and the outlets were not placed evenly, throwing off all my measurements.


What i currently have is an outlet on the left which is 4.5" from the wall/end and an outlet on the right which is 9" from the end (and directly above the sink). The sink itself is 18" wide. So this doesn't leave me with much space to center a mirror.

In addition the sconces are currently 32.5" from the vanity (also not centered). So basically outlets and sconces need to be moved and I'm trying to determine the best option and placement.

A few thoughts are:

1. Move the outlets down so they are almost level with the faucets. This would allow me to place the mirrors slightly above the faucets and not have to worry about the outlets at all. I could then move the light boxes (center and raise higher on the wall) and have my option of mirror size. I was initially going with 24xx36 but now worried that may be too tall?


2. Just move the right outlet over so it's no longer directly above the sink and consider an oval shape mirror to fit the space .


3. Leave it all as is and just get round mirrors


Also open to any and all other ideas on how best to fix. I'm attaching a picture of the space


Comments (18)

  • 4 years ago

    I don’t understand why the outlets affect the mirror. You are wanting one mirror? Then why two light fixtures? Decide what mirror you want, then have the electrician back and tell him exactly where you want the light.

  • 4 years ago

    No 2 mirrors - one above each sink

  • 4 years ago

    There may be studs in the way that are affecting placement of lights and outlets so before you make any decisions make sure you know where those are. 
    Consider oval mirrors.

  • 4 years ago

    You have no landing space on the outer sides of your sinks. If you're going to use those outlets for anything other than a night light, you'll be draping cords across your sink on both sides. Could you make do with a single outlet in the center instead?


    Or, would it work to use inset vanity cabinets in lieu of mirrors - with power source inside the cabinets?


    Or, consider doing away with the wall outlets, and put a power strip in the center drawer. We retrofitted our shallow center drawer with one of these and love it. https://www.houzz.com/pro/dockingdrawer/docking-drawer

    If you go that route, consider moving the left outlet on to the adjacent wall if possible, just because it's nice to have an accessible outlet for a night light, vacuum, etc.


    Or, consider one long rectangular mirror with the outlets inset. A custom mirror place can do that and it's not terribly expensive. Then you'll have more wiggle room on positioning the lights.

  • 4 years ago

    Funny enough I wanted recessed medicine cabinets above each sink and the contractor talked me out of it.
    We use electric toothbrushes so I need something something on the wall and will need at least 2 outlets (4 slots) so I’m not constantly unplugging my toothbrush to dry my hair. But I have considered moving them to the center - just not sure if that will be too far away?

  • 4 years ago

    Turn outlets sideways (horizontal), will give more space and will have cleaner look, that’s what we did for our remodel.

  • 4 years ago

    JD, what a pain. (Just went through some of this in choosing mirrors for my bathroom).
    See if the contractor can center the light fixtures over the sinks and if you will then have room over the left sink for the light you want. If not, you can have one larger light in the center with one mirror. Move the outlets down and maybe horizontal with the plate the same color as the wall or mirror frame. Or get a custom mirror ( no frame) that has cutouts for the outlets and use a mirror outlet cover.

  • 4 years ago

    If you get a custom mirror with no frame, they will measure it to rest on the backsplash. If it is a framed mirror it will be above the backsplash (there’s a formula of how many inches above the sink. I think it was 5-10 “ of the top of my head) and so many inches below the light. (I read 3”, but I did 4” due to preset mirror sizes).

  • 4 years ago

    I found the mirror dimension guidelines through an internet search.

  • 4 years ago

    ooh i do like the horizontal idea for the outlets. That may solve my space issue

  • 4 years ago



  • 4 years ago

    Do you really need the outlet on the right? I see another one by the toilet.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    There are some issues when you simply place oval mirrors centered on the sinks.

    The outlets should have been placed in the center between the two mirrors.

    The boxes for the light fixtures are too low.

    I would cut open the sidewall and add a narrow recessed medicine cabinet between the studs.



  • 4 years ago

    Good point. During my remodel, outlets were placed in center of vanity wall horizontally for a few reasons, 1) for plugging in iron and other electrical items that are larger besides toothbrushes, 2). Seems strange that outlet would be that close to sink, I splash a lot and wouldn’t want water getting near plugged in item

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    ed gfci outlet


  • 4 years ago

    I'm going to look at moving the outlets to the center of the vanity and then raising and centering the lights so I can fit larger mirrors. If that doesn't work I may go with the idea to turn the outlets horizontal

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    If you need help doing the job feel free to call

  • 4 years ago

    I have outlets in the vanity (sort of) . The outlets are on the wall behind the vanity drawers. The back of the drawers do not come up flush with the sides, there’s a good 3 in there. So I plugged an electrical plug strip into the outlet, attached the strap to the side or bottom of the drawer(Command mounting tapes)and plug in hair dryer, straightener into the strip. I keep those items in that drawer anyway. Out of sight, cuts down on clutter. I do have one outlet near the vanity for an Alexa clock as it stays out all the time.

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