To answer the thread topic, I would say, "It depends."

As a general rule, I dislike ceiling mounted lighting (especially recessed cans, sorry!), and would choose wall sconces in every bedroom, BUT the architectural styles I'm drawn to are compatible with using wall sconces (almost) everywhere. :-D

I think that ” normal ” is to have ceiling fixtures. i greatly dislike them because it is poor lighting that makes everything look pretty awful. We built our house without them. Instead we have lamps that are plugged into wall switches. Flip the switch as you enter the room.

Since you'll have recessed lighting an additional ceiling fixture seems unnecessary -- in fact it could look odd. IMO one or the other, not both.

I don’t think there is a “normal” for lighting in a bedroom. Install whatever you want and what will work for you. In our master bedroom we have a wall sconce at the entrance, and lamps on both sides of the bed on our nightstands. We do not have any ceiling lighting. Our current lighting, in the bedroom, works well for myself and husband❣️

We are not doing recessed in the bedrooms but are everywhere else, including the office. We are doing ceiling fixtures in the bedrooms. The Primary bedroom will have a combo light/fan because I love having a ceiling fan over my bed, our last house had one. The home we are in now does not have ceiling fixtures in any of the bedrooms, except one downstairs (we are in a trad Cape 2 beds downstairs, 2 upstairs) and it drives me crazy. One of the bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs has a outlet that is switch activated, but you need to make sure you only plug the light into the outlet or everything else goes off.

I love an overhead ceiling light in the bedroom in addition to lights on the night stands depending on how much light you need

I can’t picture not having a ceiling fixture in the bedrooms of my children.

Midwest born and raised... It's not so much the light as it is the ceiling fan, I think. All summer, ceiling fans on.

we looked at a house a few years ago and didnt buy it because there wasn’t a ceiling light and more importantly, a ceiling fan. I couldn’t imagine not having a fan

My parents built a home in the early 1970s, and thought hey had ceiling fans, all the switches at the doors were wired to outlets where the table and floor lamps were. If I had recessed lighting in any room I'd make sure it was on dimmers. For a bedroom, I would prefer minimal recessed fixtures and swing arm wall mounted lamps at the bed area. Here's a look I like because it offers a soft cozy atmosphere and storage. Note the lighting in both versions.

Bedroom Suite, Birthday Surprise! · More Info

Transitional Kids · More Info

Here's another feature I'd like; a rolling bed desk.

The Railyards · More Info

If I leave bedroom's plain ceiling light on, it's to see when I walk in. I turn on table lamp if needed. Ceiling light can't fall over, etc...

I like my ceiling light fan. (Fan is currently going, too, well-needed....)

I didn't want recessed lights, but any of these decisions depend. There's no wrong or right way to light a bedroom - depends on your needs. I can walk in and turn on the overhead by the by-the-door light switch - and there is another just outside the master bath door that does the same thing.

So for me the overhead is functional in that if I have to get up in the middle of the night (I'm getting older, so the word should no longer be "if") I can find my way into the bathroom by seeing the vague gleam of the bathroom night light - but need to return to bed by flipping on the overhead switch to get back. And turn off that light from the master suite entry switch, which is next to the bed.

The room also has two reading light sconces over the bed, and another tall floor lamp across the room. I am planning on putting in another small lamp on the dresser, as soon as I get around to finding what I want.

But if you have recessed ceiling lights, you don't need a regular in the middle of the ceiling light (unless you do love having that fan, too...) At any rate, there's no one right way of doing bedroom lighting, just what is right for you.

We are ceiling fan people. We have ceiling fans in all bedrooms and we rarely turn them off. All have light kits.

Style is key.

A traditional bedroom combining a centre light, sconces and recessed lighting.

Wall sconces instead of same old, same old nightstands.

Drop lights.

Overhead and indirect lighting.

Drop pendants.

Large drop pendants.

It's possible to have more than one dimmer switch when entering a bedroom. Recessed cans, or ceiling fixture. Fan or sconces.

I have ceiling light fixures in all of my kids bedrooms, I have lamps and recessed lighting in the master....

We have recessed cans along with a ceiling fan with a light. This is what our electrician said is pretty standard.

Have ceiling lights in 2 of 3 bedrooms, very much regret not having it in the third one.

Apartments have no ceiling lights in the bedrooms, but houses always have them. In a perfect bedroom, I'd expect:

- a ceiling light (or ceiling fan with a light).

- a switch controlled outlet by the spot where the bed is likely to be placed.

- a switch controlled outlet at the ceiling so the child could have a string of decorative lights at the ceiling.

- a light in the closet.

I am not a fan of recessed lighting anywhere, but I accept that they work in kitchens -- it seems rather "wrong" in a bedroom.

