You might not ever guess, but I battled major internal conflict over the light bulbs in our bathroom. The gold tipped bulbs weren’t in my original design plan, and neither was the mirror for that matter. I wanted a brass trimmed round mirror flanked by skinny-Edison-bulb-filled sconces. Sadly, during the renovation I realized given the width and placement of our vanity, a round mirror and side sconces would not fit. The largest round mirror we could fit was 24″, and it looked really off scale and odd (trust me, I tried!). Also, I realized this too late as the electrical was already done for the sconces.
Hindsight is a beyotch.
If I could re-do it today, I would install one ceiling pendant like this one (similar to what Amber did here) or an over-the-mirror sconce (like this one), so I could have my round mirror. I love that thin profile round mirrors are more readily available now. Last year, there were like 2 on the market in my budget, and both were the wrong size.
ANYWAY. I still like what we did, I just think it could have been done slightly better. I could remove the sconces and hang a round mirror large enough to cover the electrical parts, but I’m not ready to have that argument with my husband, lol!
Back to the bulbs. I originally ordered these skinny Edison bulbs for the sconces, which are pretty neat and actually photograph SO well, not to mention helps the space look tall and airy. What you can’t see (or feel, I should say) in photos is the heat that radiates off of them, and how big they are in real life! They can literally give you a sun tan.
Family and friends thought I was the weirdest person for having these bulbs in my bathroom. I’m usually thick skinned when friends/husband/company tease my design choices (they don’t know!), but this time I think they were right. It was days before the party we threw for Zano’s first birthday, and I swiftly ordered these gold dipped light bulbs as a replacement. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle 50 people giving me ‘the look’!
I’ve kept the gold light bulbs in place ever since, but I don’t love them. I’m thinking of replacing them with these faceted bulbs, or maybe these diamond shaped bulbs. What do you think?
PS so sorry for the website issues these last two days. Fingers crossed all is resolved!
I say leave them, it all looks awesome! Although it does suck when designs don’t turn out how you originally envisioned them. Damn that hindsight!
hahaha exactly!
beautiful renovation — please share your source for the black rimmed mirror
I totally love your bathroom, however there was something about the lights that just didn’t jive for me (too much gold in one place, I think)….until I saw the picture with the skinny Edison bulbs–those looked amazing! Too bad they were so bright. I like the diamond shaped bulbs a lot. I’d give that a go.
I am in a similar predicament in my new home. I just HAD to have sconces on either side of a mirror already purchased from Rejuvenation and to his credit, the foreman said there really wasn’t a lot of room to have sconces and I should just have an over-the-mirror light. Then the electricians placed the electrical boxes either too low or two high for any lights to look good and so now I wish I had just taken the foreman’s advice in the first place and just done one over-the-mirror light so everything isn’t so cramped and in the wrong placement. That hindsight…..
RIGHT?! And I agree, i think the brass is being forced, AND it’s too much in one spot. If only to get the husband on board!!! He hates it when I make changes lol!
Man tough choices! I kind of like the faceted but the diamond shape looks a little more modern.
If you ask me, I think the skinny Edison bulbs are actually perfect! Is it such a big issue that they radiate so brightly? Maybe you can find similar ones that are better? I think they’re original and work well with the mirror and elongate the space, all good things! Big fan of the faceted bulbs as well. The gold ones are my least favorite, I feel that there’s too much gold in combination with the sconces. Also, I totally understand the feeling of “damn, I could have done better”, but honestly it still looks pretty damn awesome and you still did an amazing job ;) x
haha thanks!!! you just made me feel a lot better :)
I love your gold bulbs and can’t imagine the lights without them! I have actually been considering the faceted light bulbs for out bathroom.
Could you put the lights on a dimmer, are the Edison’s dimmable? A dimmer is only about $15 and great for when you have guests over because you can have it dimmed down and then they don’t even have to mess with the lights.
I just found your site… this bathroom is very much my style and I love it! I have to say I prefer the skinny edison bulbs as well. It gave the bathroom a cleaner & more minimal look and tied in well with mirror. Speaking of mirror, may I ask where yours is from? Is it metal? Ive been looking for something very similar and can’t seem to find one anywhere! Thats how I came across your site actually. Cheers!
Thanks Michelle! The mirror is actually an Ikea hack (which i need to post about!)
I actually just bought an Ikea skogsvag mirror thinking I could paint it. Which one did you use?
So, I was having the same issue as you – couldn’t find a tall skinny black framed mirror within my budget. I bought the Stromby frame, popped the glass out, spray painted the frame with primer then black paint, and went to a glass shop and got a mirror cut to fit. Total project was less than $60! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80301872/
This bathroom is gorgeous! I’m looking at that same Brizo shower/tub combo for our bathroom remodel and I’m wondering if you still love it? It’s pricey so I want to make sure it’s worth it! Also, did you have to buy each piece separately (tub spout, hand shower, etc?) or did it come as a set? Thanks for you help!
Hey! Thanks for asking! And YES, we absolutely love it still. We really wanted a hand held shower head and the matte black is stunning in person. I love the spout too. I think I ordered the handheld shower and spout on Amazon, and the diverter through our local plumbing supply (because I had no idea what pieces we really needed).
That’s so helpful! Thank you so much for responding. I’m definitely going to have to consider this one. We want the handheld because we have two kids and the Brizo stuff is just so gorgeous. Thanks again!
Yeah! We have dogs and one bathtub, bathing them with this handheld makes it SO much easier. I think the brizo items are a good thing to splurge on. We saved on the tile (cheap subway tile) and splurged on the fixtures. I definitely didn’t realize what a difference nice fixtures make.
If you’re missing your height and you don’t mind how these look when they are off… they could be an option.
http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/products/filament-led-t10-6w-bulb