Lighting can make or break a bedroom. The right illumination sets the mood, whether you want to relax, be productive, or even set the stage for romance. Fortunately, with modern LED bulbs and fixtures, you have more options than ever to customize your lighting.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll review the top LED lighting picks for bedrooms and provide tips on choosing the perfect setup for your needs and budget.
Benefits of Using LED Lights in the Bedroom
Before we get into the product recommendations, let‘s look at why LED lighting is the best choice for the bedroom:
- Efficiency – LED bulbs use at least 75% less energy than incandescents.
- Long lifespan – LEDs can last over 50,000 hours with little light degradation.
- Fully dimmable – Most LEDs dims flawlessly without buzzing or flickering.
- No IR or UV emissions – Unlike fluorescents, LEDs don‘t emit infrared or ultraviolet rays.
- Endless customization – With color-changing and tunable white LEDs, you have millions of shades and temperatures to choose from to match your mood.
LED lighting checks all the boxes – cost savings, quality performance, and maximum flexibility to personalize your space.
The 5 Best LED Lighting Systems for Bedrooms
Based on lighting design expertise and customer reviews, we‘ve selected the top LED lighting solutions for bedrooms in 5 key categories:
Best Overall: Philips Hue
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Smart Bulb Starter Kit
For the best overall LED lighting system, Philips Hue remains the gold standard. This starter kit comes with 4 A19 multicolor bulbs plus a Hue hub required for smartphone app control.
With 16 million colors, every shade of white, and 50,000 hour lifespans, few lighting systems match Hue‘s quality and versatility. Sync lights to music and videos or set lighting schedules to automate your bedroom‘s ambiance.
Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit.
Key specs:
- 800 lumens per bulb
- Tunable 2200-6500K
- Compatible with most single pole switches
- Hub required
Best on a Budget: Geeni Prisma Plus
Geeni Prisma Plus Smart WiFi LED Light Bulb 2 Pack
Get advanced lighting features without the high price tag. These WiFi-enabled bulbs don‘t need a hub and use the Geeni app for iPhone and Android control.
Set schedules, create groups, and change colors without draining your wallet. 3000K and adjustable whites promote restful sleep. The 800 lumen output is almost as bright as Hue!
Alexa and Google Assistant voice control get high marks from owners. The perfect entry point for smart LED lighting.
Key specs:
- 800 lumens
- Tunable 3000-5000K
- No hub required
- 2 year warranty
Best Ambient Lighting: Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles
Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles Smarter Kit
For a modern, artistic statement, Nanoleaf Shapes add modular ambient lighting to any bedroom. Arrange the touch-sensitive, modular triangle panels in limitless patterns.
Sync and dance to music or slowly transition between multiple bright, not overpowering colors at a time. Scheduled scenes and automation integrate smoothly with smart assistants and ecosystems.
With Nanoleaf, enjoy beautiful, customizable accent lighting without needing recessed can lights or custom wiring. Simple self-adhesive mounts install easily in minutes. Games, educational content, screen mirroring and group control round out an incredibly interactive package.
Key specs:
- 9 modular touch-activated triangles
- Millions of RGB colors
- Rhythm music sync
- 2 year warranty
Best Floor Lights: Govee Lyra Floor Lamp
Govee Lyra RGBIC LED Corner Floor Lamp
No need to ceiling mount smart lighting to make a design statement. The Govee Lyra modernizes any bedroom with customizable upright ambient lighting.
Its built-in LED strip fills the acrylic column with vibrant, saturated colors. Put the light in party mode for pulsing, dynamic effects in sync with songs playing from a paired Bluetooth speaker.
Set the mood with gentle pastel hues or crank the brightness for task lighting at a desk or reading nook. Alexa & Google Assistant voice controls round out a striking yet affordable smart lighting centerpiece.
Key specs:
- 64 scene modes
- 16 million color options
- 6 foot height
- 1 year warranty
Best Light Strip: Philips Hue LightStrip Plus
Philips Hue LightStrip Plus Smart Light Strip
For accent lighting, light strips enable virtually endless creativity. Attach them under beds, behind headboards, or above wardrobes to add a splash of color.
This 6 foot strip outputs 1600 lumens, bathing surfaces in adjustable shades of white or the full color spectrum. Extend coverage with 1 meter extension packs or cut strips to size without losing functionality.
