
One of the main rooms I’m asked about in terms of fixing the lighting is bedrooms. Although I’d love to install new and amazing lighting systems whenever this comes up, it’s not always possible. There is lots of information on the internet about lighting, talking about sources and reflections and the differences between general, task and accent lighting…but what are the real tips for those of us who just want to get on with making a quick difference?
Here are three things that I mention to my customers when they raise bedroom lighting as an issue before we start messing with the electrics.
First, go for symmetry. Unless you want to create an eclectic look, use the same lighting on both sides of your bed to make the room look balanced.
Second, remember you probably don’t need your whole room lit up like a Christmas tree. Choose low wattage globes to save energy in your main lighting source and to create a space that’s a little more relaxing and leave the really bright lights for your lamps if you’re a reader or need task lighting
Third, think about the height of your bedside or task lighting. My main tip here is, if you are going to be reading in bed, you want your light source to be just above the height of your head when you’re lying down. If yourtask lighting just doesn’t seem to be working, try adjusting its height and see if that helps.
My favourite way to make real changes in a bedroom is to install lighting behind the bed with switches that are within reach eliminating the need for lamps at all. I have done this in our home and we find it very convenient to not have another appliance to have to maintain, dust and manoeuvre around in our quite small bedroom. I love the look of pendant lights on each side of the bed, but unless you have a decent sized bedroom this can be tricky so the single light behind the bed gets around this.
As a final point, if you’re getting a lighting upgrade in your bedroom, I highly recommend thinking about whether a few more power points would benefit you. With mobiles, kindles, laptops, tablets and docks to think about charging, it’s not surprising that the standard one power point each side of the bed just doesn’t cut it. We have 12 power points in our bedroom. It sounds like overkill but it’s such a luxury to be able to leave chargers plugged in and not have to fumble behind furniture to swap them over.
Here are three things that I mention to my customers when they raise bedroom lighting as an issue before we start messing with the electrics.
First, go for symmetry. Unless you want to create an eclectic look, use the same lighting on both sides of your bed to make the room look balanced.
Second, remember you probably don’t need your whole room lit up like a Christmas tree. Choose low wattage globes to save energy in your main lighting source and to create a space that’s a little more relaxing and leave the really bright lights for your lamps if you’re a reader or need task lighting
Third, think about the height of your bedside or task lighting. My main tip here is, if you are going to be reading in bed, you want your light source to be just above the height of your head when you’re lying down. If yourtask lighting just doesn’t seem to be working, try adjusting its height and see if that helps.
My favourite way to make real changes in a bedroom is to install lighting behind the bed with switches that are within reach eliminating the need for lamps at all. I have done this in our home and we find it very convenient to not have another appliance to have to maintain, dust and manoeuvre around in our quite small bedroom. I love the look of pendant lights on each side of the bed, but unless you have a decent sized bedroom this can be tricky so the single light behind the bed gets around this.
As a final point, if you’re getting a lighting upgrade in your bedroom, I highly recommend thinking about whether a few more power points would benefit you. With mobiles, kindles, laptops, tablets and docks to think about charging, it’s not surprising that the standard one power point each side of the bed just doesn’t cut it. We have 12 power points in our bedroom. It sounds like overkill but it’s such a luxury to be able to leave chargers plugged in and not have to fumble behind furniture to swap them over.