The 9 Best Lighting Picks for Your Bedroom

Though bedrooms are primarily for sleeping, they aren’t meant to be dark all the time. A bedroom should have a combination of both portable and installed lighting to provide illumination for tasks like dressing and reading. More than that, your bedroom’s lighting should also create a calm and soothing atmosphere for relaxation. If you think about it, the lighting ideas that pertain to the rest of your home apply to the bedroom as well. Lighting experts agree that you should aim to light a room in layers. The most basic layer is general, or ambient, lighting. This allows for safe movement throughout the room and serves as a base upon which you layer the rest of your lighting design. Task lighting supplements general lighting where detailed activities take place, like reading, dressing, or applying makeup. Accent lighting highlights architectural features, artwork, or other focal points. Finally, decorative lighting creates the focal point itself, either through its fixture or the light it produces (i.e., a pattern on the wall). When planning the lighting for your bedroom, keeps two ideas in mind to help you achieve the right feel: abundance and flexibility. Multiple light sources with lower wattage are preferable to a single bright fixture. And don’t overlook the power of dimmers: Installing them can help you achieve the right mood when it’s time to wind down at the end of the day. Click through for nine types of fixtures, each with its own place and functionality when it lives in the bedroom. Then, install a medley of these bedroom lighting ideas, and you’ll be one step closer to your own oasis.

9 New Ideas for Shared Bedrooms

A house feels most like a home when you share it with those you love—and gathering together with friends and family is even more fun if everyone has a comfortable place to sleep. Whether you have a large family living in a small space or just like to host lots of people at once, let one of these multiple-bed bedrooms inspire you to find a way to accommodate them all.

Wallpaper and Paint: My “Green” Nursery Challenge

Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about Wallpaper and Paint: My “Green” Nursery Challenge and hope the blog can help you. The nursery was 10’ X 11’ with builder-white walls. It was time for it to reflect our baby boy’s personality. Since his scheduled arrival was five weeks away, I’d…

Don’t Make These 7 Bedroom Design Mistakes

To catch a glimpse of a homeowner’s true design sensibility, skip past the manicured lawn, through the primped foyer, and into the bedroom. This inner sanctuary is most reflective of your personality—evoking creativity, passion, and energy through careful curation of paint, lighting, furniture, and mementos. However, a bedroom’s full style potential can easily be thwarted by ill-conceived furniture arrangements, kitschy paint finishes, and obtrusive embellishments that turn your bedroom into bedlam. To ensure that you aren’t sabotaging your own sense of style, click through for seven common bedroom design don’ts—and how to avoid them.

12 Things No One Tells You When You’re Buying a Mattress

Many people cringe at the prospect of mattress shopping, and with good reason: Searching for a comfortable, high-quality bed within your price range can be incredibly daunting. But don’t fret! After learning these 12 things nobody tells you about buying a mattress, you’ll be able to head into the showroom with some valuable insider information—and a lot more confidence. Getting a restful night’s sleep has never been so easy.