Get Cozy with these Bedroom Lighting Tips
Lighting for the bedroom can be a deceptively difficult thing to really achieve.
Achieving the right balance is crucial in selecting bedroom lighting. It’s about creating an environment that is both inviting and conducive to rest and relaxation. After all, the bedroom’s primary purpose is reflected in its name. Thus, it’s essential to make your bedroom a haven that maximizes feelings of comfort and safety, which are highly valued when seeking a peaceful spot to sleep. This careful balance transforms the bedroom into an ideal retreat for both relaxation and rejuvenation.
Back when we were just cavemen during prehistoric times, humans had to find a cozy spot to rest their heads. That little spot, funnily enough, still has the same principles that we use today when designing our own bedrooms. Space has to be cozy and inviting, while above all, staying safe and secure.
Ultimately, when designing your own lighting setup for your bedroom, those principles are going to be exactly the same – create a space that seems inviting and safe while still staying aesthetically pleasing.
Generally speaking, any lighting setup for a room is going to come down to a simple set of principles or “layers” that are always dictated by the type of room you are lighting.
These layers of light are divided into three distinct types: General, or ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting.
Ambient Lighting
General or ambient lighting is the foundational “base” layer in any lighting setup, essential for covering basic functionality. Regardless of the room, ambient lighting is a key element, typically provided through ceiling lights or large fixtures. This type of lighting offers a broad, even illumination, setting the overall tone and providing sufficient light for everyday activities.
For the bedroom, this is very much the case. Ambient lighting is a huge part of the bedroom as it helps the bedroom maintain its status as a multifunctional space. Bedrooms are used for far more than simply sleeping and are crucial personal spaces for the daytime as well. As a result, it’s critical that a bedroom maintains its utility throughout all hours of the day.
Large central fixtures, like our own Malibu or Eagle Rock ceiling lights, are perfect at creating the right amount of bright, full light that won’t dominate a space.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is principally used when you need specific zones of space to be packed with a high level of detailed lighting. This, quite simply, is intended to make sure that the zone is sufficiently lit to make completing a task all the easier and safer.
Consider spaces like garages or kitchens as ideal examples of spaces where a lot of detailed tasks are going to be completed.
Despite the primary function of a bedroom being rest, the need for good lighting in this space is not counterintuitive. Many people find themselves reading or engaging in other low-key activities in their bedrooms, drawn by the comfort of a cozy mattress and warm blanket. In these instances, appropriate lighting becomes crucial, not for productivity, but to support these relaxing activities comfortably and without strain, especially in an environment that’s primarily designed for rest and relaxation.
Smaller, focused wall fixtures are the perfect solution to this style of lighting. Although, swing arm lights, table lamps, and smaller lighting panels can also be excellent ideas.
As an example, our own Hawthorne wall-mounted light would be an excellent addition to any bedroom setup, particularly when mounted alongside a bed or along with a little reading nook, creating an amazing level of light in such a small package.
Accent Lighting
Now, if you’re looking to set a mood or create a specific style for your room, then there’s no better tool in your arsenal than some good Accent lighting. Accent lighting is used when you’re looking to create a specific aesthetic more than have something that’s purely functional. Again, it’s all about the mood, something that the bedroom always requires in spades.
More than any other room in the house, the bedroom is the one space that benefits the most from lighting that’s able to set a mood or evoke a feeling.
In this case, going back to tried and true ceiling fixtures, like chandeliers, pendants, and sconces is going to be a good idea. Although using table lamps and console lamps are similarly popular techniques in this regard.
Our own Rose Bowl ceiling-mounted steel light is the perfect example of this style of lighting. Using its own unique shape and styling, the Rose Bowl is a throwback to mid-century design aesthetics and manages to find a perfect balance between functionality and mood creation.
Color Temperature
It’s not widely known, but a key factor in determining whether lighting is suitable for the bedroom often has little to do with the light fixture itself.
In actuality, the most important aspect of light when it comes to creating the right mood suitable for rest and relaxation is down to the temperature of the light itself. More specifically, how much heat a light gives off dictates our body’s reaction to it.
Fundamentally, humans are not nocturnal creatures. We sleep during the night and operate during the day. Creating artificial light that can, at least in part, mimic the day/night cycle as much as possible is key to creating the right space for us to get adequate rest.
In the case of light temperatures, figuring out the color of the light your fixture is creating will be key.
To put it simply, a brighter “daytime” light will have a higher temperature and show up as blue. While a less bright fixture, similar to the light we experience at dusk, will come across as orange.
These can be measured using a unit known as kelvins (K), with bright daylight being measured to be approximately 6000K and candlelight being measured at 1900K.
Ideally, before going to sleep, the best thing to do is to steer clear of higher temperature “blue” light while focusing your light towards imitating dusk-like conditions as much as possible, as this will allow the body to adequately wind down before sleeping commences.
If you need help making the right choice of lighting for your bedroom then contact our friendly team at Steel Lighting Co., our friendly team of experts would be more than happy to give some advice and recommendations on what kind of steel barn light can best suit your needs.
