Bedrooms and headboards vary in size and shape, but one thing is for sure: when designing any room in your home, there should be varying height differences between items. If your bedroom has vaulted or high ceilings, you may need additional height added to the room to fill the space. Bedside lamps can add the height you're looking for, especially if you have a low headboard. Also, if you have a low bench at the end of your bed, a low platform bed, a low reading chair and an area rug, a tall floor lamp in the bedroom can add that variable, even if your headboard is very tall. If your room needs height added, a tall lamp and a tall headboard can add height together.

On the Other: Short Lamps Help Headboard Stand Out

Creating height differences among pieces in your bedroom is important. However, you may already have a short ceiling and a headboard that is intricate in design. If this is the case, and you want your headboard to be put on "display" rather than simply another piece of the puzzle, short lamps in comparison to the headboard is better. Try putting two short lamps on either side of your headboard. This will add height to the headboard and make it a focal point in the room.

Bottom Line

Bedroom lamps are often placed next to the headboard so that it's easy to read in bed. Therefore, a lamp should definitely be reachable from sitting in bed. As long as the lamps are in reach from the bed, they are not too tall. However, your headboard's overall purpose in the room should determine the height of the lamps. If your headboard is simply that, a headboard, the ceiling height and other pieces of furniture in the room may determine how tall you want your lamps. If your headboard is a headboard and also a piece of art, or something you'd like to display, you may want to downplay any accessories, like lamps, and have them considerably shorter than the headboard.

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Lamp Sizes Questions and Answers (Discussion Board)