How to light your bedroom well
Which light fitting for your bedroom?
Whether it belongs to a child or an adult, the bedroom is a cocoon that needs to be lit just right. Since it is mainly where we rest and recharge, it is essential to create a peaceful, soothing atmosphere that helps you unwind. That is why it pays to plan your bedroom lighting carefully, choosing the fittings that will provide the main lighting, task lighting and ambient lighting in the room. Follow this guide to discover the different light fittings you can use to light your bedroom.
Lighting a bedroom: what should you take into account?
In an adult's bedroom, the key is to choose your lighting according to the size of the room and the furniture in it. Mirror, bedside table, desk or chest of drawers: no piece of furniture should be overlooked, and each one should count as an area needing its own dedicated bedroom light. Once you have quickly listed the furniture to be lit, work out how many fittings you will need to light the whole room. A single light is never enough for a bedroom, especially a spacious one. Ceiling lights, pendants, bedside lamps, string lights for your mirror and many other fittings should therefore go on your list. For a child's bedroom, the principle is the same, except that ambient lighting can be left out. For the main and task lighting, however, choose colourful, playful fittings. Multicoloured boat-shaped pendants or multicoloured bedside lamps are a great choice for a child's room, particularly for young children.
Ceiling lights: a safe bet!
Once you have taken the size and furniture of your bedroom into account, it is time to choose the fitting that will provide the general or main lighting. Ceiling lights come in every possible material (metal, aluminium, brass, crystal, bronze and more) and in many shapes. From round ceiling lights to square designer models, box-shaped fittings and more futuristic designs, the variety of shapes is endless. Some have a single light point, while others have several to spread the light evenly, make the bedroom feel bigger and decorate it subtly at the same time. Classic ceiling lights, ceiling fans with lights, decorative ceiling lights or spotlight ceiling fittings: the choice is down to your taste. While a child's bedroom can easily be lit with a multicoloured ceiling light, an adult's bedroom calls for a designer ceiling light that matches the prevailing décor.
Lighting your bedroom with a pendant
A pendant is also a good alternative for the general lighting of a bedroom. Highly decorative, pendants come in many forms: tubular, chandelier-style, dome, globe, box, bottle and more. Some designs have the classic look of traditional pendants, while others take on more whimsical shapes that are ideal for a child's room: a multicoloured aeroplane pendant, a hot-air balloon pendant, or a pendant whose light points look like colourful balloons. For a rustic, contemporary or vintage bedroom, rope pendants, industrial pendants and brass pendants are ideal. When it comes to materials and the number of light points, base your choice on the size of your bedroom and its prevailing décor. For a small bedroom with an average ceiling height, choose an adjustable-height pendant with a single soft-light bulb, and complement it with supplementary light from wall lights or lamps. For a large bedroom, however, go for a wide, height-adjustable pendant with several bulbs. This will let you cover the whole room with diffused light and give your bedroom a cosy, even romantic, atmosphere.
Task lighting in the bedroom
As well as the general lighting provided by a pendant, ceiling light or chandelier, a bedroom should be equipped with task lighting. As the name suggests, these fittings serve a specific purpose. A bedside lamp, for instance, lights part of the room and the bed from the bedside table. Available in many styles, shapes and finishes, the bedside lamp is essential in a bedroom and is ideally placed at eye level, around 95 to 105 cm from the floor. Wall lights, meanwhile, provide soft supplementary lighting by reflecting light off the bedroom walls. When they replace a bedside lamp, wall lights mounted above the bed can also be fitted with adjustable reading arms, a very handy feature that gives direct light for reading.
Floor lamps for ambient lighting
A bedroom can also benefit from ambient lighting provided by a floor lamp. These fittings create warm pools of light and bring a modern, on-trend touch to your bedroom. Designer, wooden, classic, vintage or crystal floor lamps are all models you can place in a corner of your bedroom. Next to a sofa bed, your workspace or your mirror, a floor lamp is ideal for providing light that is soft, focused and discreet all at once. With or without a shade, on a single stem or a tripod base, with a matt or satin finish, straight or arched: be bold with floor lamp shapes to suit your taste and your interior. Do, however, choose a light source fairly similar to your other fittings to create a consistent, even lighting effect in your bedroom. If you have chosen LED bulbs for the general lighting, do the same for your floor lamp bulbs. Light-up letters, string lights and LED strip lights are also modern ambient lighting options for a bedroom.
Other lighting options for your bedroom
Beyond the bedroom itself, you can also add lighting to the areas that go with it, such as the wardrobe, shelves, walk-in wardrobe or mirror. The wardrobe can be lit with recessed spotlights. These discreet yet effective fittings are placed in a row to give diffused, even light inside the wardrobe. Mirrors, shelves and chests of drawers, meanwhile, can be lit with wall lights, string lights, LED bars or dedicated LED strips.
Finally, if you are thinking of modernising your interior, consider functional bedroom lights with dimmers so the light can be adjusted to your needs. A dimmer lets you have soft, discreet light in the morning or strong, diffused light at night. These dimmers are usually touch-controlled and built into the fittings of your choice: wall lights, bedside lamps and so on. For the general lighting in your bedroom, you can opt for smart lights controlled by voice or remote control. This makes life easier and improves your everyday comfort.