Bathroom mirror and lighting heights

The whole elevation in one drawing#

Element	Height or size	Metric	Measured to
Vanity counter	36 in	91 cm	finished top
Mirror bottom edge	5 to 10 in above counter	13 to 25 cm	glass edge
Mirror centre	60 to 65 in	152 to 165 cm	above finished floor
Mirror top, tall user in house	72 to 78 in	183 to 198 cm	glass edge
Sconce lamp centre	62 to 66 in	157 to 168 cm	centre of light source
Sconce spacing	28 to 40 in	71 to 102 cm	centre to centre
Vanity bar above mirror	75 to 80 in	191 to 203 cm	bottom of fitting
Recessed downlight, mirror line	24 to 30 in from wall	61 to 76 cm	fitting centre
Medicine cabinet bottom	8 to 10 in above counter	20 to 25 cm	cabinet base

Hang the mirror to the eyes#

Standing eye height is close to stature minus 4.5 in (11 cm). A 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) adult sees from about 60 in (152 cm); a 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) adult from about 68.5 in (174 cm). The mirror centre wants to sit near the midpoint of the household, which is why 60 to 65 in works for most homes and why a single published number does not.

Width is simpler. Match the vanity width, or hold back 2 to 4 in (5 to 10 cm) each side. Where sconces flank the glass, the assembly of mirror plus fittings should still finish inside the vanity width, otherwise the wall reads wider than the furniture below it. Over a double vanity, either one continuous mirror or two mirrors centred on the bowls; never two mirrors centred on anything else. Bowl centres come from vanity heights and sizes.

Why cross-lighting wins, with the numbers#

A light source casts a shadow whose length is the projection of the obstruction multiplied by the tangent of the arrival angle measured from horizontal.

Take a recessed downlight in a 96 in (244 cm) ceiling, 24 in (61 cm) out from the mirror wall, and a face at 60 in (152 cm). The light is 36 in (91 cm) above the face and 24 in (61 cm) in front of it, so it arrives at atan(36/24) = 56 degrees above horizontal. A brow ridge projecting 0.8 in (20 mm) casts 0.8 x tan(56) = 1.2 in (30 mm) of shadow straight down, which is the whole eye socket. A nose projecting 2 in (51 mm) casts 3 in (76 mm) down over the mouth and chin.

Now a sconce with its lamp centre at 66 in (168 cm), 18 in (46 cm) to the side of a face at 62 in (157 cm). The arrival angle is atan(4/18) = 12.5 degrees. The same brow casts 0.2 in (5 mm), sideways rather than down. Two of them, one each side, cancel each other's residual shadow entirely.

This is not a style preference. It is why every professional make-up mirror puts light at eye level on both sides, and why a single central downlight over a vanity makes healthy people look tired in their own bathroom.

Light quantity and colour#

Aim for 1,600 to 1,800 lumens at the vanity, over and above whatever lights the room. Two sconces of 800 to 900 lm each is the standard arrangement. The relevant quantity is illuminance on a vertical plane at the face, not on the counter, which is another reason ceiling fittings underperform: they light the counter beautifully and the face barely at all.

For colour, three specifications matter and the third is usually omitted:

• 2700 to 3000K. Warm enough to be flattering, neutral enough to judge colour. Match every fitting in the room to the same figure, including the fan light and the shower downlight. A 4000K downlight beside 2700K sconces makes skin look green in one half of the reflection.
• CRI 90 or better, and specifically R9 above 50. R9 is the deep red sample, it is the one cheap LEDs fail, and it is the one that decides whether skin, lips and blood tone look real.
• Diffusion. An opal or fabric shade at eye level is comfortable; a bare filament at 66 in is a glare source aimed at your pupil. The wider colour argument is in colour temperature and CRI, and room totals are in lumens per room.

Zones, IP ratings and what you may fit where#

In the UK, BS 7671 divides a bathroom into zones and each has a minimum ingress protection rating:

Zone	Extent	Minimum rating
Zone 0	Inside the bath or shower tray	IPX7, SELV 12V max
Zone 1	Above zone 0 to 2.25 m (2,250 mm), or to the showerhead if higher	IPX4
Zone 2	600 mm beyond zone 1, and 600 mm around a washbasin tap	IPX4
Outside zones	Everywhere else	No IP requirement, IP44 in practice

Zone 3 no longer exists in current editions. Every circuit serving a bathroom needs 30 mA RCD protection, and where jets are used for cleaning, zone 1 rises to IPX5.

In the US the equivalent is NEC 410.10(D): a luminaire in the zone within 3 ft (91 cm) horizontally and 8 ft (244 cm) vertically of the bathtub rim or shower threshold must be listed for damp locations, or wet locations if subject to shower spray. Cord-hung, chain-hung and track fittings are not permitted in that zone at all, which quietly rules out the pendant over the freestanding tub that appears in so many photographs. Bathroom receptacles need GFCI protection under 210.8.

Over a shower, use a sealed wet-rated downlight with a gasketed lens, one 600 to 800 lm fitting for a shower up to 48 in (122 cm) long. Set it slightly forward of the showerhead, toward the entry, so the user is lit from the front rather than standing in their own shadow. Spacing logic for the rest of the ceiling is in recessed lighting spacing.

Medicine cabinets and framing#

A recessed cabinet lives in the wall cavity: 3.5 in (89 mm) clear in a 2x4 partition, 5.5 in (140 mm) in a 2x6. Most cabinets sold as 4 in (10 cm) deep therefore stand slightly proud or need the wall furred, and 6 in (15 cm) units need a thickened wall built for them.

Width is set by the studs: 14.5 in (37 cm) clear at 16 in (41 cm) centres, 22.5 in (57 cm) at 24 in (61 cm) centres. A wider cabinet means cutting a stud and heading the opening, which is routine in a non-load-bearing partition and a structural job in a bearing wall.

Before any of that, check what is already in the bay. The basin waste and its vent usually rise in the wall directly behind the vanity, and the switch drop often shares the same bay. Confirm with a stud detector and, if the wall is closed, a small inspection hole below counter height where a mistake is hidden.

Set the cabinet bottom 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm) above the counter so bottles fit underneath and the door clears the tap. A hinged cabinet door swinging over a basin also has to clear the sconce beside it: check the swept arc, not just the closed face.

How to set yours out in five minutes#

1. Measure the standing eye height of the tallest and the shortest regular user. Take the midpoint. That is your mirror centre.
2. Mark the mirror bottom 5 to 10 in above the counter and check it clears the tap in its highest position, including a pull-out spray.
3. Mark the sconce lamp centres at that same eye midpoint, adjusted to 62 to 66 in, and 28 to 40 in apart. Mark the fixing box position from the maker's drawing, not the lamp position.
4. Stand at the vanity and have someone hold a torch at each mark. If the eye sockets stay lit, the height is right.
5. Only then decide the ceiling layer, and keep every source in the room within one colour temperature step of the others.