By Danny. Last verified 4 September 2026.
A vanity light above a mirror sits at 75 to 80 inches from the finished floor to the centre of the fixture, which usually works out to about 6 inches above the top of the mirror. On an 8 foot ceiling, 78 inches is the number that works in almost every bathroom.
Height is the easy half. Width is where bathrooms go wrong, and width and height are really one decision, because a fixture that is too narrow looks worse the higher you hang it.
Numbers to keep in mind
- Over-mirror fixture: 75 to 80 inches floor to centre of fixture.
- Roughly 6 inches above the top of the mirror, and at least 3 inches of clear wall above the fixture.
- Fixture width: about 75 percent of the mirror width, and never wider than the vanity.
- Sconces flanking a mirror: 60 to 66 inches floor to centre, and 36 to 40 inches apart.
- On an 8 foot ceiling with a tall mirror, drop to 75 inches rather than compressing the gap above the fixture.
- Vanity fixtures in this catalogue are 15, 24 and 35 inches wide, in 2 and 3-light versions.
Width is the decision people get wrong
Take the mirror width and multiply by 0.75. A 30 inch mirror wants a fixture around 22 inches; a 36 inch mirror wants around 27; a 48 inch mirror wants around 36.
Two hard limits sit around that. The fixture must not be wider than the vanity below it, because overhanging the counter reads as an error from the doorway. And a fixture much narrower than about two-thirds of the mirror looks stranded, particularly at 78 inches up, where there is a lot of visible wall around it.
That is the relationship between width and height: a narrow fixture hung high has empty wall on three sides. If the only fixture you like is narrow, hang it at the lower end of the range, at 75 inches, and it will sit closer to the mirror and read as connected to it.
Over the mirror, or beside it
Over the mirror is the standard and it is the right answer in most bathrooms. It is simple, it needs one box, and it lights the whole counter.
Beside the mirror is better light and more work. A pair of sconces at eye level throws light across the face from both sides, which fills in the shadows under the eyes, the nose and the chin. An overhead fixture cannot do that; it lights the top of the head and casts everything else downward. Anyone who does close work at a mirror, shaving or makeup, will notice the difference immediately.
The practical constraints are wall space and boxes. Sconces need 36 to 40 inches between them, which means a mirror no wider than about 30 inches with clear wall on both sides, and two boxes rather than one.
The combination that works best, where the room allows it, is both: sconces for the face, and an over-mirror fixture or ceiling light for general room light. That is why so many well-lit bathrooms have more fixtures than seems necessary.
Sconce height beside a mirror
60 to 66 inches from the floor to the centre of the fixture, which puts the light source at roughly the eye level of an adult standing at the basin. Slightly lower is better than slightly higher; a sconce hung at 70 inches is lighting the top of a face rather than the front of it.
Frosted or opaque glass matters more here than anywhere else in the house, because the light source is directly in your field of view at the mirror. A clear lamp at eye level is glare, not lighting.
Ceiling height changes the numbers
| Ceiling | Over-mirror fixture, floor to centre | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 8 ft | 75 to 78 in | Go lower if the mirror is tall |
| 9 ft | 78 to 80 in | The comfortable case |
| 10 ft | 78 to 82 in | Do not chase the ceiling; the mirror sets the height, not the ceiling |
That last note is the one worth keeping. In a tall bathroom the temptation is to raise the fixture to balance the wall. Do not. The fixture relates to the mirror and the face, and a vanity light at 88 inches lights nothing useful. If the wall above looks bare, that is an argument for a taller mirror, not a higher light.
Getting the box in the right place
An over-mirror fixture is centred on the mirror, and the mirror is centred on the basin. Those three centrelines have to agree, and in a bathroom with an off-centre basin they often do not.
Decide the basin position first, then the mirror, then the light. If the box is already in and it is off by an inch or two, a fixture with a wide backplate hides more error than a narrow one. If it is off by more than that, move the box; a vanity light that is visibly off-centre above a mirror is one of those faults that becomes impossible to stop noticing.
On a double vanity, the choice is one wide fixture centred on the room or two fixtures each centred on a basin. Two reads better and lights better, and it is worth the second box.
Bulbs, and the reason a bathroom can look wrong at every height
Colour rendering matters more at a mirror than anywhere else in a house, because you are judging skin tone. A lamp with poor colour rendering makes a correctly positioned, correctly sized fixture look bad, and people blame the fixture.
Use lamps of the same colour temperature throughout the room. 2700K is warm and flattering, 3000K is neutral and slightly crisper. Either works. Mixing them across the vanity light and the ceiling light does not.
Vanity fixtures in this catalogue
The range is in Vanity and Bathroom Lighting, with the traditional family at Kohler Memoirs.
- Kohler K-23687-BA02-BZL Memoirs 15in 2-Light Vanity Light, oil-rubbed bronze. Fifteen inches suits a mirror around 20 to 24 inches, so a powder room or a small second bath.
- Kohler K-23687-BA02-BGL Memoirs 15in 2-Light Vanity Light, brushed gold. The same fixture in a warm finish.
- Kohler K-23688-BA03-BZL Memoirs 24in 3-Light Vanity Light, oil-rubbed bronze. Twenty four inches suits a 30 to 34 inch mirror.
- Kohler K-32287-SC03-CPL Hauksbee 35in 3-Light Vanity Light, polished chrome. The widest here, for a 44 to 48 inch mirror over a double vanity.
- Kohler K-11366-CPL Forte 15in 2-Light Wall Sconce, frosted glass, polished chrome. Frosted glass, which is what you want at eye level.
Frequently asked questions
How high should a vanity light be above the mirror?
75 to 80 inches from the floor to the centre of the fixture, which is usually about 6 inches above the top of the mirror. On an 8 foot ceiling, 78 inches works in most bathrooms.
What width vanity light do I need?
About 75 percent of the mirror width, and never wider than the vanity below. A 36 inch mirror suits a fixture around 27 inches.
Is it better to put lights above the mirror or beside it?
Beside gives better light on the face, because it fills shadows from both sides rather than casting them downward. Above is simpler and lights the whole counter. Where there is room, both is the answer.
How high should bathroom sconces be?
60 to 66 inches to the centre of the fixture, and 36 to 40 inches apart, so the light sits at about the eye level of someone standing at the basin. Use frosted or opaque glass at that height.