Let’s Talk Bedroom Wall Sconces

‘Design is not just what it looks like, design is how it works.’ Are your bedroom wall sconces working for you?

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When I was designing our master bedroom makeover, I knew I wanted to include a pair of wall sconces. I love the look of a bed flanked with lighting. It’s such a clean classic style and of course, there are plenty of benefits for having wall bedside lighting.

You need that soft ambiance for a late night reading sessions. Or to quickly grab something off the nightstand. Or maybe even to see which kid is standing at your bedside in the middle of the night. 😉 Plus having the lighting on the wall frees up precious space on the night stand.

When I started to install mine, I put an incredible amount of thought and research into finding the right placement.  Of course, there are no hard fast rules when it comes to the height and placement of a bedroom wall sconce. But I did discover some very helpful guidelines. So if you are considering adding some wall sconces to your bedroom, hopefully these few tips will help you.

Our bedroom has a pair of the Hudson Valley Roslyn adjustable arm wall sconces in bronze. They can rotate 180 degrees from side to side and the shades can be adjusted upward or downwards.

The lights are a little stiff to move but that keeps them in position well. Generally we don’t reposition them because I took special care to install them at the most useful height for us and our needs.

These sconces are not hardwired, we have them plugged into outlets that are located behind the bed nightstands. The wall sconce cords are covered with matching bronze covers that came with the lights. I thought about hiring an electrician to create a couple of light access points so we could have the cordless look. But decided against it for two reasons; cost and freedom. If I wanted to rotate the bed to another wall…the sconces would not be coming along. But with the cord option, they can be placed anywhere!

So now that you know about my sconces, lets talk about where to install them. A great way to decide on placement is to get into bed and assume your normal reading position. Then measure from the floor up to a few inches above the shoulder.  This measurement will tell you how high the bottom of the shade should be positioned.  Chris and I took turns doing this to make sure the height would be a good fit for both of us and still be symmetrical. We decided on about 50″ from the floor, which puts them roughly about 4-5″ above our shoulders.

Another great tip I found was to mount the shade of the sconce about 24 inches above the nightstand.  Ours are close to 21″ above which seems to be a great height for us.

I also was contemplating on whether or not to install the sconces center of the nightstands or closer to the bed. Even though I am all about symmetry, I felt the sconces needed to be closer for a better light angle. I found a tip that recommend to place bedroom wall sconces at least 8 to 10 ft apart. When I measured out 8 ft for our bed, the placement seemed perfect! So that’s what I decided to go with for our lights. Just for a reference, the distance between where the cord cover is mounted on the wall and the edge of our bed is about 7″. 

We both use these bedroom wall sconces everyday and now I can’t imagine the bedroom without them! I’m so glad I took the time to really research where I wanted them placed. It’s all about those little details that make the big differences! 

So, do you have bedroom wall scones? What do you use them for most: reading or lighting?

*This post was sponsored by Bellacor.