Our guide to lighting up a bedroom.
To us, a bedroom is one of the most important rooms of the house. As the place that you rest your head at night, to then rise and go on about your day, it’s so important your bedroom is designed in such a way to support your daily function and needs. So, believe it or not, getting your bedroom lighting just right is essential to making it a comfortable but practical place to unwind, sleep, read a book, meditate or get ready for the day ahead. And, nailing the right atmosphere with your lighting choices will ensure you find the perfect balance and harmony in your bedroom.
Understanding the layers of lighting.
As mentioned, the power of lighting is incredible and having a comprehensive understanding of the different types of lighting is absolutely critical in ensuring you perfect the lighting in your bedroom.
As with many interior design elements, layering is key to creating the best lighting in any room of the home, but particularly the bedroom. Using a layered technique will ensure you are finding the right balance between task, ambient and accent lighting. By striking this balance, you will be able to create the ideal lighting for any mood and any activity with just the flick of a switch!
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting, or what is commonly referred to as general lighting, serves as the primary source of light for any room. It spreads evenly across the space and serves as the foundation for the entire lighting scheme. As with other lighting sources, the amount of ambient lighting depends largely on the size and scale of the room in question.
When it comes to ambient lighting for a bedroom, we are predominantly talking about ceiling lights such as downlights or oyster lights as well as pendant lighting.
PSCO. Tip; When it comes to nailing ambient lighting in a bedroom, we recommend installing a dimmer switch to easily adjust the level of lighting, which is especially great in a master suite. This means you can have the desired level of lighting whether you want to wind down for the night or get ready in the morning.
Task Lighting
As the name might suggest, task lighting is any light that serves to provide light for a specific purpose or task. In a bedroom, this comes into play when you’re adding functionality to the space - think reading in bed, or grooming for the day ahead. Examples of task lighting include table or floor lamps which are also a great opportunity to add a bit of fun and personalisation to your room.
Accent Lighting
Now that you’ve achieved a fully-functional space with ambient and task lighting, you can set your sights on lighting for aesthetic purposes. While the other layers of lighting do bring a touch of style and character, you can take it a step further to turn it into your own personal haven of comfort with the power of accent lighting.
Accent lighting focuses light on a particular area or object and is directed in such a way to illuminate things like artwork, pottery, plants and souvenirs. Accent lighting can also be used in a strategic way to evoke a special feeling and create a beautiful atmosphere. For a bedroom, examples of accent lighting include wall sconces, strip feature lighting and picture lights. It can also include a string of festoon or fairy lights for a magical twinkle in a kid’s bedroom.
Selecting the right bulb
You might be wondering how you could get something as simple as a bulb wrong?! Well, a lot can be said for a bulb’s colour and overall brightness when it comes to lighting a bedroom.
Lumens and wattage
The recommended number of lumens can vary greatly depending on the size of the bedroom you’re working with. As a general rule of thumb, bulbs with a higher number of lumens per watt are more energy efficient. But, in the end you need a lighting system that covers all areas of the room to ensure its functionality. This includes a level of light for reading and sufficient light for dressing so keep this in mind when considering different wattages.
Colour
Together with lumens, the colour or the bulb’s kelvin count also plays a role in creating a suitable environment. Cool white or blue are known to promote alertness and can disrupt your sleep patterns while the warmer hues help your body prepare for sleep. Colour temperatures ranging from 2700K to 3,300K reflect a soft, warm light suitable for bedrooms.
Now, for the magic touch!
Dimmers
When layering your bedroom lighting, dimmers can play a huge role in the grander scheme of the design. From low lighting to full brightness, a dimmer can accommodate multiple lighting needs no matter the time of day or task at hand. At max brightness, the dimmer lends itself to general lighting, while at lower settings, the feature allows for a more moody setting.
For the greatest efficiency, a dimmer will come in handy to adjust brightness as needed. This means ensuring that you choose dimmable bulbs and fixtures too. Dimming controls for bedroom lighting and even colour temperature adjustment can help you wind down and even kick start your day.