small bedroom lighting 23 creative tips and ideas


Home, and especially bedroom, is a place where we rest and gain strength, so its design is vital. And the most important part of the interior design is lighting. It directly affects the person’s mood and well-being.

If you have a small bedroom, you should carefully plan your lighting scheme. Properly configured lighting will help make your room look bigger and brighter. No matter what type of lighting you prefer - chandeliers, pendant lights, sconces, table or floor lamps, recessed lighting or others – we will give you the best advice on how to make the lighting in your bedroom close to perfect.

1. Assess the Amount of Light

First of all, pay attention to the amount of light that your desired lighting sources will emit. Don’t go with the overly bright lights because you probably don’t want your bedroom to look like the operating room in a hospital. After all, you're going to relax in the room, rather than working or doing some important business. However, a too dim room is also not the best solution, since the lack of light negatively affects person’s mood. As you can see, balance is everything for this situation.

2. Install a Dimmer

A dimmer is a great and very useful feature, especially for a bedroom. This device allows you to switch the brightness of a lighting fixture. Having a dimmer installed in a bedroom helps you vary the intensity of lighting, which can obviously serve both practical and aesthetical purpose. Dimmers can be mechanical or digital; and if you install smart light bulbs, you’ll be able to control the brightness and color of the light from your mobile device. Therefore, regardless of whether you need bright lights or intimate twilight, you don’t have to go to another room or even get out of bed.

3. Several Layers of Lighting

We definitely recommend creating a layered lighting scheme in any room, especially in bedroom. You do this by installing different light sources that serve for different purposes and emit light of different brightness and direction. The properly created lighting scheme should not be limited to a single chandelier or a set of recessed ceiling lights. Along with the general overhead lighting, you need task and accent light too.

Task lighting in the bedroom is mostly used for reading. Opt for the table lamps or/and wall sconces for this purpose.

Accent lighting is good to emphasize the unique features of the room or its décor, such as an alcove, or a painting on the wall, or even a beautiful potted plant.

A chandelier, pendant lights, recessed lights or track lights can be a source of a general overhead lighting in your bedroom. Choose the one that best matches the overall theme of the room.

4. Use Localized Average Lighting

Localized lights can be a perfect source of ambient light in a bedroom. It is usually enough to have two reading lamps or sconces on the sides of a bed, and no more than one or two additional lamps to provide background light in a room. More lamps in a small bedroom will look excessive and moreover give too much light. If you have an armchair in the bedroom, place a reading lamp near or above it. Combined with sconces on the sides of the bed or table lamps on the bedside tables, it will create enough diffused light for a small bedroom.

5. Use the Above-the-Bed Lighting

This lighting design solution works especially well for small bedrooms. Placed right above the bed, the lighting fixture gives ample reading light, and at the same time looks remarkably good. Such lighting solution gives the impression that the theme of this room was created by a professional designer.



6. Unusual Lamps

Unusual Bedroom Lights Unusual Bedroom Lights

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The variety of lighting fixtures these days is literally endless, so why not look for something interesting and unusual? In a small bedroom there is no need for a large lighting source that emits a lot of bright light, so you can find beautiful and uncommon small lamps to create a stylish and elegant environment.

7. Geometric Pendant Lights

The geometric shaped pendant lights are best suited for a contemporary interior. This is a minimalistic approach to bedroom design. You can find a truly unique geometric pendant light fixture in one of the multiple online marketplaces. And if you do, you can safely use this remarkable piece of lighting as a central element of your bedroom décor.

8. Built-in Lighting

Built-in Lighting Built-in Lighting

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The built-in, or incorporated, lighting is perfectly suited for a small bedroom. When built in the carpentry, it can add the room some diffused light which is essential for the bedroom. For this, LED strips are usually used. Unlike the bathroom, you do not need waterproof LED strips in the bedroom, so this solution is effective and cheap. We can strongly recommend this type of lighting for the contemporary interior decoration scheme.

9. Wooden Table Lamps

A table lamp on a bedside table can be used as a source of reading or ambient light as well as for aesthetic purposes. Wooden table lamps look great in both traditional and modern interior; it all depends on the design of a specific lamp and the décor of a particular room. One of the advantages of a table lamp is that it doesn’t need installation, so you can easily return it to the seller if you see that it is not suitable for your bedroom.

10. Bedside Drop Pendant Lights

To free space on a bedside table, use bedside drop pendant lights. These light fixtures create a simple minimalistic décor and make the room uncluttered. They can also help the ceiling appear taller, which is great for a small bedroom.

