LIGHTING YOUR BEDROOM WELL: 8 MISTAKES TO AVOID
Is your room well lit? The bedroom is a space of absolute comfort and relaxation that requires a soft and cozy atmosphere. Lighting is decisive for creating a peaceful and restful atmosphere, conducive to sleep, but it must also be thought out according to the various daily activities to generate an appropriate luminosity .
It is often mistakenly thought that two bedside lamps are enough to light up this room, while there must be multiple lights in the bedroom separate, subdued lighting is necessary to create a soothing cozy atmosphere, but on the other hand, more powerful homogeneous lighting, without being aggressive, is also 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 accent lighting. Update on the 8 most common errors and their solutions!
MISTAKE 1: UNDERLIGHTING
Yes, the lighting in the bedroom must be pleasant and harmonious. Comfort and calm require subdued light. But that doesn't mean lighting the whole room with two small lamps. In the bedroom, we read, we dress, we chat, we do other things than just sleep or rest and the lighting is very important depending on the activities you do in your bedroom. Consider adding general lighting or other light sources to achieve sufficient illumination. The idea is to have several light points in the room to structure the space. Suspension, floor lamp, wall lamp, a nice table lamp on the bedside table, distribute the light sources and play with the intensity. If there is only one light in the room, the eye focuses on it, whereas with a more diffused light, it won’t be as intrusive, which will provide better visual comfort.
A perfect bedside accent light is the AIR Wall Light from LZF Lamps, due to it's mounting point - the wall, it saves valuable space on your bedside cabinet.
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 avoid in the bedroom.
MISTAKE 2: DAZZLING LIGHTING
Be careful with spotlight bars on your ceiling! Reserve them for inside the closet or dressing room. This is one of the only places in the bedroom where you will need such a functional light. It is preferable to use this type of lighting as indirect lighting, for example on the ground or at the bottom of a partition. Generally speaking, if you have a wire outlet in the ceiling, opt for fixtures with a hidden bulb to avoid being dazzled when lying down.
MISTAKE 3: OVER-ILLUMINATING
The luminous atmosphere of a bedroom must remain soft without being too muted. 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 soft light. Connected to a dimmer switch, you can adjust the intensity according to the time of day and your activities in the room. They are ideal for regular use for which it is preferable to have the necessary light.
The SATURNIA pendant from LZF is perfect as it's possible to dim it wirelessly over bluetooth, without having to leave the comfort of your bed.
Another solution: illuminate the bedroom with a surface-mounted ceiling light or an XXL chandelier to create a harmonious ambient light as in the picture above.
MISTAKE 4: BEDSIDE LAMPS THAT ARE TOO DIM
The bedside lamp is the lighthouse of the bedroom! Night lighting is the most flexible part of the equation in a bedroom. It's fun to choose and easy to change. But beware of the height of the bedside lamps! It must be adapted to the height of the bed and the bedside table. If your bedside lamp is used as a reading lamp, the lampshade should be at eye level, between 95 and 105 cm from the ground.
Usually, bedside lamps are placed on either side of the bed, on the bedside tables. But we can prefer wall sconces or adjustable desk lamps. You can also play with style and decor to avoid the great classics and to bring some spice in the living room. An XXL lampshade, a lamp base that plays with light pockets, a Scandinavian and graphic shape, a connected lamp, spot rails, balls arranged vertically on each side of the bed, a set of articulated wall lights... There are many interesting tricks to light up your bedroom with solutions that are both stylish and innovative.
The Jackie from Panzeri is a good example of a practical and very usable bedside lamp.
This comfort lighting assists the general lighting. It allows you to read in bed without disturbing your neighbour. Bedside lamps, reading lights or wall lights integrated into the headboard emit a more concentrated light which makes reading easier. These types of luminaires offer better seating and better visual comfort. They are also the ones who set the tone in the morning, when you wake up. There's nothing worse than lighting up a barely awake bedroom! The transition should be smooth with a bedside lamp or why not a light garland before lighting up the rest of the room.
MISTAKE 5: UNSUITABLE LAMPSHADES
Screwed on the heads of lamps and floor lamps which 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 in addition to your bedside lamps. Opt instead for drum or cylindrical shapes for good light dispersion.
A tall floor lamp that provides plenty of overhead light can work 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 laterally.
As for lamps to be placed on a chest of drawers, 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: WRONG BULB TEMPERATURE
Avoid bulbs with too white or too cold lighting, above 4000 kelvins, for the general lighting of your room. The risk? Create an icy atmosphere! Conversely, for reading lamps, choose light white lighting for better reading comfort.
In the bedroom, you should always give preference to soft light. The body reacts to the luminosity and it adapts to the environment according to the diffused light. 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 goes back to an awake 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 7: SKIPPING FUNCTIONAL LIGHTING
In general, we like to wander around our bedroom, and take our time. Precisely, finding your clothes in the dressing room, reading properly, storing your belongings are among the many activities that require functional and targeted lighting in the bedroom. So remember to adapt your lighting to your needs: type of lamps and orientation of the light to gain comfort. Functional lighting is, for example, recommended in a dressing room to better organize it, store it 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 spotlight with motion sensors that are placed at the top and bottom of the dressing room and which turn on and off when the doors open and close
- the rail of LED spotlights integrated into the ceiling and placed at the top of the dressing room which provides general lighting on the shelves while giving another dimension to the piece of furniture.
The most simple solution is a spotlight bar such as the SPOTON 3 by Antidark
MISTAKE 8: SKIPPING MOOD LIGHTING
If you had to apply only one piece of advice, it's this: don't settle for just one ceiling light, multiply the lights! Place a lamp on a chest of drawers, a wall light above a console table, a light garland around a mirror... These additional lights will enrich the luminous atmosphere and will make your bedroom a real space dedicated to cocooning.
We don't think about it enough, but using wall sconces to light a bedroom is interesting from all points of view: comfort and functionality. They provide effective lighting while remaining very discreet. They can be placed above the headboard, instead of the famous bedside lamps, or placed on another part of the wall to redirect the light which will bounce back and become softer.