Are you planning to remodel your kids’ room but you’re having difficulty how to do it? Besides the decorations and the furniture placement, one thing you should be particular about in designing your children’s room is lighting. Proper lighting of children’s room is a must know for parents or soon to be parents preparing well for their kids’ future. Fear not, as you continue reading, you will be enlightened and have more knowledge on how to make a room in your house a better place for your child to live in.
For some parents, designing and constructing a children’s room may feel like a daunting task. But as mentioned, you may simply begin with the most basic but arguably most important part – proper lighting.
Natural Lighting
Let’s start with the most basic – natural lighting. Natural light is essential to any interior space but it is perhaps even more important for your child’s room. Be sure to maximize natural light as much as possible so you and your child can move around the room freely and safely. No one wants a freak accident such as stepping on lego blocks or slipping from a small toy car, thus you need all the light you can get. Especially in the morning, you wouldn’t want to open any artificial light. It is costly and without a doubt impractical at such time, right? Instead, let the sun shine upon the room and take advantage of it while you can.
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If heat and humidity become an issue, install semi block out curtains or blinds so you may be able to control the natural light that enters the room. If you do go for curtains, make sure it meets on the middle when closed. Curtains that are badly fitted may prevent you from controlling natural light levels which is essential for bedtime.
Artificial Lighting for Children’s Room
We expect lighting in interior design to provide us three important things- function, aesthetics/design, and safety. Obviously, all these three are important in a child’s room.
Although natural lighting helps a lot in illuminating your space in the morning and early afternoon, we have to accept the fact that it is not enough especially at night. This is where artificial lighting comes into play.
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Importance of Artificial Lighting in Children’s Rooms
Whether you want to protect your child’s eyes, aid yourself in checking them up at night, scare off the ghosts that give your kids nightmares, or simply because you just want to light up the space and beautify it, you should always opt for the best light possible for your children’s room. As they say, the correct light can make a difference.
For a better guide, let’s separate the discussion into three- for toddlers, kids, and teenagers.
Bedroom Lighting for Toddlers
With a new baby on the way or a with a new born who just boarded your home, it’s understandable if lighting is the least of your concern right now. But as mentioned previously, it cannot be taken lightly and especially taken for granted.
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The most important thing to remember in lighting your nursery room is to avoid harsh lighting. As a matter of fact, harsh lights can harm or damage your baby’s over sensitive eyes. Instead, go for soft lighting which can be gentle to their developing eyes and avoid contrasts of light and dark so your child’s eyes can rest well.
In order to do this, avoid exposed light bulbs and halogens. Opt for diffused light and covered fixtures instead.
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You may also want to have multiple lighting sources with multiple switches so you can control which part of the room to light. Install wall lamps that you can leave open while the baby sleeps and open a hanging lamp or ceiling light when changing diapers, feeding, or late-night visit to your child’s room.
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Additionally, you may also add under cabinet lighting or track lighting that will serve as task lights and accent lights at the same time. The best thing about track lights or spot lights in this scenario is that you can move the direction of the light towards whatever it is you want to be lit. If you want general lighting that will avoid directly lighting up your baby’s crib, then track lights are a good choice.
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Take note, we established previously that function, safety, and even aesthetics/design should be satisfied to have good lighting. It won’t hurt to spice things up and also use accent lights for your child’s room.
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Bedroom Lighting for Kids
Decorating a kids’ room, especially for those ranging from 5 to 12 gets more tricky. Often times for these particularly rooms, safety outweighs other categories in terms of prioritization.
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In choosing your lighting fixtures, you want something unbreakable or at least something that will not be destroyed easily. Wooden lighting fixtures or those made with plastic or metal are a good choice. Avoid glass and pottery as much as possible!
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Standing lamps should also be avoided. Your kid could discover his or her love for sports at this time and suddenly pitches or dribble a ball and hit the standing lamp, which can then fall down to the ground. The fixture itself and the cord that powers it could become safety risks. An alternative is to install wall lamps unusually higher to avoid being hit by your kid.
Given that you’re constructing or remodeling already, why not make this room something your child is actually into? it could be possible that you have already discovered what your child loves at this age. Use it as a theme for their room. May it be a unicorn themed room or a lighting mcqueen heavy interior, go for it as it may make your child happier.
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Bedroom Lighting for Teenagers
Lighting a teenager’s room is almost no different than for an adult’s room. This time, it requires more knowledge on lighting.
First, consider the activities that your child enjoys as well as the activities that you expect from them to cover. Most probably, they will want to watch tv on their room, use their ipads, or play video games. At the same time, you also expect your child to read or study on their desks. To be able to cater all these, add layers of light that you and your child can adjust for functionality while also beautifying the room and make them feel good.
A recommended lighting mix for teenage bedrooms are recessed lighting around the perimeter, a statement light at the center, and wall lamps on bedside. With this, there are various lighting options that can cater a specific need.
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As mentioned, reading and of course studying is expected to be accomplished in the bedroom especially if there is no separate room for that. Table lamps will come in handy in these situations. If the table is narrow or short, you may also opt for wall lamps as this will not take up space on your child’s desk. Under Cabinet Lighting can also be applied here. Conceal a T5 light bulb or an LED strip on your overhead cabinet and it will be good for task lighting and can even double as accent lighting.
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Teenagers especially boys also often develop fondness in collecting at this age. You may want to get your kids excited by installing glass covered shelves and lighting it up with led strips. This will showcase their collection and it’s something they can share with their friends and be proud of. Just imagine a gundam themed display cabinet, a Marvel and DC shelves, or a funko pop overhead cabinet display on your kids room. Even you, yourself may become fond of it!
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Toddlers, kids, teenagers – we have them all in good stead, as long as you plan your lighting needs with the above in mind you’re on a good page! Make your house a home for your kids, filled with light and love!
