Using A Wall Sconce Next To Your Vanity Mirror
A wall sconce for the bathroom, or more traditionally a pair of them, might be based on the styles of the bathroom mirror and vanity. On the other hand, the styles may be so different that the sight of a contemporary pair of wall sconces beside a Victorian vanity and mirror delivers a little pop of surprise and delight. Such a set up has to be done with care, and the wall sconce has to complement something else in the room, perhaps a modern wet room with chrome fixtures, or a ceramic tile floor with an Art Deco pattern. There are ways to make vanity mirrors even the most unlikely elements in a bathroom work in harmony.
A small bathroom might have a small and simple vanity with a very ornate mirror with a carved wooden frame painted in gold leaf. The walls are faced with pale ceramic tiles and in this case a single wall sconce with a bracket made of oil rubbed nickel and a simple, frosted glass shade is put above it. The frosted glass shade echoes the white of the vanity, and the dark metal of the sconce's base contrasts with the bright gold of the mirror frame.
In another bathroom, a similar mirror has been hung above a traditional porcelain topped vanity with a built in, three mount sink with polished brass spigot and handles. This mirror also has an ornate frame but the wood, carved into knots of fruit and acanthus leaves, is painted ivory. The wall sconces have escutcheons painted the same color as the mirror frame, and the incandescent bulbs have silk shades edged with tiny white pompoms and braid.
In another small bathroom whose walls are faced with traditional tile, the vanity has a pretty ivory and yellow skirt. The mirror is the front of a medicine chest and is acid etched with sheaves of wheat at the top. The wall sconce beside it is made of chrome with a milk glass, bell shaped shade over a single 100 watt bulb.
A tiny, very modernistic bathroom has a long vanity with two sinks whose top is made of what looks like plexiglas. Above it hangs a simple, frameless round mirror. The wall sconces are actually on the adjacent wall and look like two portholes, one placed right above the other.
In a large bathroom, a gorgeous vanity has beautiful, teak wood drawers and cabinets beneath and a top made out of gray and white Botticino classico marble vanity mirrors. Two mirrors, also framed in teak, are mounted above two sinks. Between the two mirrors is a wall sconce that drips with crystal chains, balls and almonds like a tiny, three armed chandelier.
One bathroom has a simple vanity made of white porcelain and above it a square, mahogany framed mirror. The sconces beside it are in the form of two neon tube lights which give off a pretty, sunrise glow that complements the bathroom's other clean lines.