You definitely have a lot of choices when it comes to bedroom lighting – from a bold and beautiful chandelier or pendant light to soft lights like downlights and recessed lighting, you can choose from a myriad of lighting options for your bedroom. But the array of choices at your fingertips can actually make it more challenging to choose the proper lighting for your bedroom. For instance, should you go for one overhead ceiling light, or should you go for a floor lamp placed in a corner instead? Why not go for both? The choices are endless, but it’s all about knowing what kind of lighting you need for this most unique and personal of spaces. You want your bedroom to have proper ambient lighting, of course, but you may need task lighting and accent lighting as well. Following is the best way to choose lights for your bedroom: your ultimate guide.
- Overhead lighting
Overhead lighting is usually a necessity for many bedrooms, and for good reason. A proper overhead light will give your bedroom the ambient lighting it needs, illuminating the room well enough for you to see everything in the space comfortably. For overhead lighting, you can select a modern light pendant or a classic, timeless chandelier, especially if you would like to make a statement. But you also have to determine the proper size for your overhead light – and for this, combine the total length and width of your room in metres, then convert it into centimetres for the proper light diameter. In regard to hanging, make sure the light hangs at least two metres from the floor to the light’s bottom, but if you are planning to hang your light directly above the foot of the bed, you can hang it a little bit lower for a cosier feel. Don’t forget to consider the fixture’s scale compared to your space, and make sure it is in proportion to your bed’s size too.
- Reading lights
You can make your bedroom more functional with the proper task lighting, and this can come in the form of sconces on the wall as well as table lamps. A wall sconce is especially ideal because it allows you to read, and if you use wall sconces, you have more room on the nightstand for other essentials. If you want something a bit more modern, you can hang a couple of pendant lights (such as those from Diiiz.com) on both sides of your bed; this gives the room a more contemporary, modern edge. Bear in mind, though, that your sconce’s shades will also determine the kind of light the fixture emits; a darker shade will point light downwards, which is great for reading. But if you want something which can also serve as ambient lighting, go for lighter shades.
- Accent lighting
For accent lighting, you have more than a few choices as well. You can give your bedroom a more relaxing ambience with the right accent lighting, such as lamps on the tables or a floor lamp placed in a corner. Accent lights usually have a low wattage compared to overhead or task lighting, creating a subtler kind of illumination for your bedroom. But you also need to choose the proper scale and size for your accent lights because you can easily overwhelm the bedroom space with too much lighting. If, for example, you are making use of two lamps on your side tables, the lamps should be about 1/3 your bedside tables’ width, and no taller than the bed’s headboard.
