Bedroom Lighting
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Why is bedroom lighting that important?

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Bedroom lighting impacts the mood and function of the bedroom in a significant way.   

Lighting the bedroom correctly will result in a controlled environment where the room can be as bright or dark as needed for function or relaxation. It is well known that complete darkness is important for a good night sleep.  However, more people use the bedroom as a multi functional room where they might watch TV, read a book, relax or even work. 

The key to good lighting in a bedroom is to layer the lighting in such a way that it will result in the ability to create scenes of light that will be useful for a specific activity. Divide the lights to a few switching circuits according to their function, this will allow you to dim each group of lights (or lighting layer) separately.  For example: the reading lights for a couple should each have their own switch, any other task lights should be switched separately, the wall wash or art lights should be on a different switch, etc. After you build your lighting layers you can then control them in a few different ways.  

You may have individual dimmer switches for each lighting layer or you may have a scene control unit like the Lutron Grafik Eye which will allow you to set lighting scenes easily for up to six lighting circuits.  You can even have an individual remote control or scene control switch by the bedside. 

You may ask; why is bedroom lighting that important? I believe that it is all a matter of quality of life and how important you consider the atmosphere around you to be, but it is also an issue of function. Lighting affects us on various levels: physiologically, emotionally and also on a subconscious level.  I also believe that the power of good lighting is more influential then most people are aware of.

As mentioned before, use individually controlled reading lights for couples; I personally like the light to shine from behind you if at all possible, in order to eliminate shadows when reading.  In addition, I also like to mount the lights so they shine away from the other person. I also recommend using low glare light sources (see our product recommendations), you may think of the reading lights in an airplane as an example. 

The use of cove lighting adds indirect illumination to the room as well as helping to create more depth; therefore I recommend this style of lighting but please make sure to do it correctly. Do not use fluorescent lighting in the cove, and make sure that there will be no gaps in the lights and the light has to be continuous and dimmable.  I like using the 24V xenon strip lighting (see our product recommendations). 

Good luck with creating a better atmosphere and function in your next bedroom project.