One or Two Bedside Wall Sconces? Go by Your Bed Width

Yes. One fixture on the reader's side does the whole job. Set it at a quarter of the mattress width out from the center line so the beam lands over the pillow, not across the middle of the duvet, and leave the other side of the wall to books or art.

Half the mattress width, minus about 5 in (13 cm). On a 60 in (152 cm) mattress that is 25 in (64 cm) left and right of center. On a 76 in (193 cm) mattress it is 33 in (84 cm). Subtracting keeps each shade inside the mattress edge.

A quarter of the mattress width out from the center line, on the side that reads. A 54 in (137 cm) mattress puts it 13.5 in (34 cm) off center, which sits over a pillow rather than over open bedding.

Sit up with a book, mark the top of your shoulder on the wall, then set the fixture center 10 to 14 in (25 to 36 cm) above that mark. Height off the floor is the wrong reference, because mattress thickness and headboard height both move it.

Hold the fixture, or a bulb in a work lamp, at the mark and read a paperback from the far sleeper's position. If you are reading in your own shadow at that distance, the second sconce is not a style choice.

Yes, both come on together. Hardwired fixtures take their switching from the wall, so the pair either shares one switch or gets one each. Decide that before the wall closes, because it is cheap now and disruptive later.

Yes, if each backplate lands on its own switched box. That is a wiring decision rather than a fixture feature, so raise it with whoever is opening up the wall.

Yes. The Macaron sconce installs hardwired to a standard wall box (AC 90-260V), so a pair means two boxes and two backplates, each fixed with two screws. Only the fixture half of the work is duplicated cheaply.

Yes, and it is sensible if the second box is not run yet. Write down the shape and color you chose, since matching a later purchase matters when the range covers 3 shapes and 13 colors.

Height, not another light. A stack of 3 or 4 books, a tall vase, or a small print hung level with the shade reads as a decision. An empty nightstand next to a lit one is what looks like a mistake.

Measure the offsets from the mattress center line and ignore the wall. Your eye reads the bed as the axis, so a pair set off the mattress looks correct even with 30 in (76 cm) of wall on one side and 6 in (15 cm) on the other.

The cylinder. It is a straight drum on a wood arm and throws the most focused beam, while bell and dome spread a softer pool better suited to ambient light beside a bed.

The dome design sits 6.7 in (17 cm) from the wall and stands 5.1 in (13 cm) tall. The cylinder is 5.1 in (13 cm) across, 5.5 in (14 cm) tall, and reaches 9.4 in (24 cm) from the wall on its wood arm.

Compare the projection with where your shoulder lands. The dome's 6.7 in (17 cm) reach usually clears a headboard, while the cylinder's 9.4 in (24 cm) arm sits further into the space above the nightstand. Tape a paper cutout up for a night to be sure.

Yes. Each head is a swivel that rotates about 90 degrees and holds its position once set, so you can point it at a page, down the wall, or across a desk.

Not for reading, which is the point: the fixture is on the wall and the nightstand stays clear for a glass and a phone. Keep a lamp only if you want a second light source at a lower height.

For a permanent bedroom, yes, because there is no cord and no clamp gripping the headboard. This one installs hardwired to a wall box (AC 90-260V), so nothing hangs down the wall behind the bed.

An E27 socket, which accepts any standard US E26 LED bulb. That means a bulb you already own will fit, and replacements are the ordinary kind rather than a proprietary part.

Only if you pick a Bulb option: 12W warm light or 12W white light. The no-bulb option ships without one, which is the version to choose if you have a bulb in mind already.

Choose a bulb whose own box says dimmable, because dimming happens in the bulb and the dimmer, not in the shade. The no-bulb option exists for exactly this, and the E26 fit keeps your choice wide open.

Buzz without a dimmer usually follows the bulb or a loose fixing. Swap the bulb first, then check that both backplate screws are pulled tight against the box, since a plate that is not flat can rattle and sound like the shade.

Yes, same wattage and same color temperature. Running a 12W warm light on one side and a 12W white light on the other is visible across a headboard and reads as an accident.

Check the bulbs, then the aim. Two heads that each rotate about 90 degrees can end up set at different angles, so one pool lands on the pillow and the other halfway up the wall. Sight along both from the foot of the bed.

You can, and it works best when the shades share a color. Expect the cylinder side to read as brighter on the page, since it throws the most focused beam while the bell and dome spread a softer pool.

