COMPLETELY MAKE over your bedroom without changing colours, fabrics, or furniture. You can do it all with lighting!
Lighting in the bedroom is a vital element. Your lights can help create a romantic atmosphere and different lights will help you read in bed or to see yourself clearly in the mirror when you’re getting dressed. But with such a bewildering range on offer, which do you choose?
Even though you spend much of your time there in the dark, we can recommend lighting to make your waking hours more pleasant.
If your bedroom is to be comfortable and practical, it needs the flexibility that many different types of lighting can offer.
Bedside basics
When lighting a bedroom, you want to create an atmosphere of quiet relaxation, while providing sufficient illumination for reading and other activities. Develop a combination of general and task lighting based on these examples, and remember that dimmer controls let you vary the light to suit different moods and tasks.
Swing-arm or other bedside fixtures cast gentle light and provide illumination for tasks such as reading. If you want to add mood lighting without making the room too bright, supplement your bedside light with soft sources such as a fireplace or candles. A dimmer switch can also give you more control over the room’s brightness.
When your bed is the focal point in the room, create drama with recessed downlights near the head of the bed. Separate controls allow snoozing and reading simultaneously on opposite sides of the bed. Table lamps elsewhere in the room will help make the space bright when needed.
Active people love a room swathed in a bright, warm glow. This design combines an overhead fixture, which casts a wide beam of downward light, and uplighting fixtures that illuminate shady corners. By wiring the overhead light and the uplights separately, you can have some or all of them on at one time.
Highlight the view
To show off attractive artwork, wall-hung collections, or areas of interest other than the bed, consider lighting that highlights those areas. These track fixtures, for instance, are easy to adjust, creating dimension with shadow. Be sure to install additional sources of ambient lighting to boost the room’s overall function.
Avoid unflattering and distracting shadows at your dressing table with lights on each side or one light directly above the table. Side fixtures should have shades that direct light either up or down at a 45-degree angle from the wall.