11. String Lights

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String lights can be a great solution for illuminating a small bedroom. Since the room is small, it doesn’t need a very bright light source. String lights can give enough light and bring a festive touch to the interior of the room. The bedroom will look both inviting and relaxing with these lights. Use LED light bulbs because they have a bunch of advantages, and given that their price is decreasing from year to year, they are now devoid of their only drawback – a relatively high price. Learn more about the benefits of LED light bulbs in this article.

12. Neon Lights

Neon lights are widely used for the signboards of stores, bars, night clubs and so on. But recently, the use of neon lights in the interior design has become increasingly popular. They are made in the form of different words, signs, objects, plants, birds or animals. These lights are great for a small bedroom as they can be not only a piece of décor, but also give a diffused light for the entire room, which would not be enough for a large space. Think about adding style and sophistication to a modern or retro-futuristic interior with the LED neon lights.

13. Bubble Pendant Lights

Bubble Pendant Lights Bubble Pendant Lights Bubble Pendant Lights

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This is a great lighting solution for a small room, because the amount of light emitted by such fixtures is not too large. But it is enough in case of a small bedroom. This fixture can be the source of overhead general lighting. In addition to its functionality, it also is extremely beautiful, making the room look classy and at the same time comfortable and cozy.

14. Making a Statement

There are usually not so many opportunities for making an artistic statement in a small bedroom, because space is limited and you need to take care of functionality first. Use some artistic sconces to make a statement in a small bedroom. For example, you may find some sculptural sconces in the multiple online stores. They can free some space, give you enough reading light, and become the focal point of your interior décor scheme.

Another way to express yourself in a bedroom décor is to choose a beautiful table or floor lamp. A chandelier or pendant lights can also be good for this, but in this case it is easy enough to make a mistake with the size. Buy a chandelier that is a few inches larger than it is appropriate for a small room, and instead of statement you’ll ruin the design of the whole room. So unless you know exactly what you are doing, we’d recommend you to stick with the sconces or table lamps.

15. Take Advantage of Light and Shadows

Of course, you need a little experience to make the most of the combination of light and shadow in the bedroom. But if you are not afraid of experimentation, you will see that this design technique gives you the opportunity to turn your bedroom into a fabulous place to relax. The smaller the room, the smaller lamps can be used.



16. Experiment with the Color

Sometimes the unusual color can work pretty well in a small bedroom. Your lamp can be of a different color than walls and bedding, but they should complement each other. It is better to prepare a design project in advance to understand whether your room will look good, and not funny.

17. Black and Brass Combination

Black and Brass Lighting Black and Brass Lighting

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The combination of black and brass in a lamp always looks extremely stylish, fitting into a modern interior décor. You will never go wrong with this elegant accessory, which, by the way, is also quite practical.

18. Consider a Ceiling Lamp

If you prefer not to make a statement with the chandelier or pendant lights, think about the ceiling lamps (or plafonds, as they are also called). They will give you enough overhead light without attracting attention and allow you to make a focal point of the bedroom elsewhere.

19. Matching Lamps

Another great designer technique is to use a few different but matching fixtures. For example, the light fixtures can be of different sizes and shapes, but with similar color and finish. You can use chandelier, sconces and table lamps that complement each other and create the perfect matching and layered lighting scheme.

20. An Accordion Light

An accordion light is a perfect reading light solution for a small bedroom. It is attached to the wall above or on the side of a headboard and can be extended if necessary. It is a space-saving solution, but it is also a very stylish fixture. Fits best in a traditional interior.

21. A Proper Reading Light

There are very few people who don’t like to read in bed. Everyone else needs a proper reading light installed in a bedroom. The source of reading light is usually a table lamp or sconce, or both. If you rely on a table lamp, make sure that its height is at shoulder level with the person sitting on the bed while reading. But the best solution is to add a sconce to guarantee ample reading light in any environment. A good reading lamp has the ability to direct the light to where you need it, which is certainly beneficial.

22. Hanging Light Bulbs

Hanging Light Bulbs Hanging Light Bulbs

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Hanging bulbs work well for a small bedroom since they usually do not produce too much light and could get visually lost in a wide area. But they give enough light to illuminate the small room, while looking exquisite and trendy. Use LED bulbs since they come in a huge variety of styles, shapes, colors and sizes, and are also durable and energy-efficient.

23. Recessed Lighting

Recessed lights are often used in small rooms because they do not take up much space, while giving enough good-looking overhead light. They do not attract attention, being more practical than an aesthetic solution. Needless to say, these lights are best suited for the contemporary interiors.

There are many different types of recessed lights on the market. We recommend the use of LED recessed lights. The most practical solution is the use of LED panel lights, they are ultra-thin and easy to mount on almost any ceiling.





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