Bedroom Light Fixtures: The Complete Guide!

On the hunt for new bedroom light fixtures? I’m answering all of your most frequently asked lighting questions and sharing my favorite lighting picks in today’s complete bedroom lighting guide! From bedroom ceiling lights, flush mounts, and fans to bedside lamps and floor lamps, you’ll find everything you need for smart & stylish bedroom lighting! (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})

Ideal bedroom lighting involves layering multiple sources of light with a combination of overhead ambient lighting, bedside lamps, and task lighting. Let’s kick things off with one option for overhead ambient lighting _ flush mount fixtures…

Bedroom Ceiling Light Fixtures: Flush Mounts 

Flush mount or semi-flush mount light fixtures are perfect overhead lighting for bedrooms with ceilings that are eight feet (or less) tall like those in our master bedroom. These ten flush mounts are my favorite stylish picks:

one  |   two   |   three   |   four   |   five   |   six   |   seven   |   eight   |   nine   |   ten

We have fixture #3 ({this} scalloped beauty) in our master bedroom and I absolutely love it:

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We also have flush mounts #1, #6, and #10 in other rooms of our home – you can see images of those plus get more details on several of my other favorite flush mounts in {this post}. 

Bedroom Ceiling Light Fixtures: Pendants & Chandeliers

If your bedrooms have taller ceilings or the fixture is going to be over a piece of furniture like the bed where you won’t be walking under it, a chandelier or pendant lighting can be a great choice. These are eight of my favorites:

one  |   two   |   three   |   four   |   five   |   six   |   seven   |   eight   

I have pendant #1 ({this} gold quatrefoil pendant) in both of my girls’ rooms:

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And we have light #3 (found {here}) in the smaller size over our kitchen table but I think it would look amazing in a bedroom too!

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Bedroom Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans with a light kit are another option for overhead bedroom lighting, especially if you live in the south! The ceiling fan blades should be at least 7 feet above the floor so a hugger/low-profile fan is the best choice if you have standard 8 foot ceilings – some fans are specifically designed for this purpose while others can be mounted directly on the ceiling or on a downrod. If your bedroom ceiling is angled or vaulted, you may need to purchase an angled ceiling light adapter if it’s not included with your fan. 

Fans are sized by the number of inches that their blades span. To determine the fan size that’s most appropriate for your space, first determine the square feet of your room by multiplying the room’s length by its width in feet. Then use these suggested guidelines:

Finding a stylish ceiling fan (especially one with lights) use to be an impossible task but some great ones have hit the market more recently – these are a few of my favorites (I have fan #1 in my girls’ shared room in NC with the blades flipped to the white side – I love it!):

one    |    two    |    three    |    four    |    five    |    six   |    seven

You can get more details on these ceiling fans and a few other favorites in {this post}.

Bedside Light Fixtures: Table Lamps & Wall Mounted Lights

Assuming there’s space in your bedroom, it’s best to have a bedside light fixture on both sides of the bed if two people sleep in it but just one is fine in rooms such as kids rooms where there’s only one person per bed. Most people use table lamps for bedside lighting which can vary in height quite a bit – ideally the bottom of the shade of your lamp should be just below eye level when sitting next to it. You could also choose to use wall mounted swing arm lamps or even small pendants on either side of the bed if you’re tight on space. These are my ten stylish favorites:

one  |   two   |   three   |   four   |   five   |   six   |   seven   |   eight   |   nine   |   ten

Our master bedroom is fairly small so until recently I used {these} wall-mounted lights (favorite #2) as our bedside lamps. They’re super versatile because they swing left and right for reading and are adjustable in height:

If you’re using wall mounted lighting like this in a bedroom, the ideal height to mount them depends upon the position you’re usually in when using them (i.e. do you read laying down or sitting up). A good trick is to get in your normal reading position, and measure from the floor to just above shoulder height – this measurement is a good mounting height for your lights.

If you have a great eye, you might have noticed that we have lamp #3 (found {here}) in my oldest daughter’s room and  lamp #6 (found {here}) in two other bedrooms. Lamp #6 is such a great lamp because it goes with anything and everything and it has a USB outlet in the base for charging your phone overnight. It’s a great, versatile lamp to have in master bedrooms and in guest bedrooms which is where we have it in our house in NC:

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Bedroom Light Fixtures: Floor Lamps

Floor lamps are a nice addition to your bedroom, especially if you have a reading or conversation area with 1-2 chairs. In really small bedrooms you could even forego your nightstand and use a floor lamp next to your bed.  These ten floor lamps are all beautiful options:

one  |   two   |   three   |   four   |   five   |   six   |   seven   |   eight   |   nine   |   ten

I also have one more to add to the floor lamp list that I somehow forgot about when putting my picks together! We have {this floor lamp} next to our daybed that doubles as a place to sleep when we have more guests than space in our guest room (we sure miss seeing little Hope’s smiling face ?):

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A Few Last Lighting Tips!

That wraps up my favorite bedroom light fixtures but I wanted to leave you with two last lighting tips:

1. All of your bedroom lighting doesn’t have to be exactly the same finish and style. It’s ok to mix metals in a room (for example, brass in some spots and nickel in others). Some good basic rules if you struggle with mixing metals is to have each metal in more than one spot (like a brass light fixture plus brass knobs on a cabinet) and stick with just 1-2 different metal finishes in a room (some rooms look great with more but it’s a little harder to pull off well).  
2. When choosing lighting, pay attention to wattage but it’s usually not a deal breaker. Lights with higher wattage are nice because you can install a dimmer switch that allows you to adjust the light to the exact brightness that you like at different times. But if you fall in love with a low wattage fixture, know that with today’s LED bulbs you can get a lot of light output with a low wattage bulb so you can typically make even low wattage fixtures work in your space. 

I hope you all found this bedroom lighting guide helpful and that your family is staying safe and healthy! I’ll see you back here later in the week!