How to Light a Bedroom: Bedside Heights That Work

A bedroom does two opposite jobs. In the morning it has to let you find a matching pair of socks. At night it has to help you stop thinking. Most are lit for neither: one bulb in the middle of the ceiling, switched at the door, four metres from the bed.

Here is the arrangement that works, with the heights.

On this page

• Beside the bed: three options
• The heights, in centimetres
• The ceiling light, and where not to put it
• Dressing, mirrors and wardrobes
• Small bedrooms and no bedside table
• Bulbs, dimming and the hour before sleep
• Children's rooms
• Five mistakes worth avoiding
• In short
• Common questions

Beside the bed: three options

This is the decision that matters. Everything else in a bedroom is secondary.

A table lamp is the flexible choice: no wiring, moves with the furniture, and doubles as the thing you switch on last. Best where the bedside table is at least 35cm deep.

A wall light frees the table entirely, which in a small bedroom is the whole argument. It needs wiring, unless it is rechargeable. A cordless lamp is the other way round it: see are rechargeable table lamps worth it.

A pendant hung either side of the bed is the designer's answer: it looks deliberate, it clears the table, and it is unforgiving if you later move the bed by 20cm.

The heights, in centimetres

Every number below is measured from the floor, with a standard mattress top at 60cm.

All three bedside options land in the same band for the same reason: sitting up in bed with a book, the light should fall on the page without the bulb appearing in your eye line. That is the only test, and you can run it in ten seconds.

For the table lamp route, a lamp of 40 to 55cm on a 55 to 65cm table lands correctly: the Wood Mushroom Table Lamp at 40cm, the Rattan Cylindrical Lamp at 47cm, or the Ceramic Lamps, set of two, which solves both sides at once and guarantees they match. The proportion rules are in what size table lamp do I need and what size lampshade do I need.

For the wall route, the Marble Bedside Sconce and the Nordic Bedroom Sconce sit flat against the wall, and the Adjustable Reading Sconce swings out over the shoulder, which is the best light for reading in the house.

For pendants, allow a long drop and check the cord length before ordering: the Travertine Bedside Pendant comes with 180cm of cord, and the Marble Pendant works as a pair.

The ceiling light, and where not to put it

One rule: not directly over the pillows. You will spend a great deal of time lying underneath it, and a bright fitting in that position is the first thing you see every morning and the last thing you see at night.

Centre it on the room, or on the foot of the bed. And keep it modest: in a bedroom the ceiling light is for finding things, not for living under. A flush or semi-flush piece suits most British bedroom ceilings — the Nordic Glass Ceiling Light, the Travertine Semi-Flush or the Glass LED Flush Mount.

If the ceiling is high enough for a pendant, the clearance rules are the same as everywhere else: see how high should a pendant light hang. Browse bedroom lighting and ceiling lights.

Dressing, mirrors and wardrobes

The morning half of the job, and the one nobody plans.

• A mirror wants light from the sides, at face height, exactly as in a bathroom. Light from directly above shadows the eyes. A pair of sconces at 160 to 170cm flanking the mirror is the hotel arrangement — the same method as in our guide to bathroom lighting zones.
• CRI 90 or above matters more here than anywhere. Choosing between navy and black under a cheap bulb is how people leave the house in odd socks.
• Light into the wardrobe, not at it. A light on the ceiling in front of the doors beats one behind you, which puts your own shadow into the wardrobe.

Small bedrooms and no bedside table

In a small room, the bedside table is doing three jobs already: book, glass of water, phone. Adding a lamp to it is often one thing too many.

Three ways out:

1. Wall lights. The proper fix, and they free the whole surface.
2. Rechargeable lamps. No wiring, no socket, and they can be moved. The Rechargeable Mushroom Lamp and the Cordless Fabric Lamp both dim by touch.
3. A rechargeable wall light. The best of both: mounted at 100 to 110cm, dimmed by remote, no electrician. The Rechargeable Wall Light is the one we fit most often in rented flats. The full range is in rechargeable and cordless lights.

