Bathrooms are the one room where lighting choice is a safety matter rather than a taste matter. Water and mains electricity share a small space, so wiring rules across the EU divide the room into zones, and each zone sets a minimum ingress protection rating for anything installed in it.
The zones
Zone 0 — inside the bath or shower tray itself. Anything here is potentially submerged. It requires IP67 and must run on low voltage (12 V SELV). In practice this means purpose-built recessed fittings only.
Zone 1 — above the bath or inside the shower, up to 2.25 m from the floor. Direct spray lands here. Minimum IP65. This is where a sealed recessed downlight or an IP65 ceiling light belongs.
Zone 2 — a 0.6 m band extending outward from zone 1, and the area around a washbasin. Splashes reach here. Minimum IP44. Most mirror lights and wall lights sit in this zone.
Outside the zones — the rest of the room, away from the basin and bath. Ordinary IP20 fittings are permitted, though in a small steamy bathroom many people still prefer IP44 everywhere for peace of mind.
What this means when you shop
Check the IP rating before you check the price. Every fixture we sell lists it in the specification table, and you can filter a whole collection by IP rating on our collection pages. As a rule: IP65 or better in the shower, IP44 or better anywhere within splashing distance of the basin, IP20 only in genuinely dry corners.
Getting the light right, not just the rating
Light the mirror from the sides, not from above. A downlight directly over a mirror casts shadows into your eye sockets and under your nose — the least useful possible light for shaving or applying makeup. Vertical light on both sides of the mirror, or an evenly backlit mirror, lights a face properly.
Choose neutral white, 4000 K. Warm 2700 K light flatters a living room but makes it hard to judge skin tone and colour accurately. Neutral white is the right compromise between clinical and cosy. A CCT fixture that lets you switch is a good option if the bathroom doubles as a relaxing space in the evening.
Add a low-level night light. A small IP44 wall light or an LED strip under the vanity, on a separate switch, saves you being blinded at three in the morning.
One last thing
If you are altering wiring rather than simply replacing a fitting like-for-like, use a qualified electrician. In Estonia, as elsewhere in the EU, bathroom circuits must be RCD-protected — that requirement is not something to work around.