Illuminate and Coordinate Your Bathroom (NAPSA)—Today, homeowners want a bath that is more than functional. They want it to complement their home’s overall style and character. Bathrooms have moved from being a purely functional room, to being an extension of the home’s dcor. Whenit comesto putting the final touches on a new or remodeled bath, nothing is more important than selecting the right lighting. A good lighting plan can do more than provide general illumination for health and beauty care. = It can create an attractive, relax- ing atmosphere that enhances your home’s charm. Recent industry trends show that homeowners look to extend their individuality into their bathroom while sporting a custom, yet coordinated look. New lighting products on the market make keeping a cohesive, streamlined dcor in the bath easy. For example, Progress Lighting*’—the nation’s leading manufacturer of decorative lighting products— offers lighting collections for the bath and vanity areas that coordinate with faucets, towel bars and other bathroom accessories. Whenselecting bath and vanity lighting, the key task is to provide shadow-free lighting on the face while selecting fixtures that coordinate with other accessories in the room. By following these tips, your bathroom can have that individual, yet customized look: e Add wall brackets to the side of the mirror to further eliminate shadows on the face. For mirrors under 48” wide, use vertically mounted wall brackets. * Mount one main fixture over the mirror, as well as addi- tional recessed down lights, mounted 24” to 36” on centers between the face and the mirror, to prevent shadows. Select lighting fixtures that match the size and scopeof a bath. Areas over 100 square feet require several recessed down lights or decorative surface mountedfixtures. For large bathrooms or dressing areas, use a close-to-ceiling or small hangingfixture. Use high-output shower lights or a ceiling-mounted plastic Designed to coordinate with Delta Faucet bathroom accessories, fixtures within Progress Lighting’s Victorian Bathroom Collection create a coordinated look in bath and vanity areas. unit in the shower for additional safety. * Consider a recessed unit over the commode asa functionallighting detail. * Use bulbs with only enough wattage to ensure proper lighting levels. If the fixture uses exposed bulbs, do not use wattage higher than 40 watts. For fixtures with clear or well-diffused glass, use no more than 75 watts. Etched or white glass should be used with no more than 100 watts. * Use color-corrected fluorescent bulbs with all fluorescent fixtures for a warm lightingeffect. When looking to upgrade or remodel your bath and vanity area, look no further than your lighting plan to make a difference in the look and feel of the room. Not only is upgrading your lighting plan one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to enhance any room in your home— including your bathroom—good lighting enhances other upgrades in the bath like tile or marble countertops and floors, cabinetry, or even your wallpaper. For more information on lighting tips and guidelines, contact Progress Lighting at 864-5996000 or visit their Web site at www.progresslighting.com.
