LIGHTING YOUR BEDROOM WELL: 8 MISTAKES TO AVOID
Is your room well lit? Cocoon room par excellence, the bedroom is a space of absolute comfort and relaxation that requires a soft and cozy atmosphere. The lighting is crucial to create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere, conducive to sleep, but it must also be considered for the different daily activities to generate a brightness suitable.
It is often mistakenly thought that two bedside lamps are enough to illuminate this room while the lighting in the bedroom must be multiple. On the one hand, subdued light is necessary to create a soothing cozy atmosphere, on the other hand, more powerful homogeneous lighting, without being aggressive, will be essential to perform certain specific tasks, especially if you have an office area in the room. This is why we recommend a good mix between three types of lighting: general lighting, comfort lighting and occasional lighting. Update on the 8 most common errors and their solutions!
MISTAKE # 1: UNDERLIT
Yes, the lighting in the bedroom should be pleasant and harmonious. Comfort and calm require subdued light. But that doesn’t mean to light up the entire room with two small lamps . In the bedroom, we read, we get dressed, we chat, we do other things than just sleep or rest and the lighting is very important depending on the actions. Consider adding general lighting or other light sources to get enough brightness. The idea is to have several light points in the room to structure the space. Suspension , floor lamp , wall lamp, table lamp on the bedside table, distribute the light points and play on the intensity. If there is only one light in the room, the eye will focus on it while with a more diffused light, it will focus to infinity with all its landmarks, which will provide better comfort visual.
If you are used to using your tablet or smartphone in the bedroom, it is better to have another light point. A wall lamp for example, or a reading lamp that will diffuse a beautiful light without direct lighting, to be avoided in the bedroom.
MISTAKE # 2: DAZZLING LIGHTING
Watch out for the spotlight bars on the ceiling! Reserve them for the inside of the closet or dressing room. This is one of the only places in the bedroom where you will need functional lighting. It is preferable to use this type of lighting as indirect lighting, for example on the ground or at the bottom of a partition. In general, if you have a wire outlet in the ceiling, opt for lights with a hidden bulb to avoid being dazzled when you are lying down.
MISTAKE # 3: OVER-LIGHTING
The light atmosphere of a bedroom should remain soft without being too cozy. Absolutely avoid aggressive lighting! Prefer decorative suspensions with diffused and soft lighting placed in the center of the room with a light source powerful enough to bathe the whole room in light. Connected to a switch with dimmer, you can adjust the intensity according to the times of the day and your activities in the room. They are ideal for regular use for which it is preferable to have the necessary light.
Another solution: illuminate the bedroom with a surface mounted ceiling lamp or an XXL chandelier to create a harmonious ambient light.
MISTAKE # 4: BEDSIDE LAMPS THAT ARE TOO LOW
The bedside lamp is the flagship of the bedroom! Nighttime lighting is the most flexible part of the equation in a bedroom. It’s fun to choose and easy to change. But be careful with the height of the bedside lamps! It must imperatively be adapted to the height of the bed and the bedside table. If your bedside lamp is used as a reading light, the shade should be at eye level, around 95-105cm from the floor.
Usually, bedside lamps are placed on either side of the bed, on the bedside tables that frame it. But we can prefer wall lights or adjustable desk lamps . You can also play with style and decor to avoid the great classics and bring a touch of pep to this living room. An XXL lampshade, a lamp base that plays the storage compartment, a Scandinavian and graphic shape, a connected lamp, spotlight railsballs arranged vertically on each side of the bed, a set of articulated wall lights… There are many ingenious tips to light up your bedroom with both stylish and innovative solutions. This comfort lighting supports general lighting. It allows you to read in bed without disturbing your neighbor. Bedside lamps, reading lights or even wall lights integrated into the headboard emit a more concentrated light which makes reading easier. These types of luminaires indeed offer better seating and better visual comfort. They are also the ones who set the tone in the morning when you wake up. There is nothing worse than lighting up a barely awake bedroom! The transition should be done smoothly with a bedside lamp or why not a light garland before lighting the rest of the room.
MISTAKE # 5: UNSUITABLE SHADES
Screwed on the heads of lamps and floor lamps that are sure to invite themselves into the bedroom, the lampshades play an essential role in the diffusion of light. Avoid opaque lampshades at all costs! Especially if you don’t have reading lights to complement your bedside lamps. Instead, opt for drum or cylindrical shapes for good light dispersion.
A large floor lamp that provides a lot of light up high can do wonders in a bedroom. Choose floor lamps with a wide shade so that they mainly illuminate the top and bottom of the room, rather than sideways.
As for lamps to be placed on a dresser, a shelf, a bookcase or a bedside table, you can play with the materials of the lampshades by focusing on transparency and subdued effects.
MISTAKE # 6: BAD BULB TEMPERATURE
Avoid bulbs with too white or too cold lighting, above 4000 Kelvin, for the general lighting of your room. The risk ? Create an icy atmosphere! Conversely, for reading lamps, choose rather light white lighting for better reading comfort.
In the bedroom, always favor a soft light. The body reacts to light and adapts to the environment according to the light diffused. For example, at the end of the day, if the light in the bedroom is cold and intense, it is a signal and the body starts again for a waking cycle. The color of the light is also important. It is preferably warm with a rather yellow tint. It is suitable for low light, which is not the case for cold light.
MISTAKE NO.7: SKIPPING FUNCTIONAL LIGHTING
In general, we like to stroll in our bedroom, and take our time. Precisely, finding your clothes in the dressing room, reading properly, tidying up your things are just some of the many activities that require functional and targeted lighting in the bedroom. So think about adapting your lighting to your needs: type of lamps and orientation of the light to gain in comfort. For example, functional lighting is recommended in a walk-in closet to better organize it, tidy it up or choose your clothes. Several options are possible:
– in the form of adhesive LED tape to be fixed along the shelves or on the sides of the cabinet
– LED spotlightsstickers with movement sensors that are placed at the top and bottom of the dressing room and which light up and go out when the doors are opened and closed
– the LED spotlight rail integrated into the ceiling and placed at the top of the walk-in closet that provides general lighting on the shelves while giving another dimension to the piece of furniture.
MISTAKE # 8: IGNORING MOOD LIGHTING
If you had to apply just one piece of advice, it’s this one: don’t settle for a ceiling light, multiply the lights! Place a lamp on a dresser, a wall light above a console, a light garland around a mirror… These additional lighting will enrich the light atmosphere and make your bedroom a real space dedicated to cocooning.
We don’t think about it enough, but using wall lights to light up a bedroom is interesting from every point of view: comfort as well as functionality. They provide efficient lighting while remaining very discreet. They can be placed above the headboard, in place of the famous bedside lamps, or placed on another section of the wall to redirect the light which will bounce back and be softer.