Not required, but a matched pair from the 13 colors is the low-risk call over one headboard, where both are in a single glance. Save the mismatch for two fixtures you never see together.

The mattress, or more precisely your shoulder when you sit up. Nightstand height changes whenever the furniture changes, and your reading position does not.

Mark one height, run a strip of painter's tape across to the second mark, and check it with a level before drilling. Each fixture is held by two screws through the backplate, so there is no adjustment afterward.

The shade is painted iron on a rubberwood base with no glass parts, and wall mounting keeps it out of a toddler's reach. With an LED bulb it runs cool to the touch.

Yes, one per sleeping level, each at that level's pillow height. A single fixture cannot serve both, because the upper bunk blocks the beam meant for the lower one.

One is enough, mounted toward the end you lean against, with the head turned along the length of the daybed. The roughly 90 degree swivel is what makes that angle possible.

One, unless guests routinely arrive as a couple who both read. A single fixture on the side nearer the door covers most guest nights and leaves the far nightstand clear for a suitcase.

No. Hang one over the nightstand side. A second fixture above a stretch of wall with nothing under it draws the eye to the gap rather than balancing it.

Only if you are comfortable working in a switched box and local rules allow it. The fixture half is a two-screw backplate on a wall box at AC 90-260V. The wiring half is the part to hand over if you are hesitating.

Check first whether a switched box already exists beside the bed, since that changes everything. If there is none, a hardwired fixture is the wrong tool for the room and a plug-in or cordless one is the honest answer.

Not as supplied. It installs hardwired with no cord down the wall, which is exactly why it stays tidy beside a bed where a cord would otherwise cross the nightstand.

The fixture is listed at AC 90-260V and takes an E27 socket, which covers common household supplies. Confirm the box and plate standard where you live before ordering, since mounting varies more than voltage.

Two, through the backplate, and the same fixing applies to all three designs. Worth knowing when you are drilling twice for a pair, because the second one goes up faster than the first.

It changes the clearance, not the method. Measure from your shoulder when sitting up, then check the projection, 6.7 in (17 cm) for the dome or 9.4 in (24 cm) for the cylinder, against how far the headboard stands off the wall.

No, and separating them is what buys independent switching. It is decided at the box, so ask about it while the wall is open rather than after the paint dries.

Usually the opposite, because two nightstands stay clear of lamp bases. The dome stands 5.1 in (13 cm) tall and reaches 6.7 in (17 cm) from the wall, so the visual footprint is small.

The offset plus half the shade width. Work the offset from your mattress width, then add half of 5.1 in (13 cm) for the cylinder. If the number lands past a window frame or a door casing, the pair is not going to fit.

Usually not. Compare the reach from the wall, 6.7 in (17 cm) for the dome or 9.4 in (24 cm) for the cylinder, with your nightstand depth, and keep the head inside that footprint so nobody knocks it reaching for a glass.

For reading and moving around at night, a pair often is. For dressing or cleaning, keep a ceiling fixture, because two 12W bulbs aimed at pillows are task light rather than room light.

No. Plenty of bedrooms run sconces on a plain switch and keep dimming overhead. If you want both dimmed, buy bulbs marked dimmable and a dimmer rated for LED loads.

The spec lists a hardwired installation to a wall box and does not list an on-fixture switch, so plan on switching at the wall. Confirm on the product page before you order if that decides it for you.

The bell and the dome. Both spread a softer pool, the bell being a flared cone with a wood cap and the dome a rounded capsule. The cylinder is the one to pick when you want a defined beam.

Painted iron shade and backplate with a soft matte finish, solid rubberwood cap, arm and base details, and a metal swivel joint. There is no plastic in the visible body.

Yes. The head rotates about 90 degrees and holds position, so a sconce beside a desk works as a task light on the same two-screw backplate fixing used beside a bed.

No, and chasing that line often puts the light too high to read by. Set the height from your shoulder when sitting up, then check the shade clears the headboard's thickness at the wall.

For reading before sleep, most people land on warm. The two bulb options offered are 12W warm light and 12W white light, and since the E27 socket takes any standard E26 LED, you can buy one of each and keep the one you prefer.

They solve different problems. A pair gives each side its own reading light at pillow height; a ceiling fixture lights the whole floor for dressing. If both sides of the bed get read in, the pair is the one you will actually use nightly.