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Bedside Lamps to Brighten up Your Bedroom
Bedside lamps can change the feel of a bedroom completely, so it's worth taking the time to choose them correctly
Joanna Tovia
5 November 2014
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well. Follow her photodocumentary about pets and the people who love them on Instagram @unfoldingtails
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well.... More
If you’re an avid 2am reader but try to avoid waking your partner, your choice of bedside lamps may well differ from someone with a tiny bedroom who would love to free up much-needed space on their beside table. Lighting can work wonders in setting the mood in any bedroom, though, so it’s worthwhile thinking through all the options before going for a lamp based on looks or pure function alone … or, worse still, living with the bedside lamps you bought years ago despite their ill-fitting attributes. Here are some ideas sure to have you rethinking the lighting beside your bed and how you’d like your bedroom to be as evening heads into night and sleep beckons.
Terrific texture
When your bedroom is all about classic elegance and you’re opting for neutral tones, don’t forget to add texture to give the room soul. These bedside lamps have a traditional shape, but their hammered polished nickel finish means they are anything but bland.
When your bedroom is all about classic elegance and you’re opting for neutral tones, don’t forget to add texture to give the room soul. These bedside lamps have a traditional shape, but their hammered polished nickel finish means they are anything but bland.
Hanging about
Soft lighting can make a bedroom cosy and inviting come bedtime, and suspended pendants can be just the thing to achieve it. These suspended luminaire lights from Artemide deliver diffused lighting and take up zero space on your bedside table. Before you buy any kind of bedside lighting, check that it is suitable for connection to a dimmer switch so you can set the mood on a whim.
Soft lighting can make a bedroom cosy and inviting come bedtime, and suspended pendants can be just the thing to achieve it. These suspended luminaire lights from Artemide deliver diffused lighting and take up zero space on your bedside table. Before you buy any kind of bedside lighting, check that it is suitable for connection to a dimmer switch so you can set the mood on a whim.
Black works just as well as white against the warm tones of natural timber. The designer of this hanging pendant, Tom Dixon, used the shapes of Indian water carrying vessels as inspiration. Hang one on either side of the bed for symmetry, or go for impact by grouping a cluster or two.
Lamp: Tom Dixon Beat Light
Lamp: Tom Dixon Beat Light
The same pendant lighting has been used in this Potts Point penthouse. These lamps are brass so the inside gives off a golden glow. Be sure to take into account the interior of any lamp you buy – you’ll likely see both inside and out when lying in the bed.
Position can be everything if you’re in search of task lighting that fits the bill for reading or working before you nod off to sleep. These have been positioned overhead rather than over the bedside tables, their bright blue cables adding a sense of fun.
Louis Poulsen pendants: Living Edge
Louis Poulsen pendants: Living Edge
Metal head
Less is often more for bedrooms that are big on style, and when the rest of the room is all about sumptuous colour and texture, adding contrast with a metallic lamp adds zing.
Lamps: Chipperfield w102: Euroluce
Less is often more for bedrooms that are big on style, and when the rest of the room is all about sumptuous colour and texture, adding contrast with a metallic lamp adds zing.
Lamps: Chipperfield w102: Euroluce
Metallics also make an impact in this cosy bedroom, the lamp working to brilliant effect with the warm tones of the wallpaper and wall colour.
If you’re after a more sophisticated look for your child’s bedroom, why not pick a pendant light that normally hangs over a dining room table? Best of all, this chandelier encourages creativity and self expression – it consists of 80 sheets of Japanese paper, 31 already printed with inspirational words and 49 blank and waiting to be written upon.
Moving arms
Adjustable lamps make sense if you want complete control over your lighting, and when they can attach to the headboard or wall, they’re even more accommodating.
Tolomeo Micro Wall Sconce: Artemide
Adjustable lamps make sense if you want complete control over your lighting, and when they can attach to the headboard or wall, they’re even more accommodating.
Tolomeo Micro Wall Sconce: Artemide
These industrial-style French wall sconces have been popular since 1953 for good reason. They’re both sculptural and handy – they can swivel and rotate to wherever you want them.
See more on industrial style
See more on industrial style
Adjustable sconces need not become focal points if you’d like to draw more attention to other features in the room. This fabulous timber headboard and matching bedside table deserve to be the stars in this bedroom.
Modern match
Lighting is one of the best ways to make a particular decorating style come to life. If Midcentury Modern is your style of choice this iconic bedside lamp will pair beautifully with your bedroom’s other elements. Arne Jacobsen designed the AJ Table Lamp in 1960.
Lighting is one of the best ways to make a particular decorating style come to life. If Midcentury Modern is your style of choice this iconic bedside lamp will pair beautifully with your bedroom’s other elements. Arne Jacobsen designed the AJ Table Lamp in 1960.
Tell a story
Sticking to a theme can be the way to go, as this coastal bedroom shows. I love how one of the birds is looking at the bedside lamp over its shoulder as if doing a double-take.
Sticking to a theme can be the way to go, as this coastal bedroom shows. I love how one of the birds is looking at the bedside lamp over its shoulder as if doing a double-take.
The worn timber that gives this room so much character works well with a lamp that looks as though it has stepped straight out of the pages of history. It’s just the setting to pen that bestselling novel from the comfort of your bed.
Lamp: Pottery Barn
Lamp: Pottery Barn
Mismatched
There are no rules when it comes to bedside lighting, so if your after-dark needs differ from those of your partner, why not decide not to compromise? An asymmetrical room is also a good choice if you lean towards a more eclectic style.
Check out more on eclectic style
There are no rules when it comes to bedside lighting, so if your after-dark needs differ from those of your partner, why not decide not to compromise? An asymmetrical room is also a good choice if you lean towards a more eclectic style.
Check out more on eclectic style
Strike a balance
If colour abounds in your bedroom, it can pay for your bedside lamp to play a supporting role. The glass base and white shade blend in rather than make a statement in this room.
TELL US
Do you love or live with your bedside lamps? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
If colour abounds in your bedroom, it can pay for your bedside lamp to play a supporting role. The glass base and white shade blend in rather than make a statement in this room.
TELL US
Do you love or live with your bedside lamps? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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