Interiors
How to light a nursery for safety and sleep in 2025
By Matthew Currington, Technical Director,
lifehealth.com
Sleep and safety are prominent issues for all parents – with many wondering if they’ll ever have a good night’s rest again.
Beyond aesthetics, it’s important to consider how poorly placed lamps, exposed cords, or stimulating fixtures could affect both your baby’s safety and their sleep environment.
So, what should you consider when choosing lighting for your nursery?
Invest in smart lighting
Smart lights mean you can pre-set a cosy and soporific post-bathtime mood in your child’s bedroom without entering the room via a remote control or an app on your phone.
For example, adjusting the colour temperature to suit circadian rhythms or softly lighten the room for a nighttime feed without disturbing your baby.
While many smart lights offer a rainbow of colours, avoid choosing blue or green light at nighttime as this can disrupt sleep. Red hues are the best as they’re less likely to disturb sleep than other colours.
If you’ve already chosen your light fixtures – don’t worry, smart light bulbs can be bought separately.
Join the wireless craze
Whether they get tangled in them, tug on them or allow them to find their way to the power source – wires can be a toddler hazard.
Rechargeable lighting offers convenience and decorative appeal while requiring no wiring, making them an ideal choice for safe nursery lighting. It’s easy to move, offering greater freedom to redesign your nursery when you or your baby need a change.
Available in multiple forms, such as table lamps, floor lamps and wall fixtures, wireless lighting enables you to choose the styles and fixtures that best suit your space.
However, if recharging seems too cumbersome, most wall sconces can be wired into the main electrical system – requiring no external wiring.
Layer your lighting well
An overhead, central light is always useful, but it should never be the only light source in a room – especially a nursery.
Layer your lighting by having multiple light sources, such as wall sconces and table or standing lamps in addition to the main overhead light. This will allow ambient and functional light in the room, assisting you with different task requirements.
Wall sconces provide well-distributed light throughout the room and should be evenly distributed. For example, you could place two on either side of the cot or changing table.
A table or standing lamp provides localised light for night feeds or bedtime stories – suited to unused corners of the room.
Rethink stimulating light gadgets
While opinions may differ, it remains true that if something could disrupt your baby’s sleep, it’s best to reconsider introducing it. The best light for sleep is no light because light affects our circadian rhythm which produces melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Projectors and other flashy gadgets can easily be replaced by gentle red, green and blue (RGB) light from a smart light fixture or bulb – and they don’t need to be expensive. Plus, most smart LED lights have an impressive lifespan. For example, second and third-generation smart bulbs often last up to 25,000 hours –nearly three years of continuous use, 24 hours a day.
If your child is afraid of the dark, the ability to dim lights to very low levels, at sleep-friendly hues, might not disrupt their sleep as much as a brighter light.
Choose evergreen light fixtures
While shopping for the latest nursery light trends might look great now – if you’re on a tighter budget, consider investing in lighting fixtures that will remain stylish, no matter their age. This way you won’t have to buy new fixtures when the light goes out of fashion and even keep it when your little one is grown up.
Lampshades can make a standard light fixture more decorative and suited to a nursery. They’re also incredibly versatile and can be changed depending on your preference – rather than replacing the whole fixture.
For example, scalloped-edged lampshades make a chic and pretty addition to a girl’s nursery.
Tilda Satin Ivory Linen Scalloped Shade Table Lamp
RRP: £98.00
The Lighting Superstore price: £63.71
Or, for a more neutral, natural feel you could opt for a rattan, raffia or seagrass shaded light fixture. These organic materials are on trend and complement a calm, earthy nursery atmosphere, blending perfectly with soft textures. They’re also ideal for a gender-neutral room if you’ve opted for a surprise.
Matthew Currington, Technical Director
