7 Perfect Bedroom Lighting Ideas for Different Design Styles

Whether you’re only just considering remodeling your bedroom or are in the process of designing it from scratch, putting a lot of thought into lighting and luminance is crucial. Many homeowners overlook the importance of proper lighting, only to be disappointed by a bedroom that’s too dim or way too bright. This doesn’t exclusively apply to the bedroom. Remodeling any room, from the kitchen to the bathroom, requires a detailed lighting design plan, which I more often foolproof when created by a lighting expert or an interior designer. 

Lighting isn’t something you can get away with just by eyeballing it. Before you decide where to put your light fixtures it’s a good idea to consider the kind of ambiance they will create in the room. It will also be important for your lighting choices to speak to the interior design of your bedroom. 

Using a few of the most trendy bedroom interior designs, we’ve compiled a small list of lighting ideas for highly stylized bedrooms. With this mini-guide to pairing your lighting with the rest of the interior, you can create a room you’ll want to spend most of your day in.

Chandeliers and Skylights for Chic Cottage

Bedroom Lighting Ideas for Every Style

Deemed as one of the coziest designs, the cottage style bedroom is very popular in rural, as well as a few select urban areas across the country. That blend of rustic furniture, rugs, and an abundance of organic textures such as wood or stone give this room a warm, countryside appeal. 

For lighting, a cottage-style bedroom usually gravitates towards lighting fixtures in the traditional style. You can also try more modern, farmhouse style lighting, like pendant lights with wooden shades. However, for that signature cottage aesthetic, the best options for ambient lighting are chandeliers and skylights. 

Cottage Interior Lighting Ideas

Chandeliers are a staple of cottage lighting. They do well in illuminating everything in the room, from the rustic furniture to the stone fireplace. They also speak to the bedware that will often look like it's handmade. A chandelier will also contrast beautifully with the simplicity of the wooden support beams and joists of the ceiling. They are just old-fashioned enough to be considered classic, but still elegant and highly luminous so that they’re not outdated or kitsch.

Skylights are a slightly newer addition to the farmhouse or cottage aesthetic. They’re a very useful addition to any home, especially with the recent emphasis on greater energy efficiency. If your organic style bedroom has access to the roof, a skylight will do wonders to expand your bedroom and prevent the room from feeling heavy if you have too much wood. However, make sure that you have all the right permits before you begin cutting out a hole in your ceiling as skylight installation usually requires one. Contacting a professional roof tiler or glazier for the skylights is a very good idea, as roofs are very tricky to work with.

Pendant Lights for a Modern Classic Touch

Modern Classic Interiors and the Lighting they Like

A merge between old and contemporary design, the modern classic bedroom is beloved by homeowners worldwide. It combines the best of both worlds: the high-quality material and sleek minimalism of modern design with the grace and luxury of classic interiors. 

Since it’s a combination of two styles, the interior can accommodate many kinds of ceiling lights. To complement both the old and new, the ceiling pendant fitting is a perfect choice. It’s simple enough to fit in with the minimal furniture but can also have a bit of detail and elegance that echo classical designs. 

Quaint and Charming Pendant Lighting Ideas

Pendant fixtures fit in seamlessly in modern classic spaces with their polished metallic frames and matte glass finish. Some pendant fixtures are made of more natural materials like wood or steel; these may clash with the classical elements of the interior but can be perfect in a modern organic setting.

Keep in mind that fixtures with slightly more complex shapes may compliment the “classic” portion of your interiors. At the same time, your lighting may overshadow the modern feel if is too ornate. Try to balance the modern and classical aspects of your bedroom.

Ceiling Fans for Smaller Spaces

Lighting Styles That Are in Again

Regardless of their designs, smaller bedrooms come with the problem of getting very stuffy on hot summer nights. The last thing you want to be doing all night is tossing and turning to find that little patch of cool bedding so you can get enough sleep for an early workday the following morning. 

If you have limited space to work within the bedroom, ceiling fan lighting is a great multifunctional way to bring in light and stay cool.

Unfortunately, ceiling fans are often seen as a little passé and cheap as they are typically associated with motel rooms as opposed to something more trendy. However, don’t dismiss them just yet: stylized ceiling fans can look very sleek if they match the rest of the bedroom’s interior. You can vary aesthetics and designs and find something that you might just love.

Looking for something more classy and luxurious? A ceiling fan with a bronze finish will go perfectly with classical or modern classic decor.

If biophilia is something you prioritize in your bedroom, try installing a fan that has wooden blades.

