If you are concerned that your bathroom is too dimly lit, there are some simple things that you can do to improve matters without making it too bright. The main things to consider, when reassessing your bathroom lighting, is whether you need to reinstall new bathroom light fixtures, as modern day bathroom lights are built to specifically allow more light to shine through.
Before you go to all the trouble of installing new lighting in your bathroom, though, you may want to take a damp rag and run it over your present fixture. Or, you can take your fixture off and wash it under warm water. It is amazing how often the simple task of washing light fixtures is overlooked, yet it can sometimes make all the difference in the amount of light that is actually allowed to shine through.
If that does not make enough of a difference, then you most likely need to install new, modern light fixtures. The first place to take a look at is around the bathroom sink. You need good lighting in this area, and especially bright lighting is the probably best providing it is natural from a halogen bulb for example. Overhead light does not usually shed enough light on the mirror area, so you may need to put in lights above or to the sides of your mirror. Putting bathroom vanity light fixtures in this location also eliminates shadows on the mirror which is great when applying makeup or shaving.
You may find that installing lights around the vanity area is enough. You could also consider things like recessed lighting in the shower area, which gives a gentle softer light. Or you may want to put in a couple of spotlights and then shine those onto white walls as this will reflect and give the illusion of having a lot more lighting in your bathroom.
Other ideas include taking the curtains off your windows all together. This works well if you have high bathroom windows, which many bathrooms do, as no one will be able to see in through them. If you have regular windows in your bathroom you could still do this and either replace the glass with frosted glass, or simply cover all or part of the window with frosted paper.
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