Bright Ideas: How to Light a Bedroom for Your Lifestyle
Bedroom Lighting Ideas
Bedroom lighting might not be at the top of your home improvement list. After all, you spend most of your time here asleep. But your bedroom should be a personal haven, and you can easily set the tone with the right lighting.
Depending on how you use the space, you might need to find different light sources. Do you stay up late at night reading? Does your bedroom double as a home office? We’ve created a list of easy, affordable bedroom lighting ideas for your personal preferences.
There are lights to hang from your ceiling, mount on your wall or sit on the floor. Each light source brings something different to the table. Consider your budget, how much space you have and your skillset before choosing the best lighting for your bedroom.
“Aim to have at least one main source of light in the room. For example: a beautiful focal point like a chandelier. Then add ambient lighting to softly flood light into the rest of the room. Good choices to use as ambient lighting include bedside lamps or wall sconces beside your bed. If your room is large enough to have a seating area, adding a floor lamp beside your chair is ideal.”
Cherie Drennan, Owner, LightLady Studio
1. Wall-Mounted Lights
Sconces
Wall sconces are a great secondary light source for your bedroom. They come in all shapes and sizes, so you easily can match them to your bedroom aesthetic. No matter what look you’re going for, you can find a wall sconce to suit your personal style.
Ease of Installation
Not sure how to install sconces? There are two ways to do it. You can make sconces your primary source of light for the room and wire them to the bedroom light switch. Alternatively, you can keep the sconces as independent lighting sources so you can flip them on and off without getting out of bed. This is a great bedside lighting idea, especially if you read at night.
Installing a wall sconce can be moderately challenging for the average homeowner, so we recommend hiring an electrician. If you decide to go the DIY route, you should have basic electrical knowledge. To correctly connect the sconces to the light switch yourself, you’ll need specific tools like a non-contact voltage tester, a jab drywall saw and a wire stripper. Simpler options include battery-powered wall sconces or sconces that connect to an outlet.
Price
Sconce prices primarily depend on the style and manufacturer you choose. Pricing varies from $30 and $40 each up to $200. If you’re planning a DIY sconce installation, you could spend $140 on the tools and materials alone.
“Bedside wall sconces should be hung approximately 5 feet from the ground (at a standard bed height of 25 inches). Your best bet is to sit on your bed where you would normally read. The sconce should be placed a few inches above your shoulder height. Make sure you can comfortably reach the sconce while sitting in bed so you can easily switch it on and off.”
Cherie Drennan, Owner, LightLady Studio
LED Lights
LED lights are versatile. Many teenagers and college-age adults hang adhesive LED strips along their walls and ceiling. However, you may not like how the exposed adhesive strips look during daylight hours. There are plenty of different LED lighting options and crafty ways to hide them around your room. You can tuck them away behind any protruding walls, inside furniture or cover them with decorations.
Ease of Installation
LED lights are fairly easy to install. Most LED decorations have pre-installed lights, so the hardest part of the job is choosing where to keep them. Plus, they’re often battery-powered so you don’t need to connect them to a power source or light switch. This makes installation simple and frees up floor space, allowing you to spread them around the room however you like.
Price
You can usually get up to 50 feet of adhesive LED light strips for $10 to $20. If you’d rather hide LED lights in a wall lamp or decorative sign, the price varies a little more. Depending on the size and style you choose, you might pay as little as $5 to $10 or something upwards of $100.
Fairy Lights
Hanging fairy lights in your bedroom creates a warm, cozy space. Try lining your ceiling or walls with fairy lights suspended from hooks and hangers. You can also string them across existing decorations like your headboard. Some people hang Polaroid photos along fairy lights to add a personal touch.
Ease of Installation
All you need are wall hooks and an adhesive to hang these lights around your room. The hardest part is deciding whether you want to line your ceiling with fairy lights, or drape them across your bedroom walls. This lighting option is less formal than installing a wall sconce or chandelier. If you’re trying to give your bedroom a more down-to-earth feeling, fairy lights might be the right option for you.
Price
If you’re working on a budget, fairy lights might be the best lighting option for your bedroom. You can get anywhere from 5 to 30 feet of these lights within the $20 range. Wall hooks typically cost between $10 to $15, and you won’t spend more than $10 on adhesive strips from your local hardware store.
2. Overhead Lighting Ideas
If you’d rather keep your walls clear, consider these lighting ideas for your bedroom ceiling. Suspending lights from your ceiling illuminates the entire room while establishing a decorative focal point. Some ceiling lights like chandeliers and ceiling fans are convenient because you can install them in an existing overhead electrical box. All these options are great for adding visual appeal to your bedroom and setting a calm, relaxing atmosphere at night.
Chandeliers
A bedroom chandelier adds visual appeal to your bedroom and is a great source of light. Like wall sconces, chandeliers come in many different sizes and styles so you can easily pick the right one for your personal style. Plus, it’s an effective way to light your bedroom ceiling. You might choose a simple, elegant design or an ornate, classical style.
