What if you combined one of the lights and the fan on one control?That could take you down to 2 switches overall. Dimmers are easy enough to add to the existing single flip switch for the vanity. I've posted links below to a couple different types of switches that may help you out with your issue. We had the 1st one in the house I grew up in to control the fan and fan light. The second one we have in our current house to control both fans and lights--the main flip switch controls the power and once flipped you can control the speed of the fan and the brightness of the light with the respective built in side switches. You can also get this one with a single side slide to control just one function.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_48977-539-S2-LFSQ-WH_0__?Ntt=lutron+skylark+s2-lfsq-wh&UserSearch=lutron+skylark+s2-lfsq-wh&productId=3514226&rpp=32

http://www.lowes.com/pd_78727-539-TG2-LFSQH-WH_0__?productId=3189471&Ntt=vent+fan+and+light+control&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dvent%2Bfan%2Band%2Blight%2Bcontrol&facetInfo=

Hope this helps!

Thanks! I should have mentioned that the fan control is a timer. I found several combo switches where the fan speed could be controlled, but didn't see any where the timer function could be combined with a standard light switch, but I'll look again. We like the current timer where you push a single button for each of four set times, so want to avoid anything electronic or where you need to push a button multiple times to add time. I think that may lock us into the full-size switch, though. I also mistyped on the sconce switch--it has to be a vacancy sensor, not a dimmer. We've ordered the Lutron Maestro sensor to use and it needs a full plate to itself, but can switch to something else if there's an option that can be combined with the fan switch. (The fan light meets our state efficiency standards so it can use a standard switch without dimmer or vacancy sensor.)

"I found several combo switches where the fan speed could be controlled, but didn't see any where the timer function could be combined with a standard light switch, but I'll look again."

This switch might not fit your needs, but I'll toss it out for you to look at. It's designed more for a shower light and shower fan.

You turn the switch ON and the fan and light turn on. You turn the switch OFF and the light turns off, but the fan continues to run for a preset DELAY time set by you.

You can ignore the "VENTILATION" comments about the switch by setting the VENT time to zero.

Thanks--we have one of these at my office and I'd forgotten about it. I isn't a great fit for us because we only turn the light on at night, but use the fan whenever the shower is used, so I think we'd end up having to turn it on and off a lot to get the fan on. But I'll check out their other switches to make sure there's nothing that might work--thanks!

Duplicate post!

This post was edited by artemis78 on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 12:01

Could you have the lights in a double-gang box, and the fan in its own box above the lights? I'd be leary of cutting into a stud on a load-bearing wall. Placing switch by vanity would be my last choice.

I was going to suggest the same as raehelen. We have a double-gang box with one switch for the overhead lights and the other switch for the vanity lights. Above that in its own box is the switch for the jetted tub. It's never bothered me aesthetically. Since the jetted tub switch is not used as frequently, I actually like having it a little out of the way.

Hmm, hadn't thought about stacking them, but I imagine that would be feasible. Is that really preferable to switching the vanity lights by the mirror, though? It seems like that placement would be far more awkward! (If we move them to the mirror, they will share a two-gang box with the GFCI receptacle that's already there.) Stacking them would, however, solve the issue now with turning on the sconce lights when you're trying to turn on the overhead lights. I'll have to play with this and see how it might look--thanks!

i know this is an ancient post but we are having the exact same issue and i wanted to see what you did and if you have pictures.

Sure! We ended up doing one two-gang box at the entrance to the room with the fan timer and fan light, and a second two-gang box next to the vanity with the vanity light and a GFCI outlet.

At sink:

At doorway:

I've been really happy with this setup, enough that when we built a second bathroom a couple of years ago, I used the same basic layout. (I did later learn--unfortunately after everything had been roughed in--that my partner would have preferred outlets separate from the switch, though still all at the sink, and placed lower on the wall for the kinds of things he plugs in, since that bathroom has an actual vanity with counter...but he prefers not to be involved in house projects unless absolutely necessary, and that configuration hadn't crossed my mind, so ah well! What we ended up with has worked out too.) One big difference in the new bath is that we got a combination light/fan switch. This one is also a humidity sensor (required by our state's code now) and works terribly as a sensor--we have it set all the way down to zero and it still comes on cheerfully on rainy days like today--but I LOVE having the fan and light switching combined. Both Panasonic and Lutron sell versions of this switch without the humidity feature that would be terrific for this application to save space. That would have let us fit the fan timer, light, and vanity light in the two-gang space...but honestly, I like having the vanity lights switched over at the vanity.

Caveats are that these bathrooms are both quite small bathrooms relative to the Houzz norm, and they both have vacancy sensor switches (also required by our state's code) so on the rare occasions when someone leaving the room doesn't turn the vanity lights off, they switch themselves off after 15 minutes. (I love this feature too and would get that again even if it weren't required.)

New bath at vanity:

New bath at doorway (top button is overhead fan light, bottom is 30 minutes of fan runtime--also turns on when it senses humidity).

Hope that helps!

So kind of you to reply with these pictures and all of your experience as well. You mentioned panasonic and that is the brand we have also purchased. Ours has a nightlight feature. Does yours? and if so were you able to find a switch that is a timer and controls the regular light and night light all in one?

We dont have any vacancy or humidty requirements here.

Ours do have the nightlight feature but neither is wired for it—we didn’t think we’d use it enough. I did see some of the two-button switches where one was the night light and one the main light, though. For that you’d probably need to combo the two lights and then do the fan timer separately, but you could use the same setup as in the first photo.