To get the best lighting out of a bathroom light fixture:

  • Use clear bulbs on light fixtures that have frosted shades.
  • Use frosted bulbs on light fixtures that have clear shades.
  • Invert light fixtures so the shades point up to diffuse the light.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joe Truini: Once you’ve gone through the trouble of picking out the perfect light fixtures for your home, you want to make sure they present you in the best light. And here’s a trick, especially for fixtures that you install in a bathroom above a vanity or a mirror.

If the fixture has frosted shades, like this one, you should install clear glass bulbs. And if it has clear shades, then you can install frosted bulbs, like they do here. But in this case, we’re going to replace, because we have frosted shades, we’re going to replace the bulb with clear glass ones. What you’ll find is you get a nice, clean bright light, because you don’t need the bulbs to be frosted any longer because the shades are. So we’ll flip that on, I’ll show you what that looks like. There you go. A nice, clean light.

Now, the other trick with fixtures that are made for the bathroom is they can often be installed upside down. Probably the only fixture in the world that you’ll install upside down. Well, this one can be pointed up. So, when you go to buy a light fixture for your bathroom ask if it can be installed inverted because sometimes you’re better off bouncing the light off the ceiling.


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avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

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