Medicine Cabinet with SIX bulb light fixture

[Paintedcow]

I went to a place that resells building materials. Doors, windows, lumber, plumbing faucets, light fixtures, and so on.... I bought a used Medicine Cabinet with SIX bulb light fixture. This is a HUGE cabinet, which is exactly what I was looking for. Most of those small med cabinets are worthless as far as space. So, my sink counter top is always covered with bottles of shampoo, rubbing alcohol, pepto, and all these other things we need.

This cabinet is 44 inches high and 48 inches wide. It's nice looking, fairly modern, and has a large 3 piece mirror (3 doors). It came with a built in chrome "light bar" with SIX bulbs. It's made for those decorative round (exposed) bulbs.

The only thing I dont care for is having that many bulbs. (I'm not trying to buy the electric company)! Anyhow, I dont like the idea of leaving out bulbs (for both appearance and safety). My old fixture has provided adaquate light with two 60W (equiv) CFL bulbs.

My question is this: Do I just put in six 25W (equiv) bulbs (I'll be using LED), or is it better to just put in two 60W (equiv) bulbs (or three 40W) and fill the other sockets with dead bulbs? What would you do?

Yes, the option of installing a dimmer came to mind, but I dont care to have to fiddle with a dimmer in a bathroom when I run in there to take a piss, during the night, when I'm half asleep, Nor do I want the room to light up so bright that I'm almost blinded by it. Not to mention that DIMMABLE LED bulbs are a lot more costly, and I'm not sure if they make those decorative LED bulbs as dimmable.

[philo]

I agree, I would not want any empty sockets.

Six, 25 watt bulbs should do the trick.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Depends on how muc light you really nee/want. Both my recently remodeled bathrooms have a ceiling fan/fixure with CFL bulbs and over the mirron we have three bulbs. I'm using 3 69W rqivaltent LED and they do a nice jov. Probably could get away with less, but this makes it nice at bright both at th sink and in the shower.

Considering the time the bubs are on each day and the power consumed by LED bulbs, I'd error on the side of too bright rather than not enough. I'd probably use 40W (450 lumen) bulbs in cool white.

[Stormin Mormon]

If it was my cabinet, I'd go to Dollar Tree and spend ten bucks on 25 watt appliance bulbs. Keep the extra four for spares.

In the meantime, I'd pay attenion when at the hardware store, and see what they have in the way of multi packs of CFL, LED, etc.

Whatever you choose, please let us know how it works.

[makolber]

Use a dimmer and 6 incandescent low wattage bulbs. When you get up at night to pee, You'll appreciate the low light.

[gfretwell]

You are better off having a lighting plan. When your wife is doing her makeup, she probably wants a lot of light and she probably wants a particular color. That is the vanity light. You may also want dimmable lights, I have recessed cans for that but a dimmer on the vanity light would work.. For getting up at 2AM, I have rope light under the toe kicks of the cabinets, running off an occupancy sensor. I did the same thing in the kitchen, so they don't use the fridge for a night light. Walk in, the light comes on and stays on until you leave.

[hrhofmann]

You could compromise by breaking the sockets into two circuits, maybe 2 bul bs on one circuit and 4 on another, The two bulbs on a switch and 4 on dim mable. It depends on the arrangement of the sockets, all across the top, o r two on top and two on each side, etc. Dimmable is definitely great for t he middle of the night.