Help us shop for some new bathroom vanity lights

January 5, 2018 6:25 AM

Help us shop for some new bathroom vanity lights.

My wife and I are in the market for two new bathroom vanity lights, one over each of a pair of side-by-side mirrors. Our current lights, which came with the house, are so aggressively not our style that it has begun to oppress us. But we're a little stumped on where to even look for good lights, and what we should actually get.

So far we've looked at several big-box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, IKEA, and Target) both in person and online and haven't found anything that we like. After spending the better part of yesterday aimless trawling around DesignSponge and ApartmentTherapy I found this unit, which we both like A LOT. It's in keeping with the general vision we have for the bathroom: clean, simple, mostly white, and stylish in a relatively subdued way. But finding it raised more questions than it answered, like:

- Where else should we be looking for cool vanity lights in this general style? We've seen Rejuvenation, but it skews more "old-timey" than we're interested in.
- Paying nearly $400 for two lights is probably a bridge too far for us... are there cool options that are cheaper than this?
- Related to the above, is there a wide spectrum of quality between these things? Who makes the good stuff, who makes trash? How important is it to get a higher-quality light? Etc.
- More generally, are there features of vanity lights that are must-have/deal-breakers?

Any help y'all can provide will be greatly appreciated!

posted by saladin to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

There are specialty stores that only do lighting, here is one that happens to be in my neck of the woods. Maybe West Elm?
posted by Fig at 6:43 AM on January 5, 2018

Maybe something from CB2 would suit you.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:51 AM on January 5, 2018

Best answer: Good quality lights can get really expensive. I searched endlessly for just the right vanity light and ended up getting the most expensive light fixture in my house for over the vanity. It looks exactly as I envisioned but I still think it was about $100 too far. But! I found some great lights for great prices on Etsy! Check this one out.
posted by amanda at 6:55 AM on January 5, 2018

Definitely go to a lighting specialty store- they will have a ton of options to look over, will know their stuff and can probably help you find specific looks if you show them pictures.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:14 AM on January 5, 2018

My go-to store for lighting is LampsPlus. I'd like to say "if they don't have it, it isn't made", but that isn't exactly the case. However, their selection is extensive and IME their prices are very competitive.
posted by DrGail at 8:03 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Agree with LampsPlus, and I've often gotten good ideas by digging around in the lighting section of the Houzz.com store. There's also a shop called AllModern that offers things in a more funky direction (lots of midcentury looks), although I'd restrict by price to prevent heartbreak.

Honestly, I don't think the fixtures you found are that pricy. It's hard to get style for less than that, unless you're happy with a bar light like this, which is pretty different from the one you linked.
posted by acm at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just bought a sconce for my bathroom from Mod Creations on Etsy, and it's beautiful. Their style looks to be in line with yours and you'll pay closer to $100/light.
posted by (Over) Thinking at 11:09 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers folks. Etsy ended up coming through!
posted by saladin at 9:38 AM on February 20, 2018