Let there be Light: Our New Bathroom Spotlight

When we had our extractor fan wired up by the electricians around 15 months ago (has it already been that long?!), we were asked whether or not we’d be having downlighting as well – a very common and popular trend for kitchens and bathrooms nowadays, but not always the cheapest option since they’re often sold singularly. Since we wanted to splash out elsewhere in the bathroom, we chose to save the pennies on cheaper lighting. Our electrician agreed that would be fine, but remarked that we mustn’t leave the lighting as it currently was (a bulb unattached and dangling from the ceiling) when we finally had our bathroom installed and it would become used.

And so, we left the bulb dangling from the ceiling for a whole 15 months, even whilst the bathroom was in use. I know, we’re terrible human beings! Truth was, I just couldn’t find any lighting that I liked and wasn’t expensive. With so much to do around the house and so much to spend elsewhere, I could never justify the money, meaning these finishing touches tend to get left to the very end. But alas, we couldn’t keep the lighting situation as it was and we desperately needed something.

Although the location of our light fitting is outside all water zones in the bathroom meaning we didn’t specifically have to use a bathroom fitting (IP44 rated), we decided it would be best to stick with an IP44 rated fitting anyway as our bathroom can get super steamy. This way, we know for sure that it’s protected. However, this did mean our options were slightly limited and I couldn’t just buy any old bargain. With the January sales in full swing, I took several whole hours to the PC to find something that I liked, wasn’t expensive and suitable for the job. Eventually, I found the perfect lighting.

The Havana Spotlight from Homebase, reduced from £45 to just £18. Can you say, BARGAIN?

It had some mixed reviews online regarding its installation – most customers had commented on how heavy it was and how it required two people to install, but I have to say that I really didn’t think it was that heavy. Grant even managed to install the whole thing all on his own! In fairness, we do work in manual labour jobs that require heavy lifting all day long, so in comparison, holding this up for several minutes was a total breeze. Other reviews also mentioned that the light-bulbs the fitting came with only last a couple of weeks, so I expect I’ll be having to replace them soonish. But for just £18, this fitting looks and feels like a real quality item.

The ice-cube style glass lights aren’t flimsy; they’re easy to position and don’t drop out of place like some cheaper fittings I’ve looked at. The mirrored finish gives a real classy and luxury feel and the bevelled edge is a lovely extra little detail.

Since it’s made from mirrored glass, the only minor downside to this item is that as it collects dust (inevitable in bathrooms) it will much more noticeable on the mirror than any other regular light fitting, so the upkeep on this is going to be much more work. I’ll have to retrieve that duster from it’s cobweb cupboard!

Due to the fitting’s concealed ceiling bracket, it does make the fitting appear to hang away from the ceiling, which creates a bit of a shadow around it. I personally don’t mind this as it almost makes the fitting look as if it’s floating.

We decided to fit the light at an angle, so that when you enter the room it looks more diamond than square. It was much easier to fit this way as it didn’t have to be perfectly square and straight with the walls, which would have super bugged me if we hadn’t got it perfect. And I actually quite prefer it at an angle.

The fitting is really bright and produces a good amount of light – something I’m SUPER fussy about – 100 watt lightbulbs everywhere in this house – so for this to pass my crazy brightness expectations, really says something! This photo below really doesn’t show it very well (oh my terrible, so-much-to-learn photography) but trust me, it’s bright.

At just £18, I couldn’t be more thrilled and pleased. It fits in perfectly with our style bathroom – it’s modern and is a great alternative to down-lights, much easier to install and actually probably much cheaper too! For many months, I did slightly regret the decision to not install down-lights as I simply couldn’t find  an affordable light that I liked, but the wait paid off and I’m super happy with this one. It’s not quite as seamless as down-lights and it’s definitely more of a ‘feature’ that stands out in the room, but it does allow me to position the lighting as I’d like and it doesn’t make the imperfections in the ceiling plaster stand out like the hanging light bulb did. So, an all-round success, I would say!

What style bathroom lighting would you have gone with? Do you prefer on-trend downlights?