These days when space is often at a premium in the home, the bedroom can be used for more than just sleeping, so long as there is good lighting in there.  With the addition of a simple easy chair or sofa and a small side table, you can use it for doing craft, reading or just relaxing. It would also be a good place from which to make private phone calls.

So what kind of lighting do you need? It all depends on what you want to do and what is there already.  You may have plenty of natural lighting, but this won’t help in the night time when you want to read. At the very least you’ll need bedside lamps, but these may not cast enough light for doing fine work.  Here are some points to consider before you start changing the lighting.

• Tall lamps can make a room look squatter, especially if the ceiling is not very high to start with.
• Wall lamps cast a warm glow over a large area and double as wall art, complementing the decor you have already. Such accent lights would be good to have over the easy chair, but you may also want to have a moveable spotlight to help you see fine work.
• A mix of wall and table lamps is often the way to go in the bedroom. That way you can change some of them around to suit specific needs.
• Don’t forget the wardrobe. Whether you have a built-in robe or a free standing one – or even a walk in one – the wardrobe is often poorly lit and it’s difficult to see which clothes you want, especially if you favour dark colours. Adding lighting inside the wardrobe will make your life easier.
• If there’s enough room, add a small storage cabinet for hobby supplies; if there is not, use a lidded storage bin and slide it under the bed or in a corner somewhere. Having craft work to hand will encourage you to do a little bit even if you are busy or tired.
• Some bedrooms have bedside lamps that are hung from the ceiling. This may look attractive, but it is rather dangerous if you have children. Once they find those lamps swing around, they’ll want to push them all the time and may even try swinging on them when you aren’t looking.
• If you use the bedroom for craft or anything else in the daytime, you may need to have a different window treatment to let light in, but keep out glare, depending on what direction the bedroom faces. A nylon curtain can diffuse strong light while still allowing natural daylight through.