What size vanity light do you need?

Work from the mirror, then the wall

The fixture exists to light a face in a mirror, so the mirror sets the target. Published mirror widths in our catalog cluster around 20, 24 and 30 in.: Kohler’s Verdera medicine cabinet is 20 in. wide by 40 in. tall, its Verdera lighted mirror is 24 x 33 in., and Robern’s Vitality mirrors come at 24 x 30 and 24 x 40 in.

Against those, the fixtures are 15-1/8, 22-5/8 and 24-1/4 in. wide. A three-light bar at 22-5/8 in. sits comfortably over a 24 in. mirror; a 15-1/8 in. sconce over a 30 in. mirror will light the middle of your face and leave the sides in shadow.

The four measurements to take

1. Mirror width. The fixture should relate to this, not to the vanity top, because the mirror is what you look into.
2. Gap above the mirror. Compare it with the fixture height: 9-3/8 in. for the Memoirs sconce, 9-11/16 in. for the Simplice bar, 16-3/8 in. for the Occasion.
3. Projection. How far the fixture comes off the wall — published at 5-9/16, 6-1/2 and 7-3/16 in. for those three. In a narrow bathroom this is the number that decides whether you walk into it.
4. Backplate. It has to cover the existing electrical box. Kohler publishes a 5 in. square backplate for the Memoirs sconce; not every maker publishes this, and it is worth asking before you order.

Two fixtures or one?

Sconces either side of a mirror light both sides of a face; a bar above it lights from one direction. Neither is a rule, and both are published products with published dimensions — but the side-by-side pair needs wall space either side of the mirror that a lot of bathrooms do not have. Bar against sconces is compared here.

Height, and the one published rule

There is no published height for a bathroom light fixture, but there is one for the mirror it lights, and it constrains everything above it. The ADA Standards state: “Mirrors located above lavatories or countertops shall be installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 40 inches (1015 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground.” Mirror height sets the top of the mirror, and the top of the mirror sets where the fixture can go.

Wattage and what the socket rating means

Kohler publishes socket ratings rather than fixture output: “60 Hz, 60 W, 1600 Lumens” per socket on the Memoirs sconce, and 120 V, 1.5 A for the three-light bars. That is a ceiling, not a promise — what you actually get depends on the bulbs you fit.

This is why bulb choice is not a detail. A three-socket fixture with CRI 80 bulbs and the same fixture with CRI 90 bulbs are different products at the mirror. The vanity lights are ranked here.

Damp rating is not optional

All three fixtures above publish “Suitable for damp locations, per UL 1598”. In a bathroom that line is the difference between a fixture designed for steam and one that is not, and it is published on the spec sheet rather than the box.

If you rent

Every hardwired fixture here rates Owner-only: changing one means the circuit and the electrical box. Renters wanting more light at the mirror have a different route entirely. Lighting a bathroom without rewiring is covered here.