Bathroom Vanity Light; Ex Long Vanity/Mirror; Not Centered Over Sinks

last year

Our main bath screams "builder's preference" from the 90s, so we are finally doing a few budget-friendly updates (light/fixtures/floor). An 8-bulb light bar (48 inches) is centered over a massive 80-inch mirror, but the mirror is not long enough to align with the sinks in our 90-inch vanity. The left sink only partially benefits from the mirror due to a 3-light switch plate on that side of the wall; there are only a couple of inches of available wall space to the right and left of the plate.

We considered installing a fixture like the one in the hall bath (for continuity), but the longest length available is only 35 inches (6 lights). Centering a light fixture over each sink will look awkward. Regardless of the model we select, would it be better to go with two shorter fixtures and install them side-by-side (from the center) or stick with one, even if it's a foot shorter than the original fixture? If you're wondering why we are concerned about the misalignment after all these years, it's because we are looking to downsize as soon as the market improves, and it's more cost-effective to do a little updating now rather than later. Plus, we will get to enjoy the look for a short time. Thanks for your input!

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Comments (9)

badgergal
last year
last modified: last year
My hall bath has a 96” vanity. Before I redid it, it had a mirror that was approximately the same length as the vanity. Like your vanity, the sink on the right was close to the wall. There were two separate 3 light fixtures above each sink. You can partially see those light fixtures in the photo

I don't recall the width of those fixtures but they were centered over the sinks. Even though there was more mirror/wall/vanity space on the left end, it didnt look awkward to me. I think you could use two separate light fixtures if you wanted to. New fixtures will cetainly look better than the “Hollywood” fixture you have now.

If you wanted one long bar light there are some out there. Pottery Barn has this one

You also mentioned that the light switches on the left side of the mirror/wall is in the way for changing the mirror. The light fixture could actually be replaced with a slimmer version like this and you could gain a couple more inches of space to the right of the switch.

Just in case you might be curious, in my hall bath above, I ended up moving my sinks over and doing a separate mirrors above each sink.

If you are really considering selling your home in the near future, it might be more prudent to just leave things as they are because return on investment is usually not that great.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
I think just center the light on the mirror any other placement will juse look bad but no way to thta brass one if that is the way you are leaning a nice simple bath bar LED 4000K bulbs and maybe in chrome . To be honest the fact is whoever buys the house will probably rip out that whole wall .and redo it right
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Mara S.
Original Author
last year
Badgergal:

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughtful and detailed comments! First, I want to say how much I love the updates you made to your hall bath—it looks fantastic. Also, I had no idea they still made vanities that long; that's such a great find.

I appreciate your suggestion about the light switch. I looked one up and it's quite reasonable. I can gain at least 4 inches of space. By sliding the mirror to the left, I should be able to position it so that about 75% of each sink is aligned underneath it—such a helpful tip!

As for the vanity, relocating the sinks would be ideal, but I completely agree that it’s not worth the effort or extra cost if we can't recoup our investment. That said, seeing how well yours turned out definitely makes it tempting! And it is said bathrooms and kitchens sell homes.

One other thing—is your mirror beveled or framed? I was thinking about framing the mirror to extend the length a bit more over the sink.

Thanks again for the inspiration and advice!
PRO
lisedv
last year
Can you post another picture full front view so that we can see the exact misalignment, perhaps I may have another suggestion.
Mara S.
Original Author
last year
Patricia Cowell Consulting: The light is the original fixture; contractor build.
Mara S.
Original Author
last year
Lisedv: Unfortunately, I'm standing as far away as possible to get as much of the vanity as I can into the frame.
thinkdesignlive
last year
Mara your vanity is probably made of components - and that is still available from a number of sources (Bertch is one)….its worth it to at least price out a thoughtful renovation to see if its ’worth it’ or not.
badgergal
last year
last modified: last year
I just saw that you asked a question about my mirrors. Neither the current framed mirrors or the previous long wall mirror were beveled. I am not sure if framing your mirror to extend the length would improve the overall look or not.

I also see that the picure of the long Pottery Barn light bar that I mentioned above did not post. The bathroom in the picture looks very modern but I think the light would work in your bathroom too. Notice that it comes in 61", 73" and 97" lengths.

Also thinkdesignlive is correct longer vanities like mine are components. It would have been impossible to get my vanity into my hall bathroom if it had been a single unit. My vanity consists of two 24" sink bases, two 15" drawer bases and one 18" drawer base.
PRO
lisedv
last year
last modified: last year
Can't see much of your bathroom so I don't know which colour would be the best.

If you don't want to remove the mirror to replace with 2, make a thin frame around the mirror which you can paint. There are several models of 48 inch linear vanity lights available.