Bedroom Lighting

A bedroom is the one room where the goal is less light, not more. Everywhere else you're trying to see. Here you're trying to wind down, and the lighting either helps that or fights it. Most bedrooms are set up to fight it.

Kill the overhead

A single bright ceiling fixture is the worst possible bedroom light. It's the last thing you see before bed and it's the equivalent of a floodlight.

Two better arrangements:

Ceiling fixture on a dimmer, plus two bedside sources. Overhead for getting dressed and finding things, bedside for everything else.

No overhead at all — two bedside lamps and a floor lamp in a corner. Works better than people expect and is often the more restful room.

Bedside geometry

The bottom of a bedside lamp's shade should sit at or just below your eye level sitting up in bed — usually a lamp 24 to 27 inches tall on a standard nightstand. Higher and you're staring at the bulb.

If the nightstand is small or you want the surface free, wall sconces at about 30 inches above the mattress do the same job and free the table entirely. Plug-in and rechargeable models mean you don't need wiring to do it.

2700K, and nothing brighter

This matters more here than style does. Cool light in the hour before sleep works directly against the wind-down your body is trying to start. 2700K warm white, dimmable, everywhere in the room.

It's a bigger deal in Canada than most places — you're using these lamps from mid-afternoon for five months, so the room spends a large share of its life under whatever bulb you chose.

The overlooked one: closet and dresser

Dressing in a dim bedroom is how people end up in mismatched socks. A small sconce or a rechargeable puck near the closet gives you task light without turning the main fixture on and waking someone.

Ceiling fixture sizing

Room length plus width in feet, used as the diameter in inches. A 10 × 12 bedroom takes about 22 inches. Under an 8-foot ceiling, flush or semi-flush; at 9 feet and up, semi-flush or a small chandelier.

From a Canadian company that has read in bed through a lot of dark afternoons.

Frequently asked questions

What colour temperature is best for a bedroom?

2700K, dimmable. Cooler light in the hour before sleep works against the body's natural wind-down.

How tall should a bedside lamp be?

24 to 27 inches on a standard nightstand, so the bottom of the shade sits at or just below eye level when you're sitting up in bed.

Do I need a ceiling light in a bedroom?

Not necessarily. Two bedside sources and a corner floor lamp often make a more restful room. If you keep the overhead, put it on a dimmer.

Sconces or table lamps beside the bed?

Sconces if you want the nightstand surface free — mount about 30 inches above the mattress. Plug-in and rechargeable models need no wiring.

What size ceiling fixture for a bedroom?

Add the room's length and width in feet and use that as the diameter in inches. A 10 × 12 bedroom takes roughly 22 inches.