Bedroom plug socket positioning

cyantist

We are getting a loft conversion which will include a master bedroom so all plumbing and electrics can be positioned exactly how we want it. I originally thought it would be easier to have two double plug sockets just above the level of the bedside cabinets (as you get in hotels) for a lamp but mainly to charge our phones/kindles etc but the electrician and builders thought I was crazy when I mentioned this.

What is the disadvantage to doing this? I think it would be great not to have to struggle plugging things in and taking them out at floor level behind furniture.

Doozergirl

I often ignore what tradesmen say when it comes to ideas. They often only think as far as what is in their own house. Go for it. You must have what is practical to you. You can have ones with USB ports. And put light switches either side of the bed too!

Next time they rewire, they'll be suggesting it to people

glasgowdan

They're used to doing things a certain way, and I suppose plugs are floor mounted so they're not in view and trailing wires don't trip people up as much.

But if you want them higher then ask and don't change your mind when they suck in air.

missile

Great idea. You may also like to consider fitting switches with built in USB sockets and two way light switch(es) beside those sockets, so that one can turn on/off the lights whilst in bed.

The only negative I can foresee is if you change position of bed.

PS: What does it matter what your electrician thinks? Whatever happened to the customer is always right?

TheCyclingProgrammer

We considered this when we had our bedroom refurbished and rewired. In the end I decided against having the plugs at bedside table height as its not a particularly attractive look - who wants to be staring at plugs?

We ended up having them at fairly conventional height (not quite the full 450mm regs level, but close enough), one on each side of the bed. Our bedside tables are open backed (I'd hoped to get some floating, fixed to the wall things but couldn't find any I liked) so the sockets are still easily accessible and a bit more inconspicuous.

We also went for USB sockets for the bedside sockets - seemed like a no-brainer to me as we're always charging devices at night.

Something else we had done which I would recommend is wall lights - one on each side of the bed - with a double switch on each side to control that side's light plus the main light in the room. We're using remote control LightwaveRF dimmers for our wall lights (dimmer relays in the loft) and also the main ceiling light (using a LightwaveRF switch) so we didn't need to have any fixed switch wiring, I just bought a couple of 2 gang wireless switches, paired them up and stuck them on the wall. Of course, I was already using this tech extensively throughout the house (its all hooked up to a home automation system) but you can of course get it all done conventionally, its just a bit more chasing, some extra cable and a few changes to the main light to make it three-way switched.

The only potential downside to all of this of course is that you're stuck with the positioning of your bed if you ever want to re-arrange things, but if there's only one logical place for the bed to go anyway that doesn't really matter.

cyantist

Thank you! Everyone in the room looked at me as though I have 2 heads when I suggested this but I didn't think it was that weird an idea but wondered if I was missing some really obvious drawback, especially as the builders have been really good with suggesting problems with door placement etc that we hadn't considered.

We already have some USB ones in our kitchen and they are so useful so are definitely getting those for next to the bed as well.

Cyclingprogrammer - I thought I only had one thing to think about but now you've given me loads! (That's great though, thanks!) Because we have no walls or any cabling it's easy to do these things now, but we are on a strict budget and things like the light switches either side of the bed will cost more (unless i can convince them that adding the light switch feature into the existing socket isn't really another outlet point). It is £50 for each additional light fitting they have to wire, and £50 for each additional switch. So that would be an extra £200.

It's the look of the plugs that does bother me most. We were just going to go with bog standard cheap white sockets upstairs as they aren't really on show. But then if we have some nicer ones on show next to the bed, we will need to have everything matching in there which increases the price.

But having them slightly lower (just hidden by the bedside cabinets) and then putting the wires etc into an open backed drawer sounds a perfect solution though. We just need to decide exactly what bedroom furniture we want within the next 2 days to ensure the plugs are positioned correctly!

We did think about bed positioning, but the obvious place for the bed is that wall (nice view out over the garden from bed) and we are getting that one wall papered and I think it would look strange having one wall papered which isn't the one with the bed on it. It would be cheaper to move the sockets at that point than repaper!

But we may change the size of the bed, which would mean they were the wrong distance apart (though as we are buying a new bed for when the conversion is done so I don't see us getting a new one for at least 10 years really).

TheCyclingProgrammer

I was going to suggest fitting a LightwaveRF dimmer switch for your main light and sticking a couple of wireless paired switches either side of the bed might be a cheaper option but for some reason the LightwaveRF switches have rocketed in price - a 1 gang dimmer switch cost me £27 last year and the cheapest I can find it right now is £45!

27cool

Nothing to do with your electrician. Have them put where you want them. As an ex electrician I do actually think that high level fittings make a lot of sense. Although I never fitted one at high level myself. If I was doing it now, I certainly would.
I remember my BIL, who was an electrical engineer, telling me back in 1953, that one day houses would have power points spaced 6ft apart and 3ft up the wall. He was well ahead of the thinking at the time.

pmartin86

You've allready brought up the main concern as far as I can see, if you ever reconfigure the room, (Move the bed, chage the bed, chage the cabinets etc) you're stuck with oddly placed sockets, assuming your conftable that the furtinature will remain roughly the same size and in the same place, go for it, if theres even a small chance of change, consider it carefully, i speak from experience, i had "master bedroom" that i only ever thought of one way, set the sockets, tv feed, ethernet feed etc up to suit, then 2 years later, changed the room and now have extension leads etc to where its needed.

Also, on a side note, that pricing seems extortionate! A reel of cable and a pack of sockets would come in at less than 50 quid, yet thats the price of a single socket? It makes me so glad I did the donkey work myself in my house, perhaps if your confident you can run cables and wire sockets yourself, and pay for certification?

Doozergirl

Beds aren't hugely different in size. It's only 20cm per size up. Even if you go between a double and a superking, sockets can be positioned so they sit further towards the outside edge of a cabinet with a double bed and towards the inside with a superking. You can easily place a socket 50cm from the edge of a bed and it work ergonomically.

Loft conversions often only lend themselves to one possible position for the bed as well.

I'm not sure why people think that sockets have to match. You wouldn't place different ones right next to each other, but one rarely looks at sockets and consciously thinks about them from day to day. I do this for a living and can't tell you where any sockets are or what they look like in any of my friend's houses. You would probably plan most to sit behind furniture anyway. White in the areas where no one is looking and something sleeker on show is fine.

Good interior design is practical interior design. Things look nice, but you don't decide not to have items that are practical because they don't look nice. First, you create a smart solution for it, a deeper back box for a flush plate, perhaps. Bear in mind that you won't ever notice the way the plug sockets look after a few weeks but you will appreciate being able to plug in your phone. I have features designed to attract attention on my wall that I forget about until people point them out!

always_sunny

cyantist wrote: »

We are getting a loft conversion which will include a master bedroom so all plumbing and electrics can be positioned exactly how we want it. I originally thought it would be easier to have two double plug sockets just above the level of the bedside cabinets (as you get in hotels) for a lamp but mainly to charge our phones/kindles etc but the electrician and builders thought I was crazy when I mentioned this.

What is the disadvantage to doing this? I think it would be great not to have to struggle plugging things in and taking them out at floor level behind furniture.

Not crazy, it's your house!
I would have them at the bottom of the floor and with built in USB ports.
Most lamps or devices you plug in have cords anyway and if the plug is too close, the cord just hangs around. Mobile phone is charged through USB and I have a dedicated charging cable there which I never unplug. I have one always in the car, one always in my bag.

If one day you want to move the bed for a change, these plugs will just sit high there?