There’s nothing relaxing about lying in the bath looking up at a grid of dazzling downlights – so the first rule of arranging downlights is to avoid overdoing it, a.k.a one of the most common bathroom lighting mistakes. Your ceiling should not be peppered with them; no more than one downlight per square metre is recommended. The second rule is to throw any notions of perfectly symmetrical downlight spacing out with the bath water.
Downlights fit snugly to the ceiling, so you won’t notice the alignment, especially if you choose fittings with white trims that blend in. Put the tape measure down and instead focus on where you need the light to hit. Typically, this would be above the key features, like the loo, shower and bath. Choose directional downlights so that you can adjust the angle of light. Bathroom wall light ideas are more effective on either side of a mirror – ideally at eye level – but if you want a downlight in that area, position it closer to the wall so you don’t block the light with your head as you lean over the basin!