Beautiful Bedside Lamps - A Few Bedside Lighting Ideas

Bedroom lighting is often pretty traditionally laid out, and bedside lamps are no exception. It does kind of makes sense when you think about it, though. When you're already in bed, all snug and warm, you don't want a big light glaring down at you. You need a smaller, cosy light that's easy to reach from where you're comfortably sitting, peacefully reading your book and nibbling on a snack. But how do you turn a traditional arrangement into something that adds some real style to your bedroom, whilst at the same time staying functional? Let us pitch you some bedside lighting ideas to achieve just that.

Bedside lamps are typical task lighting. They enable you to read, watch TV, set your alarm and easily turn off the light when you want to go to sleep. But apart from being practical, bedside lighting can also have a lot of influence on the overall look and feel of the area immediately surrounding your bed.

Firstly and obviously, bedside lamps can enhance a particular style or colour in your bedroom. Choose a bedside lamp that fits with the elements you want to enhance. Above, this clamp-on cage light really works with the simplicity of the rough, rustic style of the wooden bed and 'bedside table'. (Note that it's about shoulder-height so it will shine enough light on the page of your book.) Similarly, candlestick or chandelier-type sconces would suit a classic design and concealed lighting underneath ledges, alcoves and headboards would suit modern designs. Picking lighting that blends in with the rest of the room adds to a harmonious feeling that suits the cosiness and ease-of-mind of lying in bed.

Another way of working with the rest of the space is lines and shapes. When certain patterns dominate the bedroom, bedside lamps can either help enhance these or alternatively provide a balancing contrast. In the image above, the black pendant factory lamp is perfectly in line with the geometrical lines on the wall.

In the image above, the bare plumen bulbs hanging all the way down from the ceiling are, together with the long windows, doing a marvellous job providing contrast to the horizontal lines of the wall and rug.

If your bedroom is eclectic and not very symmetrical, matching bedside table lamps on both sides of the bed can help pull the look together. And if your bedside lighting doesn't match, at least make sure it's at the same height. In the image above, the same height of the bedside table lamp and the floor lamp work together to even out the difference in symmetry and style.

Finally, if you have very little space in your room and bedside table lamps or floor lamps are cluttering up the area around your bed, sconces or recessed lighting are a great alternative. They save space and so leave more room on the bedside table. 

What kind of bedside lamps do you like to keep next to your bed?

(image 1 via miloandmitzy, image 2 via houzz, image 3 via trendenser, image 4 via highstreetmarket, image 5 via homedsgn)