Isn't it fascinating the breath of opinions? I like recessed cans in the corners but they rarely get turned on, I also have ceiling fans (with no lights!) and bedside lamps. I HATE switches that control outlets since in my experience they are always in the wrong position- you walk into a dark bedroom and flick the switch and nothing happens because the lamp has been turned off at the socket. Aargh. I'm sure I would learn.

The apartments I've lived in had ceiling lights in the bedrooms.

I think I'd want ceiling lights for those times when you need more light. Bedside lamps just don't cut it when you need to see to pull out a splinter from your finger, or when you're cleaning and don't want to miss anything.

Forget "normal" - go with how you want the space to function and feel. I would always recommend recessed lighting for general use and cleaning purposes on its own switch. From there you want to start to layer.

A: You could either go with a central ceiling light, larger chandeliers or pendants are great for this. If you are worried about ceiling height and walking clearance you can place it above the base of the bed to get a little more height. You will want to add a switch next to your bed to turn this off. I would also pair nightstand lamps for reading/task lighting next to the bed.

B: Wall sconces are also a great option and are available in so many styles. If you are just going with these next to the bed I would stick with a more statement piece. Again you will want a switch paired with each for easy on/off next to the bed.

Since you are in the early stages I would hardware as many lighting sources as possible as they will feel more luxe than retrofitted switches and extension cords.

Similar to OneDevotedDame

prefer to have wall sconces on both sides of the bed, no lights or fan on ceiling.

If it’s a large bedroom suite then overhead lighting OK in the parts where the ceiling is away from the bed and in dressing/closet areas..

There are always exceptions

I have no ceiling lights in my bedrooms. I even removed the lights from the ceiling fans. Overhead lights create horrible downward shadows on faces and bodies. Not the best look for most people.

Solution - have a ceiling box wired for both fan and light. You can have a plate over the box - but it's all set if later you (or a future owner) decide you want a fan/light. A few bucks spent during construction is so much cheaper than doing a retrofit.

"Overhead lights create horrible downward shadows on faces and bodies."

It could just be their faces and bodies, not the present company of course.

I've lived in many houses thanks to husband's military career. I want an unobtrusive ceiling light fixture in every bedroom. I may never turn it on but I want one. We have two bedrooms without ceiling lights and they always have shadowy corners.

Along with the ceiling light, I want a switch that operates an outlet or two.

Funny story - our short term rental has one outlet with a lamp plugged into it that is on a switch. The switch is labled and the lamp is labeled with information about the switch. I seems like one renter out of four tells us we have a dead outlet. sigh....

"Apartments have no ceiling lights in the bedrooms"

Sez who????

There is no "Normal"

It depends a lot on the style of the house you are building, and how the bedrooms will be used, and what your needs and tastes are.

I personally despise can lights.

I prefer a ceiling light fixture plus lamps , and sconces in the appropriate rooms.

I am not a TV addict, so I am not particularly worried about glare on the idiot box.

Your needs may vary.

You may not want a ceiling light fixture in the master bedroom, but if the children's bedrooms will have desks , then a ceiling light fixture would be appropriate there. Ditto for a den, which may be a library for the next homeowner after you.

And in fact, the next homeowner after you may have a writing table in the master bedroom. Or maybe visually impaired and may appreciate the extra light a ceiling fixture can afford.

Just put the fixtures on dimmers.

I am not a fan of ceiling lights in bedrooms, but I know that living in the South we use the fan portion of ours all the time. It has a remote switch so we can adjust it from the bed. There IS a wall switch at the door but it is taped in the “up” position so we can just use the remote and know we have power. The center light is really deadly - we never use that. Our two bedroom lamps are tall and give off enough light for our purposes. If I were building my own house, I would put ceiling lights in children’s rooms but only lamps in my own room.

We did recessed in all the secondary bedrooms, plus a center light fixture. I hate the recessed lights, they are uncomfortable. We use the center lights when need a lot of light, such as cleaning, othewise use table and floor lamps.

My personal preference for convenience sake is to have a light switch by the door of each room that turns on a light I can use as I enter when dark or on a cloudy day -- but that does have to be a centered overhead light. It could even be a small light over the door. Some people prefer the switch to control an outlet where a lamp is kept plugged in and turned on but I'm not a fan of that -- it is inconvenient for the outlet use and for turning on/off the light at the lamp.

If I were building/remodeling, I'd choose one of the smaller and more compact (closer to the ceiling) modern light colored ceiling fan lights with separate switches for the light and fan and/or even a remote because sometimes you just want some fresh air movement in a bedroom without opening the window because of the ADC /heat you have on. I'd want it to visually disappear but be there when I want/need it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Brette-II-23-in-LED-Indoor-Outdoor-Brushed-Nickel-Ceiling-Fan-with-Light-and-Remote-Control-AM382B-BN/308642360 .