Thread: The Dimly Lit Den.

My shave den is nearing completion. Mostly just need to finish hanging the hardware (towel racks, etc.) that our rental didn't come with in the first place , and tidy up some organization a little bit.

A problem that continues to plague me, is the lack of sufficient lighting when I shave. There is a standard ceiling fixture, w/globe style glass shade bout the size of a large grapefruit, directly above the sink. There is also a light/exhaust fan combo fixture pretty much in the center of the room on the ceiling. I have 100 watt & 60 watt equivalents CFL in each, respectively. The 60 CFL barely fit with the shade back in place, and I got one of the smaller ones.

I thought getting one of those 1x/5x vanity mirrors that attaches to the wall via a scissor arm would solve the problem. It didn't. Everything below the jaw line is still in a shadow. Which doesn't make seeing my sparse & thin tropical storms any easier.

Long story short, I've started looking for lighting solutions.

Criteria
18" long (surprisingly common).
No more than 2 & 15/16" (just under 3") wide/deep.
Chrome/other shiny metal finish is preferred; white is acceptable.
Not hardwire required. We rent, so neither me nore the property management would like me to put big holes & new wiring in the walls.
Ideally between $20 & $30. No more than $40.

I plan on sitting it on the backsplash (11/16" deep), right under the main mirror. The more it blends with the rest of the bathroom fixtures, the better. When I brought this up to SWMBO, she said, without discussion: "No. That telescopic mirror I let you put on the wall is ugly enough!" So that may well be the biggest challenge.

I'm hoping that if it is sleek enough/non-obtrusive, I can talk the wife into being okay with it. Rather than thinking it's "another hideous thing I have to look at. Only now, its something electric that you want to put inches from the faucet." I'm not mad about this; it was her idea & project to give our master bathroom a "shave den" makeover. I just hang stuff .

Forgot to add probably the most important part: Does anyone have suggestions to solve my lighting dilemma??

Good luck. I'm still on the edge of my seat, waiting for your posting in "The Shave Den". I'm nearly done with mine as well. Just a few more tid-bits.

I,m not sure. My bathroom has similar lighting and I'm fine , but then again I don't even need a mirror I have learned to shave by feel. Tc

Change the over head fixture to a 3 bulb, or a spot, track maybe :<0)

This is going to sound very strange but sometimes I supplement with candles.

First off the CF bulbs are the biggest pieces of crap to ever hit the market. They are actually classified as toxic waste. They should be sent to the appropriate disposal facility. You can get some sweet LED bulls and LED fixtures that will provide real light without the toxic waste. There are very clever fixtures that fit over the oct. box and look like a recessed fixture and kick out amazing light.

Strip LED lights are available and also fixtures from 12" up. Or a properly placed simple one; battery operated for when needed.
These are really bright and can be cut to length. Need a 12 volt 2A power supply also.
Waterproof-Flexible-LED
There is a combo with power supply, strip led and dimmer with remote control. Study well before you buy.
~Richard

I say buy a 60 Watt equivalent LED, I believe you can choose temperatures of light it gives off just like any other lighting. I bought mine a Lowes for $7 plus. I think Home Depot has them for a similar price and they're shape is the size of a regular light bulb. So really not that expensive compared to a few years ago. I use an LED in my shop lamp and have two lamp post with them in. I plan to replace all my CFL with LED's for the reason Shaun stated.
Just to give you an idea of the cost saving's - my neighbor replaced all his lighting with LED's (I sold my house to him and his wife last year - it cost me $150 on avg. a month with CFL's) it cost him $60 a month...worth trying an LED IMHO