I’ve been thinking a lot about reading lights for the wall beds. For one because we have a reader who will strain his eyes in the night to keep reading his Garfield comics. But also because being at home these last few months makes me look at every piece of our home and wonder if we could improve upon it in any way. There truly isn’t much we can change about our small apartment so obsessing over small lighting seems appropriate.

There are a couple issues with bunk beds and reading lights, mostly where is the nearest outlet and where do the cords go. What further complicates things for us is that our bunks are wall bunks (more info about the bunks in previous blog posts here and here) so the placement of the wall lights needs to allow for the beds to close. This also makes clip on lights less appealing as they would need to be removed before folding the beds away. Our wall bunks include a back panel so the back wall isn’t an option for wall mounted lights like in a regular bunk bed.

The bunks (photo by Modern Nest Photography)

Taking all those limitations into account, I narrowed down our lights to the following options.

Wall lights or Portable
Rotating heads
Shaded light source
Dimmable

I still struggle with the cords looking messy but I believe the light options below would work in the kids room. And maybe there will also work for your bunk beds or kids reading light.

1/ Menu 2/ Hay 3/ Ikea 4/ Normann Copenhagen

Number 1 Pick: Menu Carrie Lamp

This lamp is portable, rechargeable, and dimmable. It’s the perfect light for this scenario to me. I’ve seen the light quality in person and it’s ideal. But the glass globe is also breakable. And I’m not sure I am ready to invest in this fixture for the top bunk with a 7 year old. Though I may change my mind eventually. I appreciate the versatility of being able to hang it on the wall as well if resting it on the top bunk doesn’t work long-term.

Current Pick: Outdoor Lantern

While the Menu lamp is the dream and all the above lights could work for our space,I found this battery operated LED light that is metal and plastic and has been a great temporary solution. We turn it off after he falls asleep and we’ve all been loving his extra time quietly reading at night. He keeps the light right beside his book so the light doesn’t bother Mae on the bottom bunk. Some other friends shared they use a flashlight or a camping lantern for the same purpose. Our camping lantern is very loved and we would be upset if it broke so we save it just for camping but I love the idea of a multipurpose lamp. I don’t usually like to buy temporary solutions for our home and prefer to invest in fewer better things. But every now and then I find it difficult to invest in quality before I know if the kids can handle the responsibility of the new item. So for now this light and I’ll report back on how long it holds up for us.

A further option is to look for clip on or wall sconce lights on etsy or at vintage shops. I was able to find our scissor lights beside our wall bed for a great price on etsy years ago. If you have the patience this can be a great and more sustainable option. As always, love to hear how you manage reading lights and bunk beds!

Reading Lights for Bunk Beds