Do Bedside Table Lamps Have to Match

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Are you tired of the old and boring makeup and composition of your bedroom? Do you want to inject some life or freshness back into it? Let’s say that you are, so picture this: you have finally saved up some spending money to purchase some new and better pieces of furniture for your home. One of the areas you most want to improve is your bedroom.

Now, there are several things and or areas that you can first approach, like new sheets for your bed, a carpet or two, or some colorful curtains. But no, none of those, for you are here because you want to know a bit more about nightstand or bedside table lamps, a topic that this article will be dedicated to exploring.

Below, we are going to explore some of the aspects that need to be addressed to properly understand and answer the question and help you think up some bedroom design ideas. These aspects will be:

  1. Aesthetics
  2. Differences in height and the issues there, if any
  3. Differences in the dispersion and projection of light and the issues there, if any

So without further ado, let’s take an answer to the question: “do bedside table lamps have to match”.

Aesthetics

The first point of call is to determine your needs regarding the aesthetics of the lamps, such as can you match a floor lamp with a large lamp? Can the lamps be mismatched? Etc. Well, ultimately, it comes down to your taste and preferences on how you choose to design your room. That said, there are still some rules or conventions that the more fashionable of you would probably want to adhere to even though fashion is, in itself, something that one can subjectively interpret.

Uniform Design

On the one hand, you can argue for keeping your design uniform, symmetrical (to a degree), and similar. As such, if you were looking to purchase a set of separate lamps, you would need to ensure that they are identical regarding their style and color scheme. Whether you choose to go with a casual style pair or go with glass lamps with a gilded finish is irrespective. The main thing is that they match if you want to maintain that classy touch and sense of symmetry.

Mix and Match

On the other hand, who’s to say that you must go with that approach? If you are someone who avoids classical designs or design traditions typically, then perhaps you can mix up your setup with some chic lamps. For example, you could try mixing up lamps with light wood finishes or with black metal cases. Just don’t go too crazy with far-out design and furniture choices that just make the room look garish or that you use it as a storage room.

Even when it comes to color schemes, no one is saying that they must always be the same color or shade in order for them to look good. You can still paint your room with many colors, provided they all share a complementary color. Look up color blocking to learn a bit more about how to match and play with colors.

Room Aesthetics

It is also essential to find lamps that match or instead go with the whole aesthetic of your room. Again, they don’t have to be the same colors or style, but they shouldn’t feel out of place either. For example, imagine you have a blank wall, be it a white or grey wall, with dark wooden curtain rods and pieces of pastel-colored furniture scattered about, with bedding of a similar hue.

Now all you need is a pair of lamps to complete the room’s look and give a source of lighting other than from overhead ceiling lights. You could pair this look with a pair of brass-framed lamps, a choice you might find strange at first, but that goes with the room’s aesthetic perfectly. The shinning brass metal with a copper coloring lends itself well to the clean, blank white/grey wall, both allowing each other’s colors to play off of each other.

The dark wood of the curtain rods works similarly, creating a strong contrast of the dark wood against the white walls while still not conflicting too much with the brass aesthetic of the lamps. You also don’t want to have too much of one thing, which is why it would not be recommended to place brass curtain rods instead of wood as it would give the room too much of a metallic look. A look that can work, if done correctly, but should probably be avoided if you want to keep things safe.

Double-Check

Lastly, always make sure to run down any design ideas with your partner! You don’t want to, (a) make them feel like they were not involved in the design process and decision making, and (b) you don’t want to purchase everything only to find out that day/night that your partner hates the color or size, or that they prefer ceramic lamps over brass lamps.

Bedroom with Open Windows Overlooking the Ocean

Differences in Height and the Dispersion of Light

The next aspect to address is the matter of physical height differences between the lamps you are thinking of purchasing or adding. The benefit of this section is that it serves both a practical and aesthetic purpose. The aesthetic function is that it might look a bit odd or peculiar if you had a pair of mismatched nightstands, with one much taller or shorter than the other. This type of feature can offset the whole look and style of the room.

Practicalities

The second point addresses the practical aspect of having lamps of varying heights. It will again give the room an odd look if the light fixtures are unequal in height, adding more light to one side of the room and less light to the other side of the room. It might also create an unpleasant lighting or reading environment not only due to the imbalance of the light sources, but it might also be glaring for someone if the lamp is not of the ideal height.

Determine the Height

Ideally, you first want to determine the ideal lamp height for yourself or you and your partner before purchasing. Next, you then go about purchasing your lamps of the correct height; again, it does not matter if they match or don’t match as long as the height is the same. The reason why this should be a top priority and is worth planning is to avoid unnecessary eye strain.

Long-term Effects

While you might not realize it at the time, having your eyes being constantly exposed to beams of direct light can put them under severe pressure, overworking the muscles of your eyes and causing unneeded fatigue. The long-term effects of this can potentially lead to you needing glasses later in life if you don’t already have them.

In Summary

And that brings us to the end of this article, and with that, the final conclusion about whether you need to have table lamps that match. In summary, the answer to whether your night lamps need to match is ultimately informed and determined by two significant factors, being the aesthetic and practical aspects. Regarding the aesthetic aspect: no, your lamps do not need to match.

The reason is that your choice of aesthetic is precisely that; it is your choice on how you decide to decorate and style your environment. While design conventions do exist, they are flexible and are not gospel.

Regarding the practical aspect: yes, it depends on the choice of lamps you acquire due to factors such as the differing heights and level of light projection and intensity between the lamps. Hopefully, this article was able to assist and leave you better informed on this matter.