🚿 Bathroom Design Tool
Bathroom Lighting Calculator
Design a complete layered bathroom lighting scheme — ambient ceiling, vanity task, shower zone, and accent. Calculate lux by zone, IP ratings by location, and get a moisture-safe layout plan.
Bathroom style preset
1
Room dimensions
2
Place your furniture
Clear all
Drag items from the palette into the room. Tap a placed item to select it — drag to move, ✕ to remove.
DRAG IN
Bathtub
Shower stall
Toilet
Walk-in shower
Vanity (double)
Vanity (single)
Storage/Linen
Towel rail
Bidet
Freestand tub
Door
Drag fixtures into your bathroom floor plan
—
Empty bathroom
Drag bathroom fixtures here from the palette
3
Fixtures & mood
Recessed
Pendant
Chandelier
Track
Cove / indirect
Flush mount
Table lamps
Wall sconces
Pendants
None
🌙Relaxing
📖Reading
🏨Spa bath
✏️Kids bath
🌛Night mode
Lighting totals
–
Total lumens
–
Ambient lux
–
Est. watts
🌛 Nursery lighting guidance
Night light: 2–5 lux, 1800–2200K amber — won’t disrupt melatonin.
Nappy change: 100–150 lux directional, shielded from baby’s eyes.
Ambient: 30–50 lux, 2700K, fully dimmable — never cool white.
Glare rule: All fixtures recessed or fully shielded — no bare bulbs in any sightline.
Nappy change: 100–150 lux directional, shielded from baby’s eyes.
Ambient: 30–50 lux, 2700K, fully dimmable — never cool white.
Glare rule: All fixtures recessed or fully shielded — no bare bulbs in any sightline.
Fixture placement
Colour temperature
–
–
Dimmer circuits
–
IP rating guide — bathroom moisture zones
Bathroom lighting must match the IP (Ingress Protection) rating for its location. Using the wrong rating is both dangerous and against building regulations.
Zone 0
Inside shower / bath
IP67 minimum. Submerged-rated fixtures only. 12V systems recommended.
Zone 1
Above bath / shower
IP44 minimum. 2.25m above shower tray. No ceiling rose or pendant fittings.
Zone 2
0.6m beyond Zone 1
IP44 recommended. Around sinks and splashback areas. Most recessed lights.
Zone 3+
General bathroom area
IP20 minimum. Normal lighting acceptable if well away from water sources.
⚡ UK/IEC standard: All bathroom lighting must comply with BS7671 zone requirements. Zone 1 and 2 fittings must also be suitable for damp environments. Always use a qualified electrician for bathroom rewiring.
Vanity and mirror lighting guide
The mirror is where bathroom lighting goes most wrong. Getting it right transforms a bathroom from functional to genuinely pleasant to use.
✅ Hollywood / vertical strips
Bulbs running vertically either side of mirror at face height. Eliminates all shadow on the face. The gold standard for makeup and grooming. Aim for 70–100 lux directly at face.
✅ Backlit mirror panel
LED behind a frosted mirror panel. Soft, even glow with no hot spots. Clean and modern. Good supplementary ambient light too. 3000K recommended.
⚠️ Above-mirror bar light
Light above the mirror casts shadows under eyes, nose, and chin — exactly where you need to see. Acceptable if it’s very close to the mirror, but always supplement with side lighting.
❌ Ceiling light only at mirror
A ceiling recessed light above the vanity casts the worst possible shadows on a face. A downlight over a mirror is essentially unusable for grooming. Always add dedicated task lighting.
Common bathroom lighting mistakes
These are the most common — and most fixable — errors in bathroom lighting design
Single ceiling light only — The most common mistake. One overhead creates flat shadows on faces at the mirror and dark corners at the shower. You need minimum: ceiling ambient + vanity task + shower zone.
Downlight directly above the mirror — A recessed ceiling light above a mirror casts the worst possible shadows. It lights the top of your head, not your face. Add strips or sconces beside the mirror instead.
Wrong IP rating for the zone — Using Zone 2 fittings in Zone 1, or Zone 3 in Zone 2 is a safety and code violation. Check IP ratings against BS7671 zone requirements before purchasing any fitting.
Cool white in the bathroom (above 4000K) — Clinical cool white makes skin tones look unflattering and creates a harsh atmosphere. 2700–3000K is the professional range for most bathroom spaces.
No dimmer anywhere — A bathroom without a dimmer means you choose between blinding brightness and darkness. Night trips need 5–10 lux; morning grooming needs 300–400 lux. A dimmer handles both.
No separate lighting in the shower enclosure — A ceiling downlight aimed at the shower zone casts shadows inside. A dedicated IP67 shower light, or a recessed watertight fitting inside the enclosure, transforms the shower experience.