The Unexpected Cool Factor of Ceiling Fans

Some fan lighting comes in the shape of directional fans, which give you precise control over what part of your room you wish to cool off. Even with this specific type of lighting, you're sure to find something that fits your style and works with the rest of the interior. 

Tracking Lights for an Industrial Atmospher

Tracking Lights for an Industrial Atmosphere

For those seeking a more simple, but highly practical and spacious place to spend their nights, the industrial bedroom has been a very trendy pick in recent years. It focuses on functionality, moving away from the finer details of classical design. Furniture decorations are few with a lot of space in between; everything is made of either metal or wood, and the walls are mostly left bare.

Industrial bedrooms can have low-hanging pendant fixtures or tracking lights that drive that rugged aesthetic home. Nothing elegant or overcomplicated is needed, though clever designs can work very well in industrial interiors. A light fixture made out of old steel pipes or an underplayed chandelier that’s simply a log with wired bulbs wrapped around it are only a few examples of how to incorporate low-key ornamentation into the industrial style.

Lighting Ideas for an Industrial Interior

Among all the options for industrial luminosity, nothing seems to fit as seamlessly as tracking light fixtures. If you wish to get very practical and emphasize that factory-esque atmosphere even further, tracking lights are a must. They are small spotlights in a row fitted onto a lighting rail. Track lights are quite functional as you can control them separately and point each lighting head in the direction you wish to brighten up. This added control, plus their very simple design is perfect for the industrial bedroom. 

Nightstands and Lamps Perfect for the Coastal Vibe

The Perfect Lighting for A Coastal Atmosphere

A warm summer breeze coming through the window, the faint sound of water hitting the coast, and a soft, blue-tinted interior. By bringing some of these elements together, even if manufactured, you can have a little piece of the coast in your bedroom even if you're actually hundreds of miles away. However, one thing that could ruin this little oasis is excessive lighting, which might take away from the calm and relaxing atmosphere.

Coastal bedrooms have to be just stylized enough to remind you of what they’re trying to emulate, but also be subtle enough to help you relax. That’s why nightstands and lamps are perfect accessories here. There’s no need to clutter up an aesthetic beach room with all kinds of decor, knick-knacks, and lighting fixtures. Keep the coastal vibe soft and calm with a few lamps. 

The Finishing Touch for a Perfect Coastal Interior

While floor lamps can work, table lamps tend to be a little more quaint and unassuming; they also imitate small lanterns you’d find on a pier. The delicate light they emanate pairs nicely with the softer hues of the bedroom, making for a coastal atmosphere like no other. 

LED and Downlights for Simple Minimalism

Minimalist Lighting Ideas

Another very popular bedroom design is the minimalist bedroom, a staple of modern interiors. Homeowners can benefit from the minimal furniture and decor features with a room that’s purely dedicated to perfecting the serene atmosphere bedrooms strive for. 

A key component of this kind of interior is minimal lighting design as well. No convoluted chandeliers, decorative pendant fixtures, or even tracking lights. A simple ceiling downlight design layout that covers every corner of the room, with a more subtle fixture that’s barely visible should do the trick. The downlight or recessed fixtures, combined with a tray ceiling of any shape, will make for a truly alluring ambient lighting layout — subtle, yet highly functional. 

Why Recessed LED Lighting Is Ideal for A Modern Interior

To accentuate your ceiling downlight ideas, you can bring in a minimal RGB lamp or LED strips to complete the minimalist bedroom design with an extra tinge of color. You can find plenty that fit your budget and turn your bedroom into a vibrant room that comes with all the conveniences of modern lighting.

However, do keep in mind that ceiling downlights and LED RGB lights are much harder to install than other kinds of fixtures. Be sure to call in an experienced electrician to fix them up for you.

Lamps and Chandeliers for Adventurous Boho

The Perfect Pairing of Lighting and Aesthetic

Taking risks and bending tradition is a staple of the Bohemian interior. It’s all that disorder, heterogeneity, and a pinch of stylized clutter that gives Boho its iconic aesthetic.

To complement this lack of order without creating clutter, floor lamps make for a great lighting option. Since they can be moved around, you can set them in any part of the bedroom if you’re in the mood for a little redecoration or layout change. Find one that’s made of the same natural materials also present in your bedroom. Some beautiful options are wood or brass for the stand, and silk, chattan, or suede for the shade. 

The Element that Puts the Chic in Boho Chic

If you’re looking for more central ambient lighting, a chandelier made of the aforementioned materials is also perfect for a bohemian room. What these kinds of chandeliers lack in typical Boho simplicity they make up in their shape and design.