Heading into a bathroom remodel? Most vacation home owners know to update crucial elements like floor tiles, paint and light fixtures. However, adding a light-up mirror can take any rental bathroom from boring to brilliant with one simple installation. Grab your toolbox and an extra pair of hands, because we’re giving you points on how you can add this fashion-forward fixture to your bathroom to instantly boost its style.
Brighten Your Space With A Light Up Mirror!
1. Evaluate Your Space
Before you pick and choose a mirror, take a step back and really look at your bathroom. Is your rental powder room in dire need of extra lighting? Is it the master bathroom that could benefit from higher voltage? If your rental is one that is primarily used by couples or individuals, install a light-up mirror in the master bathroom. Choose one that has side lights for better makeup application or to focus on a closer shave—they have the same effect as old-school dressing room mirrors with a much more modern twist. If a smaller bathroom needs a light-up mirror, consider choosing one that’s more modest in size but has an atypical shape, like one with rounded edges or an interesting hexagon style.
2. Choose Your Mirror
With so many options at our fingertips, it can seem overwhelming to select just one light-up mirror. To make the process a little simpler, break your selections down by budget, style, size and ease of installation. First, peek at your budget. If you’ve set aside a good chunk of change for this project, you’ll have more options. However, if you’re remodeling on a limited budget, opt for a more basic style that will still make a major impact. Next, break down your remaining mirrors by style and which fits your rental’s aesthetic most closely. Lastly, look at the size and ease of installation. You’ll want to select a mirror that is proportionate to your vanity setup and easily installed.
3. Choose Your Light
Now that you’ve chosen your bathroom space and mirror style, it’s time to choose voltage. LED lighting is perfect for mirrors that will be used for close-up tasks and every day morning and nighttime rituals, as they are bright but not overbearing. LED lights that are configured inside or behind a mirror are especially helpful, as they focus the light in a particular direction and don’t cast pesky unwanted shadows. Take care when selecting the type of LED lighting you’re using for the mirror and the space. Different shades of lighting are available through many companies, and both warm and cool hues are great options. You can try both to see which looks best in your space, but warmer light tends to compliment bathrooms with rich hues while cooler light plays well with bright white spaces.
4. Complete with Accessories
Installing the mirror in your rental bathroom is only the halfway point of this project, as no bathroom space is truly complete until design elements and accessories have been sprinkled in. If you chose a large format mirror with cool lighting to complement your white, open bathroom space, keep the clean theme going with contrasting materials like white subway tiles and gray grout. Add simple accessories like glass jars on shelves and polished nickel knobs and handles to cabinets. If your bathroom is darker with a warmer light, opt for bronze or black nickel faucets and hardware with greenery sprinkled throughout to help set a fresh tone.
Adding a light-up mirror to your bathroom not only boosts its style and efficiency, but also adds to the value of your rental property, making it the place to be this vacation season. Which light-up mirror style is your favorite, and how did you ease the installation process?
Kerrie Kelly of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab is a California interior designer and a specialist in bathroom design and renovations. Kerrie writes on her design ideas for Home Depot online. To research a large selection of mirrors for the bath, as well as other bath accessories, you can go online to Home Depot.