The Best Lighting Types and Arrangements for Your Bedroom
Customizing your bedroom is one of the most exciting parts of being a homeowner. There are so many customizations out there that will give your bedroom a personal touch. One trend over the past few years has been decorative lighting that gives the room a magical feel. These lights come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. You can string them on the ceiling and walls as you wish, and some lights are even great for the floor. Let’s take a look at the best lighting types and arrangements for your bedroom.
1. Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the most general style of lighting out there. This consists of basic lighting that is designed to brighten the room. This is an incredibly important lighting type. No matter how fancy you might get with your lights, none of it is useful if the room is too dark. You need ambient lighting to get the job done in the first place so you can walk from the bed to the closet to your desk. In general, ambient lighting should be positioned on the ceiling of your bedroom for the best radius of effect. Instead of installing ambient lights on each wall of the room, look toward the ceiling to kill many birds with one stone. LED and fluorescent bulbs are two of the most common bulbs for ambient lighting. Halogen lamps are also popular inside the bedroom. These lamps radiate brightness in all directions without heating up too much. That is another important point to consider, that you don’t want an array of lights to increase the temperature to an unbearable point. This will force you to turn the AC or fan on when it’s not necessary in the first place.
2. Task Lighting
Task lighting is another type of lighting that serves a specific purpose. As the name suggests, this lighting exists for particular tasks in your bedroom. You’ll need a light in the closet so you can see all of your clothing in the early morning. If you’re working at your desk late at night, you’ll need some sort of lamp so you can read and write. Some people opt for strong ambient lighting that illuminates the whole room instead of task lighting. While this can certainly work, it’s not generally recommended. It can put unnecessary strain on your eyes if the light isn’t strong enough. When you’re looking at a book or computer screen, you want a close, focused source of light so your eyes don’t have to work as hard. This will preserve your eyesight and also lead to a quality night of sleep without stress. In addition to these two forms of task lighting, you can add additional lights for whatever activities you enjoy in the bedroom. If you like to stretch on a yoga mat, add a light near the floor. If you frequently use the bathroom at night, add nightlights near the doorway. It’s all about arranging lights to suit your needs.
3. Dimming
Dimming lights is another fantastic way of controlling the brightness of your room. Before bedtime, you might not want super strong lights that promote brain activity. Dim lights allow you to see while conditioning your body for rest. It’s rather straightforward to add dimming technology to an existing light switch. You’ll add a dimmer and a slider, giving you the ability to dim the light with a simple flick. One major advantage of dimming is that it reduces your energy consumption. At the end of the month, your wallet will thank you when your electricity bill is lower than normal. In addition, you’re simply giving yourself more options in the bedroom. The sun rises and sets at different times in the summer and winter. Because it gets dark at different times of the day, you’ll need more or less strength from your lightbulbs. Dimming allows for more than just an on and off setting, giving you even more freedom over your room.
4. Colored Lighting
Colored lighting is at the base of many incredible arrangements. Between red, green, and blue lights, you can use these to give your bedroom a distinct ambiance. Warm colors radiate energy and welcome visitors into your bedroom. In the wintertime, these warm colors can be nice to brighten up the mood when it is snowing inside. They also overlap with holiday colors for a festive atmosphere overall. Cool colors are good for giving off a soothing sensation and relaxing you in the evening. This lowers your heart rate and allows for a peaceful night. These cool colors can lead to themes of an ocean or mountain range. No matter what colors of lights you choose, know that they are great alternatives to white lights. At the same time, you don’t want to only use colored lights. White light gives a sense of normalcy to the bedroom and is easy on the eyes. Once you find a good balance, there’s nothing stopping you from achieving a fantastic arrangement of lights.
5. Rope Lighting
Rope lighting has surged in recent years as a very creative way to brighten up your bedroom. This lighting consists of a long string of small lights. You might be familiar with this type of lighting around the holidays when statues are lit up in the city. You can use the same principle for your bedroom. Hang the rope around the perimeter of the room on thumbtacks or nails. Note that this will provide a very minimal amount of light for visibility; its primary function is for decoration. Mix and match strings of different lengths and thicknesses for various effects. At the end of the rope, you’ll want to connect the plug to a power strip or outlet. This will allow you to toggle the lights on and off at will. Moreover, they can almost function as nightlights for sleepwalkers or people who frequent the bathroom at night. It’s not a bad idea to position this lighting close to the floor to illuminate a walkway. The bottom line is that it leads to a tranquil effect much like candles in the darkness.
Setting Up Bedroom Lighting
These are some of the best lighting types and arrangements for your bedroom. Using these tips, you can transform your bedroom into so much more than just a place for sleeping. You can give it a personality that matches your own, and it is sure to impress any guests that enter the room. It will also be an amazing place to wake up every morning and start your day on the right note. If you’re interested in setting up bedroom lighting, a company such as Brennan Electric in Seattle, WA, is your best friend. Our electricians are experts in installing all sorts of technologies without a hitch. We can also give a professional opinion on the layout of your lighting and how it could be improved from a design standpoint. We also offer services such as circuit upgrades, home generator systems, and surge protection. Don’t hesitate to get in contact with us and get started on your ideal bedroom!
