How to light a bedroom

Your bedroom is where you start and end each day, and since it's a space just for you, it deserves some special attention!

Ensuring your bedroom is properly lit will give it a new dimension. Not sure what to keep in mind when shopping for lighting fixtures or wondering how many types of lighting fixtures you should include in your space?

We spoke with designers who gave us their thoughts on the key factors to consider when looking for bedside lamps, wall lamps, ceiling lights, and more.

Remember to layer the lighting

According to designer Alex Alonso , layering different forms of lighting in your sleep space is essential.

“For bedrooms—and almost any room—I always recommend at least three lighting sources—task, decorative, and ambient/general,” he shares.

"Layering the three together is the fun part and the one that requires the most strategy." Alonso suggests mentally dividing a room into zones to start.

For example, when it comes to workspace lighting , "I start by identifying the task that will be performed and where it would occur in the room," Alonso explains.

“Whether it’s reading in bed, a separate reading nook off to the side, or a small desk, you want the lighting to visually complement the space, but also not be overpowering and shout, ‘I’m reading here, look at me!’”

Decorative lighting , according to Alonso, is "the jewel of your room." This may mean choosing a bold chandelier—"it commands the room, but it fits in with any other room," he comments. Bedside lamps can also serve this purpose.

"Perhaps your decorative lighting consists of truly sculptural table lamps on your nightstands - lots of personality and lots of money for your design!"

When it comes to general lighting , there are even more choices. "Recessed lights are so common and inexpensive these days that getting them wrong is really a crime," notes Alonso.

"That said, they're often overdone, and you end up with rows of landing strips repeating across the ceiling. Be careful where you place recessed lights." In some cases, Alonso limits recessed lighting to the perimeter of the room.

Don't forget the lamps

As Alonso points out, you should never rely on vertical lighting in your bedroom. After all, lamps are also a key element to include in the space, comments designer Brian Brown.

"To give the room a boost, bedside lamps or pendants are other essential elements for function," he explains. But that's not all.

“I also like to add lamps to dressers,” says Brian Brown. “This draws light into other areas of the room and gives you a more even glow all around.”

Opt for wall lights if you share a space

Sconces add elegance to the bedside table and free up the nightstand, but that's not their only advantage. "If you read a lot in bed, a sconce arm is always a good choice," comments Alonso.

"I always make sure the switches are independent, so each person in the bed can control their side without having to rely on the other. It's a convenience that pays off in hours of sleep!

Choose the right lighting temperature

The right lighting temperature will make your sleep time more enjoyable. "My favorite is a soft white bulb," says designer Emma Beryl Kemper .

"It illuminates without giving an impression of sterility and works for ambient, task and accent lighting."

Alonso says he generally won't choose bulbs higher than 2700 Kelvin . "I like an amber glow in the bedroom. It's a little more ambient, softer, and warmer," he says.

But if you need to go up to 3,000, it's up to you to decide based on your personal needs. "I'm very mindful of what tasks other than sleeping, streaming, or reading will be done in the room throughout the day," Alonso adds.

“If you have an office and tend to do office work in the bedroom during the day—especially these days when we're all working from home—and your natural lighting isn't great, go for 3000K.”

Pay attention to the dimensions of your lamp

When choosing lighting fixtures, pay attention to dimensions. "A tip for bedside lamps is to keep the scale between 1/3 and 2/3 of the width of the nightstand," says designer Christine Vroom.

“I tend to go closer to 2/3 to fill this space.” Scale is just as important when it comes to ceiling lighting. “If you have a large space with high ceilings, a large statement light such as a woven rattan pendant can make sense,” notes designer Anna Franklin.

"However, if you have a standard height ceiling, opt for something smaller and that doesn't hang too low."

As a general rule, designer Becky Shea likes ceiling lights to hang 8 feet above the floor. “Depending on the ceiling height, I work backward to find my overall height, and gravitate toward a diameter that’s 1/4 or 1/2 the width of the bed,” she says. “There’s a lot of math that goes into the design to make it all work!”

The number of bulbs in your ceiling light can also depend on the size of the room, Franklin adds. "If it has more than two or three, it will probably be too bright for a small bedroom ," she notes. "The more bulbs, the brighter the space will be."