Bedroom lighting ideas
More than any other room in your home, your bedroom should feel relaxing and calm, whilst remaining functional. This often comes from your bedroom lighting.
Your bedroom lights should reflect your space’s style while providing practical illumination. To achieve this, you should consider the following three key areas of interior lighting: accent, task and ambient lighting. Read on and explore some of our favourite bedroom lighting tips to help make your space glow.
Ambient lighting
Ambient lighting provides subtle illumination across your bedroom, creating a soft and inviting atmosphere which is the perfect environment to start or end your day. Ambient lighting is also the foundation for layering task and accent lighting across your bedroom, meaning it’s important to choose a style which complements the lights around your space.
Ceiling lighting
Ceiling lights fill your bedroom with light, creating a canvas of ambient lighting to build upon. They're available in a variety of styles which means you can find a bedroom light that’ll brighten your space while matching its design.
Pendant lights are great for placing the focus on a specific area of your space while still ensuring the whole room is lit with ambient lighting.
Flush ceiling lights are perfect for smaller spaces where height is at a premium, providing general lighting without being intrusive. These are also simple to install for an easy DIY bedroom lighting solution.
For apartments and other spaces with low ceiling heights, recessed lighting is the perfect option for discreet lighting which still brightens your bedroom. This often includes downlights, which are a great way of creating ambient lighting without using overhead space.
Dimmer switches
The purpose of ambient lighting is to give your space a natural glow; however, the bedroom often requires this light to be dynamic. Installing a dimmer switch allows you to optimise your space for relaxation whatever the mood, offering a flexible lighting option to suit you. You can find a dimmable light bulb to match your fixture - then you’ll have the perfect adjustable ambient lighting option.
Task lighting
Often, your bedroom is exclusively for relaxation and sleep. From a bedside reading light to a glow when getting ready in the morning, bright lights are sometimes needed to spotlight a single area. That’s where task lighting comes in, the perfect practical bedroom lighting solution.
Bedside lamps
For an intimate, personal lighting solution, opt for either a table or floor lamp to add a touch of light whenever it's needed. Lamps are also an essential element of task lighting, allowing you to contribute to the overall feel of your room while increasing visibility.
Table lamps offer the perfect lighting for reading in bed or can sit at the end of a desk or bedside table for a decorative addition to any piece of bedroom furniture.
Sconces and wall lights are perfect for smaller bedrooms where surface space is lacking, offering targeted lighting anywhere in your room.
Pendant lights hanging over your bedside table also offer a stylish alternative to traditional table lamps. They’re the perfect option for creating a stand-out feature in your room while still providing light.
Reading lights
Adjustable reading lights are great for placing the focus on you and your book, allowing you to precisely light an area without disturbing anyone else in the room. They can also offer reduced blue light exposure compared to ambient lighting, making them perfect for lighting your room just before bed.
Makeup and dressing lights
It’s vital your mirrors are well-lit to ensure you can see what you’re doing when you’re getting ready for the day. A table lamp either side of your mirror, or a well-lit vanity unit, are great ways to illuminate your space and your face while you’re getting sorted.
Accent lighting
While task and ambient lighting blend pleasing aesthetics with function and practicality, accent lighting simply serves the purpose of enhancing the style of your space. Accent lighting is the finishing touch for any bedroom, the perfect way to highlight any decorative features or stand out elements of your space.
Whether that’s by highlighting a specific picture or frame, or if the lighting is itself the centrepiece, there are many ways you can use accent lighting to make your bedroom shine.
Picture lights
Picture lights place the focus on a specific feature in your bedroom. Spotlights make for the best option as they can pivot and twist to easily focus on its subject. If you’re looking to subtly add light to a picture frame from above, why not try running a mirror light along the frame instead?
Downlights
Typically found across bathrooms and kitchens, downlights can be positioned around your bedroom to highlight specific architectural features or pieces of furniture. Downlights can be both accent and ambient lighting, either standing out amongst warmer lights or creating a canvas to layer other lights upon.
LED strip lights
LED strip lighting allows you to get creative and add a bright glow to any surface in your bedroom. Or they’re the perfect solution for challenging environments for traditional bedroom lights, such as the inside of wardrobes. Bedroom LED lights are amongst the most versatile accent lighting options and can be used in combination to create patterns across your whole room.
Decorative lamps
While lamps are a great task light, they’re also available in numerous designs and styles which means they can become a feature in your room, even when they aren’t turned on. Whether you’re looking for vintage designs or modern, sculptural fixtures, decorative lamps are the perfect finishing touch to add a new dimension to your bedside or desk.
Smart lighting for the bedroom
One of the easiest ways to achieve layered lighting across your bedroom is by using smart lighting. Smart light bulbs are available across accent, task and ambient lights to control their colour, warmth and brightness simultaneously, all at the touch of a button. Or, to make controlling your bedroom lights even easier, you can use voice commands through a smart speaker to trigger your lighting.
From the comfort of your bed, you can easily adjust your lights using your phone or other device, allowing you to switch on your lights as soon as you wake up. Or, even better, some lighting can be scheduled to switch on in sync with your alarms, creating a gentle glowing spectrum to wake you each morning.
Smart lights can also sync up across your home, meaning you can set them all to turn on and off simultaneously. Some smart lights can even be linked to your smoke alarms for added safety and protection throughout your house.
To find out more, check out our smart home guide.
How to choose the right colour temperature for my bedroom
For many bedrooms, the best colour temperature is one which provides a warm glow across the room without being intrusive. It’s important you pick a colour temperature that matches the existing designs in your room, which usually means choosing between warm or cool lighting.
Warm lighting
Choosing light bulbs which have a kelvin rating of between 2700K and 3000K is perfect for creating a cosy, relaxing atmosphere. While you may want cooler bulbs for task lighting, warm bedroom lighting is perfect for giving your space an ambient glow to build upon.
Cool white lighting
For brighter lights which are ideal for task lighting and framing accent pieces, bedroom lights between 3500K to 4500K are perfect for providing clarity around your vanity unit or desk. You could also choose string or fairy lights in your bedroom with a cool glow to provide a striking contrast to your warmer ambient lighting.
By combining different layers of lighting, you can create a bedroom that is highly functional and aesthetically pleasing, blending ambient, accent and task lighting to help your space glow.
For more lighting inspiration, check out our Eglo lighting buying guide. Or, if you’re ready to fit your new bedroom lighting today, discover our top tips for changing a light fitting.
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