Atlanta Lighting Specialists Atlanta, GA

Atlanta electricians reveal latest bathroom trends

What are the trends right now?

Russell Sain: "It's more the light fixtures than the type of lighting. In bathrooms, there's not a whole lot of different options. You can do sconce light, pendant light or recess lighting. It goes with the style of architecture."

Tony Blanca: "A standard bathroom these days will have sconces by the sinks and towel racks, sconces on the sides, and cans in the ceiling and shower. Most of the lights we put in right now are halogens. I like halogens because they're a cleaner, whiter light versus the incandescent."

Josh Brooker: "The major move right now is toward smaller, recessed lights over the vanity to complement the existing sconce lights. A lot of people want overhead lighting as well as lighting from the sides, especially in front of vanities, where they're putting on makeup."

How do you charge? By the hour? By the job?

Sain: "Whether we're putting in a $40 fixture or a $400 fixture, it's a fixture to us. We charge by the job. We do up-front pricing so when we walk in the door, people know what the job will cost."

Blanca: "It's charged per job. It depends on how many installations they want. We'll look at it on a per-item basis. The more items they do, the price goes down."

Brooker: "We have line-item pricing so every element has its own price. That gives the fairest and most exact price, and lets people pick and choose what they want."

What kind of interest is there in specialized lighting controls?

Sain: "The thing I most recommend is for people to use dimmer switches. My wife told me to do this years ago. She wanted a dimmer and I thought she was crazy, but in the morning the light doesn't blind me anymore."

Blanca: "We're doing a lot more lighting control or smart home installations. People are wanting a lot more control of their lighting, whether it's remote or off-site access and control. Dimmers allow you to adjust the lighting to any person's personality."

Brooker: "A lot of people are using dimmers. They're very functional. When you wake up or you're going in the middle of the night, you don't want blaring lights in your eyes, and it's a lot easier when you're brushing your teeth. It also saves energy."

What are some issues homeowners need to know about that they often overlook?

Sain: "They need to make sure that everything is safe and up to code. We've seen a lot of people try to put the wrong type of lighting over a tub or in a shower. There are a lot of safety issues to think about."

Blanca: "It's important to have enough light in there. It's a bathroom; you need a lot of light. Make sure there's enough light for their wife to do makeup and so on and for the husband to adjust it for his needs."

Brooker: "The things we run into the most are the type of mirrors you're going to use and how you're going to light them. Especially for vanities, you want light coming from every direction, or you'll have shadows on your face."

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