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Bedrooms aren’t as difficult to light as other rooms in the house. But as the place where you’ll be recovering after a long day, you want to lay out the lighting fixtures in a way that promotes relaxation and good sleep. In addition, you also want to make it functional for other activities, as well as to allow for the comfortable completion of your daily rituals and chores. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking even what you might think are small details, as all of these will add up to make your new bedroom a great place to rest in. Here are just a few considerations that can help you get the job done:
Layer the Lights
If you haven’t considered it before, you might be surprised to know that there are many types of lights, which are built for a great variety of uses. They’re now even sold through many online stores, with a convenient reference on the best sites being accessible here: https://www.homestratosphere.com/best-online-lighting-stores/. But to avoid complicating things for now, you can basically divide the types of lighting you’ll need into three:
- Ambient Lighting. Think of ambient lighting as the biggest source of light in your bedroom. Functionally, it should provide enough illumination for general tasks, chores, and other activities. When it comes to the bedroom, the best way to provide ambient lighting is through ceiling fixtures and floor lamps.
- Task Lighting. These types of lights should provide enough illumination for your side of the bed, even with the main ambient light switched off. They are a must-have if you tend to do activities before bedtime that require more focus. This can include tasks like reading a book, watching videos, or answering emails. Beyond simple desk lamps, other options could include low-hanging pendant lights, sconces, and even some directional wall mounted reading lights.
- Accent Lighting. The original purpose of accent lights is to subtly highlight decorative elements like paintings, sculptures, ceiling recesses, and other ornaments. In the bedroom, they should be seen as both alternatives and complementary elements to your ambient light. When done right, you should end up with a cozy and soothing space. Tape lights along the edges of your ceiling are a great means to provide accent lighting for most bedrooms.
With the right layering, you can get even and functional bedroom lighting with a great atmosphere for all activities and occasions.
Choose the Right Color Temperature
Bulbs aren’t just differentiated by their wattage. Different types of bulbs can give off varying degrees of color temperatures, which adds another element to planning out your lighting. Incandescent and halogen bulbs, for example, can give a softer and warmer light that allows for a calmer mood. Meanwhile, CFLs tend to give off a more bluish or cool-colored glow, while LEDs are more flexible in the range of colors they can give off.
As bedrooms are primarily for sleeping, you’ll want to avoid using ambient lighting with cool color temperatures. This is because they can suppress melatonin production in your body, which, in turn, makes it harder to fall asleep. Warmer colors that are closer to yellow are a better fit for most bedroom activities and promote relaxation. Of course, a key exception will be for your task and directional lights, which are better fitted with cooler-colored bulbs to promote alertness when needed.
Install a Dimmer
Lastly, consider setting up your main light source with a dimming switch. It doesn’t just add extra levels of functionality for your ambient light source, also gives you more control over your room’s general atmosphere.
At the max brightest setting, your ambient light is at full force to accommodate general activities. But at the lowest settings, right before you reach the off position, the light can act more as an accent light to match the mood you’re going for. And of course, you can also go for a multitude of other setups between these two extremes. Dimmers are generally great at helping you get more out of a single lighting fixture—and are easy to install to boot. Just make sure you get a bulb that’s compatible with dimming switches.
Lighting the bedroom should go beyond simply having something to switch on when you wake up and switch off before you go to sleep. Always remember the above considerations and your new bedroom will be the ideal place for rest and relaxation, as well as for other general activities.
