We're putting ceiling light fixtures in every room (not fans). I have never been in a bedroom that has been adequately lit with just table lamps, so that was why we decided in favor of the lights. Also, there are some really cute light fixtures out there that serve to really dress up the rooms!

I like overhead lights in the bedrooms too. Like Dixie said, there's never enough light in the room without them.

We did ceiling fixtures in every bedroom, but NO CANS. I hate cans lights in the bedroom.

We are doing ceiling fans (in Florida) WITH light fixtures. I think an overhead light is helpful.

We're not building (I just read this forum for fun), but I've lived in houses both with and without ceiling light fixtures in the bedrooms. Our current house has them in all of the bedrooms except the master. Aesthetically, I prefer the clean look of not having ceiling lights (though I've seen some fixtures that look really nice). But from a practical standpoint, I really like to have them. If I were building new, I'd choose to have ceiling fixtures in all of the bedrooms. Just my opinion...

when we renovated our last (very dark) house, we put small cans in. in a perfect world i'd love to have clean ceilings, but there were just too dark without. i think it depends on the house and the room though.

The first house DH built had no overead lights in the bedrooms. It was always an inconvenience and one of the first things we had on our list of must haves for the new house.

Thank you everyone. interesting things to think about... this forum is so great that way. so my next question-- anyone willing to post photos? dixiedoodle- esp. the fun fixtures you've come across.

i'm hyjacking my own post-- but kateskouros, hope you're still out there??? i tried giving you a shout out on the kitchen forum.... re: russell heard cabs

It is much nicer to flip a switch and have light before walking into a dark room than having to find a light in the dark and turn it on. You can tie table lights to a switch too, but it is more likely to be turned off by its own switch so that doesn't work.

I would suggest wire for both a light and a ceiling fan. Two separate switches as well. If you like a ceiling fan in your bedroom chances are guests and kids might like it too eventually. Nice to have the wiring and a box that can support a ceiling fan even if you don't put one up immediately.

I am currently living without ceiling fixtures and I would never do so again. I am just beginning my search for a fixture too.

Guess I'm the sole dissenting vote. The only time I use the lights on the ceiling fan in our MBR is when I'm cleaning on a very dark day. No other BRs have either fans or ceiling lights. (Different re the fans if you are in a hot climate.)

The NEC requires a switch-controlled OUTLET in each habitable room. An outlet, by NEC definition, is a point on the wiring system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment. Thus an outlet could be a light fixture or a receptacle, in addition to some other points. A few locations require actual light fixtures. We have ceiling lights in all the rooms of our house.

We have ceiling fans with lights in each of our rooms. It would be way to dark if we didn't. I also have can lights in our master bedroom. I almost took them out after reading how a lot of people did not like them but I am so glad I didn't!! The ceiling fans are a must (Texas).

Our current rental house has misbehaving ceiling lights in the bedrooms (sometimes they turn on, sometimes they don't) and they drive me nuts. We will have ceiling lights (wired for a ceiling fan at a later date) in all the bedrooms in our new house. We went with a very simple fixture, circa 1920, by Quiozel.

juliatallmadge: sorry i didn't see your post to me on the kitchen forum... i'll look again, or shout out again!

This idea of no overhead lights may be a generation thing? My Mother-in-law put no overhead lights in her home or either of their Florida condos, only lamps. They have had so many complaints from renters that she is now having to install overhead lights in the bedrooms of the condos. I agree, there was never sufficient light.

that's interesting in thinking it may be a generational thing. when my MIL redid her kitchen (poorly) and put one ceiling mount fixture in... that's it. she wanted a light over the kitchen table and had them hang a bulb -that's right, a light bulb from the ceiling. i guess she thought she was going to hang ANOTHER fixture six feet away from the first. anyway, she did that kitchen ten years ago and there's still a plain old light bulb hanging from the ceiling! what is UP with that??

Sometimes people imagine the bedroom as being a cozy [or romantic] retreat, and if that were all it was, switched lamps would be fine.

But most of us do more than that in our bedrooms-- maybe we have a closet there without light, or get dressed in the bedroom if we don't have a separate dressing. We might exercise there, expect the kids to play their rooms, or keep the grownups computer there-- all activities that might need a bit more light than a pair of bedside lights will provide.

So I'm doing all my guest rooms [as well as the master suites] with tiffany glass overhead lights. Each is different, and each room will have a theme color so I can more easily direct people to their rooms, or let my cleaning lady know which rooms have been used since her last visit. Finding the right lights at an acceptible price has been one of the more pleasant shopping projects of the build-- much lower stress since I won't be looking at them everyday.

interesting- not sure if it's a generational thing here, DM grew up with overheads in the bedrooms and she said they hated them and never used them. she also said though that they were like operating lights when you turned them on... and if we do them we're planning them on dimmers. DM is as opinionated as I am, though, once she gets something in her head... ;)
oruboris, i really like your point about the multi-functions of bedrooms. it makes a lot of sense for us, bc it will be a smaller house where the bedrooms will certainly function as playrooms etc. this, different than DM's house where i grew up which was a little bigger.
thank you again for everyone's comments.
kateskouros, i'll bump my post in kitchens....

I don't care to have mine overhead light on in the evening when watching TV - but it sure does come in handy when you are trying to figure out if a sock is black or navy blue.

I would rather have them and not use them then not have the option.

Having livied in a house without overhead lights in the bedrooms, we put them in every bedroom in our new house. There are times when you need good light in a bedroom and you just don't get it from lamps. Also, even if your lamps are switched, they often end up getting turned off at the lamp instead of with the switch so you end up having to walk through a dark room to get to the lamp to turn it on so. We primarily use the lamps in our bedroom for lighting when we are in the bedroom and mainly use the overhead light when entering the bedroom or when I need a lot of light in bedroom, however I like to be able to walk into a room and know that I can flick a switch and a light will come on.