Ease of Installation
Make sure your bedroom is a good fit for a chandelier. If both your light fixture and your bed are in the center of the room, you might have a problem. A low-hanging chandelier might hang too close to your bed, making it difficult to get under the covers.
You’ll want to measure how tall your ceiling is and how low your chandelier hangs before committing to this light source. Otherwise, a bedroom chandelier is not very difficult to install, especially if you already have an overhead lighting fixture.
Price
Pricing can vary significantly depending on the type of chandelier you choose. The tools and materials you need to install a chandelier yourself should range between $50 to $100. This doesn’t include the chandelier itself. You can find some bedroom chandeliers at major hardware and home improvement retailers for as low as $50, but many styles cost several hundred dollars or more.
“A bedroom chandelier should typically be placed more toward the foot of the bed. The bottom of the chandelier should hang approximately 3 ½ feet from the surface of the bed.”
Cherie Drennan, Owner, LightLady Studio
Ceiling Fans
A ceiling fan is another great overhead lighting option to match your bedroom décor, and helps keep things cool on a hot summer night. Not only does this option have visual appeal, but it might be essential for maintaining a comfortable temperature in your bedroom. This is especially true if you don’t have air conditioning.
Ease of Installation
Not sure how to install a ceiling fan? The process is fairly simple. And if you already have an overhead lighting fixture, DIY ceiling light installation is even more feasible. Just make sure you choose the right fan for the size of your bedroom and height of your ceilings.
Price
Ceiling fan prices depend on the style you’re looking for. Most ceiling fans will range between $100 to $200. You might find some fans below or above this range, but it depends on the style and the retailer. If you plan on installing the fan yourself, you can spend between $50 to $75 on just supplies and materials.
“For ceiling fan installation, make sure you’re getting a fan that’s sized correctly for the space. Larger bedrooms and family rooms will require a fan around 50” to 54” for maximum efficiency. It’s also important to ensure you’re hanging the fan at the right height for your ceiling height. The general rule of thumb is to set the blades 8 to 11 feet off the floor. This is determined by the ceiling height, room dimensions, and personal design preference.”
Spokesperson | American Lighting Association
Read our guide on renovating your bedroom from start to finish.
Ceiling Projector
No, we’re not talking about the ceiling projectors you might see in a classroom. These projectors use LED lights to display a certain pattern or design across your walls and ceiling. This modern trend illuminates every corner of your room with an image of a starry night, rippling waves and other calming images to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Ease of Installation
A ceiling projector is a less formal option than wall sconces, chandeliers or ceiling fans. Typically, this option is best for lighting the bedrooms of children and teens. If you want your bedroom to feel fun and colorful, a ceiling projector will add to your aesthetic.
Price
Ceiling projectors are a low-cost option. Most ceiling projectors run between $30 to $80. You don’t need any tools or materials to install it - just place your projector on a bedside table or dresser and plug it in.
3. Standing Light Ideas
If you have floor space to spare, consider buying a standing light. Adding a floor lamp might bring your reading nook together or make your bedroom look less empty. You may also consider putting a reading light on your bedside table for the sake of convenience.
Floor Lamps
Floor lamps help populate your bedroom while providing a great source of light. A larger floor lamp can light up your dressing area on a dark, early morning or illuminate your seating area near a book shelf.
Price
Floor lamp prices often range from $50 to $200, and they require no installation besides being plugged into an outlet. So, you can easily save money on tools and materials if you go this route.
Bedside Lighting
Do you stay up late reading? Or do you wake up early while it’s still dark outside? A bedside light might be right for you. You can conveniently turn the lights on or off without getting out of bed or stumbling in the dark for your light switch. Plus, it won’t take up any additional floor space if you already have a bedside table.
The most common bedside lighting idea is to get a table lamp. However, some people prefer to create ambiance with scented candles. You’ll have to be more cautious with an open flame, as you have to blow it out when you aren’t in the room and before you go to bed. If you’re renting a home or apartment that doesn’t allow open flames in the bedroom, or if you’re worried about having an open flame in your home, you can get an electric candle to create a similar effect.
Price
Table lamps and electric candles are either powered by batteries or outlets. This means you don’t have to worry about the installation process. Like most of our bedroom lighting ideas, the price of a table lamp depends on several different factors.
You can usually find a good lamp in the $30 to $60 range, though some options will cost you $100 or more. Candles often range from $10 to $20, but you’ll have to replace them more often. If this is a concern, a flameless candle usually only costs around $10 and lasts longer than a regular candle. However, you’ll miss the added bonus of choosing a fun, seasonal scent.
Get Your Next “Lightbulb” Idea
Now that you know how to light a bedroom, start thinking of ways you can update other rooms in your house. Is your bathroom due for an upgrade? Looking to create a welcoming entryway in your home? We’ll help you get started.