Bulbs, dimming and the hour before sleep

2700K, and warmer if you can find it. Of all the rooms in a house, this is the one where colour temperature has consequences beyond taste: blue-weighted light in the hour before bed genuinely delays the body's wind-down. A 4000K bulb beside a bed is working against you.

Dim the bedside, always. If you buy one dimmable thing in the house, buy it for here. Touch-dimmed lamps avoid the dimmer-switch problem entirely — and if your existing lights flicker when dimmed, the causes are in why do LED lights flicker.

Brightness: 200 to 400 lumens at the bedside is plenty. The room total need only be 1,000 to 2,000 lumens, less than most people fit. The reasoning for every room is in choosing colour temperature.

Children's rooms

Three differences from an adult bedroom:

• Nothing breakable within reach of the bed. A wall light or a soft cordless lamp beats glass on a nightstand.
• A dim, warm night light rather than a landing light left on. The Rechargeable Touch Night Light holds a low setting and has no cable to pull.
• Let them choose one thing. The Black Cat Table Lamp and the Colourful Kids Sconce exist for that reason, and a child who chose the lamp turns it off more willingly.

The full guide, from nursery to teenager, is kids' bedroom lighting.

Five mistakes worth avoiding

1. The ceiling light over the pillows. You will regret it every morning.
2. One switch at the door. Getting out of bed to turn the light off undoes the whole scheme.
3. Cool white beside the bed. The one room where the bulb choice has a physiological effect.
4. Bedside lamps that are too tall. If you see the bulb sitting up, the lamp is wrong for that table.
5. Mismatched pairs. Two different lamps either side of a bed reads as unfinished. Buy them together.

In short

• Table lamp: shade bottom at 110 – 120cm.
• Wall sconce: centre at 100 – 110cm.
• Pendant: 50 – 60cm above the mattress.
• Ceiling light: centred on the room, never over the pillows.
• Mirror: light from the sides, at 160 – 170cm, CRI 90+.
• Bedside brightness: 200 – 400 lumens, dimmable, 2700K.

Common questions

How high should bedside wall lights be ?

With the centre of the fitting 100 to 110cm above the floor, about 40 to 50cm above the top of the mattress. Sitting up with a book, the light should fall on the page without the bulb entering your eye line.

How tall should a bedside lamp be ?

40 to 55cm on a table of 55 to 65cm, so the bottom of the shade lands at 110 to 120cm from the floor. If you can see the bulb while sitting up in bed, the lamp is too tall for that table.

How high should bedroom pendant lights hang beside a bed ?

With the bottom of the shade 50 to 60cm above the mattress, which usually means 110 to 120cm from the floor. Check the cord length before ordering: bedside pendants need a long drop.

Where should the ceiling light go in a bedroom ?

Centred on the room or over the foot of the bed, never directly above the pillows. Keep it modest in output: in a bedroom the ceiling light is for finding things, not for living under.

What colour light is best in a bedroom ?

2700K or warmer, with CRI 90 or above for the dressing area. Cool white light in the hour before bed delays the body's wind-down, which makes 4000K a poor choice beside a bed.

How do I light a bedroom with no bedside table ?

Wall lights at 100 to 110cm, or a rechargeable wall light mounted at the same height if there is no wiring. Both free the surface completely and give better reading light than a lamp.

How many lumens does a bedroom need ?

1,000 to 2,000 lumens in total, split across the ceiling fitting and the bedside lights, with only 200 to 400 lumens at each bedside.

Sit on the bed first

Before buying anything, sit up in bed with a book and hold your hand where the light would be. If your hand is above your eye line, the fitting will be too.

Send us your bed height and bedside table height at contact@thelightheritage.com and we will tell you what fits. We answer every message ourselves.

Browse bedroom lighting, table lamps and wall lights, or start with our bestsellers.