Features come at a premium price but reliability and integration are rock solid. With extra accessories like clips, channels and corner pieces, light strips can transform any bedroom.
Key specs:
- 6 foot 1600 lumen flexible strip
- 50,000 hour lifespan
- Adhesive backing with extension options
- Hue hub required
How to Choose the Best LED Lights for Your Bedroom
Now that you know the top options available for LED bedroom lighting, let’s go over exactly what to consider as you shop. Follow this criteria to select systems tailored to your needs and preferences.
Types of Bedroom Lighting
Your first step should focus on the standard lighting zones in a bedroom and the style of fixtures used in each area.
- Overhead – Ceiling mounts like recessed cans or chandeliers plus pendant lights provide overall ambient brightness. Ensure LED equivalents match your existing fixtures.
- Wall lighting – For accent illumination, consider LED wall sconces or painting with an adjustable color temperature.
- Task lighting – Desk and vanity areas need focused LED bulbs in the 3000-5000K cool white range for visibility without glare.
- Accent and mood lighting – Light strips, digital artwork like Nanoleaf, and colored floor lamps create depth plus help set the room’s atmosphere.
Determine if you need new fixtures or can retrofit your current setup with smart LED equivalents. Either route brings customization and voice automation to antiquated lighting.
Adjustability
Look for dimmable, color-tunable LED bulbs rated on CRI (color rendering index) and closely compare white temperature specs. The ability to fine tune everything from brightness to hue is key for bedrooms.
Most smart LEDs made specifically for home use have excellent CRI for realistic light quality. Tunable white describes adjusting from invigorating daylight (5000K) to soothing warm glows (2200K).
Voice assistants and smartphone apps simplify control for dimming, color changes, automation based on time of day or alarms, and syncing illumination to videos and music.
Size
Never overlook your bedroom’s dimensions and ceiling height. While 800+ lumen LED smart bulbs seem extremely bright at first, their output can feel modest and diffuse in larger master bedrooms.
Similarly, long but narrow bedrooms need multiple fixtures for even coverage compared to a compact square layout. Scale your new lighting to properly fill the physical space for flawless ambiance.
Budget
Today’s LED lighting landscape includes premium established brands plus budget upstarts. Determine how much you can spend upfront and down the road as you expand.
While inexpensive smart bulbs seem tempting, you risk connectivity issues and early burnout down the road. Invest in recognized leaders in illumination technology for the most reliability.
Balance features and quality against affordability to maximize value. Compromise on brightness or accessories before chancing poor color rendition or app glitches.
Automating Your Bedroom Lighting with Assistants & Devices
Integrating lighting scenes and schedules with smart home platforms takes bedroom ambiance to the next level of convenience.
The best LED fixtures interact natively with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings and IFTTT. Voice commands handle basic on/off/dim/color requests ("Alexa, dim bedroom lights to 50%").
Use Alexa or Google routines for effortless automation based on time triggers or alarm dismissal. Come home to sunset mood lighting or have illumination gradually intensify 30 minutes before your wake up song plays.
Connect motion sensors to brighten lights when you walk into a dark room. Sync TV, movie or game audio to dynamically change nearby bias lighting color palettes. Cinema scenes produce warmer, dimmer ambient glow while action heightens intensity.
If traveling, check bedroom lighting status via phone and override schedules as desired for peace of mind. Integrations plus intelligent LED fixtures turn imagination into reality for next level living spaces.
5 Best LED Light Brands for Bedrooms
We‘ll wrap up our guide to exceptional modern bedroom illumination by spotlighting manufacturers leading the smart lighting revolution across design and performance.
- Philips Hue – The premier LED ecosystem for richest features, best app, and most reliable connectivity.
- Nanoleaf – Artistic modular light panels set yourself apart with touch controls and screen mirroring.
- LIFX – WiFi (no hub) strips, bulbs, candles and beams with rock-solid app and assistant integration.
- GE / C by GE / Cync – Budget smart bulbs, switches and sensors from a venerable lighting brand.
- Govee – Young company rapidly growing reputation for affordable innovative products like Lyra floor lamp.
Evaluate your personal wants, from cost to color quality, against the respective strengths of top manufacturers. Mix and match platforms for maximum flexibility outfitting a bedroom optimized for your needs.
The world of illumination awaits – now is the time to unlock LED lighting‘s potential for perfect, personalized ambiance each time you walk through your bedroom door.
