Your bedroom is your sanctuary. And the last thing you want is for harsh lighting to impact your morning mood or your ability to get to sleep. And this is where layered lighting in bedrooms can save you in many ways. Because let’s be honest, that one ceiling light or bedside lamp isn’t cutting it, you need something extra, something more.
Layered lighting isn’t as fancy as it sounds, and it’s really easy to implement in the bedroom. Let’s take a look.
Blend Overhead Lighting
Ceiling lights still have their place, but the trick here is to blend them with other lighting within the room, not have it all on its own. Swap out harsh white bulbs for softer lighting — if you need bright white lights for applying makeup, etc., you can add this elsewhere. But for the ceiling light, you want a warm white light, not a cool white one.
Upgrade Bedside Lighting
Bedside lights deserve more recognition in the bedroom. They’re accessible and are ideal for reading in bed, finding your glasses when you drop them and giving you a softer glow as you wind down for the night. But a simple lamp by the bed isn’t going to work.
For layered lighting, consider all the lights by the bed. Or focus on table lights, look into floor lamps that curve over the bed for a more dramatic lighting option. Choose adjustable lights that can be moved or dimmed as required. Don’t just stick a lamp up and wash your hands. Play around with different options to see what works.
Add Background Lighting
Subtle background lighting can do a lot of heavy lifting in a bedroom. It’s not overhead lighting or task lighting like a reading lamp. It’s the kind of light that sits quietly and changes how a room feels.
You can choose led lights for bedroom to go around bedframes, artwork, TVs or dressing tables, for example. You can add it behind headboards or even along skirting boards for an underglow, depending on the vibe of your bedroom and what you want it to do. But background lighting needs to be discreet, soft and warm to lift otherwise dark spaces and create the feeling of warmth with nothing but light.
Add Simple Controls
While this isn’t technically a “lighting option”, layered lighting works best when it’s controlled, and all lighting is in harmony together. The last thing you want is to turn your bedroom into Blackpool Illuminations at bedtime. If you can set everything up on your Google Home or Alexa devices, even better.
From here, add dimmer switches to wall lights if you use them or your ceiling light, choose lighting with remote switches or add smart plugs to sockets for greater control if they are not already enabled. This allows you to use your layers properly instead of it being all or nothing.
Layered lighting isn’t about filling your bedroom with light; it’s about how the lights work together and using them to create the right feel in your room whenever you use it.
Because we live in a world where money is needed to survive, Latte Lindsay runs a number of affiliate programmes and offers contributed or partnered content. If you choose to click the links and read the posts, the site may earn a commission or receive a payment. All of the opinions are my own. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any partner brands/company(s), beauty & lifestyle brands, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities unless specified.