The 2000s was the peak for bedroom lighting. Tons of awesome light decor came out during this decade. Many were revamped from previous decades, and stores like Spencers gave this generation plenty of options to choose from. This post will highlight the main lighting aesthetics from the 2000s, and share ways you can buy your own lighting today.
Rotating Fish Aquarium
Rotating lamps have become popular recently as they make for a great frutiger aero aesthetic. Plus many 2000s kids remember getting these in ticket arcades and retail stores. You can find really awesome branded ones, albiet more cylinder shaped on ebay. You can read more about the Motion lamps HERE. Using the keyword from the original company that created these, Rabbit Tanaka, will help you find tons of vintage ones. If you want a good modern version, I recommend this one from Amazon.
Lava Lamps
There’s a bit of nuance to the intricacies of lava lamps. This video on YouTube by Technology Connections explains why modern wax in lava lamps is inferior to older lamps. You can go out and buy lava lamps in stores still, but the newer wax gets much hotter quicker, resulting in a shorter life span lava lamp. I recommend trying to find a good lava lamp from the 90s and bellow. With this in mind, I still trust lamps from the brand Lava. Check them out on Amazon.
Night Lights
You can find various night lights of your favorite branded characters on second hand sites. Night lights are pretty versatile lights. With how easy they can be to replace the light bulb, this light aesthetic is by far the best option for those interested in a bit of nostalgia. It is the easiest to repair on this list.
UBO - Spikey Bulbs
Spikey Bulbs consist of standard light bulbs coated with this strange rubbery wax. It looks as if someone took a hot glue gun to it. Which is exactly what some sellers on Etsy do. You can find these lights by using the search term UBO.
You can read more about the spikey bulbs here.
Sparkle Lamps
Sparkle lamps was a lighting aesthetic that I didn’t have much of when growing up. From my perspective, this was more of a girl’s bedroom lighting. I do remember the physical feeling of these lamps, they had a unique rubber/plastic feeling thanks to the glass shatter look. Companies made some pretty cool branded ones. Some I saw online included Spongebob and a Final Fantasy variants. This can be hard to search for, throwing 2000s on a google search term will give you some results.
Fiber Optic light
I have a love hate relationship with the modern versions of these lights. Most of them are battery powered! Which I hate with a burning passion. I did find this one on Amazon that is rechargeable, which is half the battle. These lamps use actual fiber wires that are clear plastic lines that carry the light emitted from the base to the tip. I spent hours trying to find a night light version that I had as a kid, but with no luck. Do you remember the night light version?
Disco Ball Lamp
Another favorite novelty light from my childhood. The disco ball lamp consisted of a rotating light base that emitted light with different colors based on the lens on the lamp. These Lights could come in more intricate designs that allowed for a full 360 rotation on both axis. I really enjoyed this lamp and was glad to get a new one. If you can’t find a vintage one on second hand sites, I recommend this one from Amazon.
Black Lights
Do black lights count? I remember the gags for why you shouldn’t have one in your rooms or bathrooms. I never really had friends who had these in their bedrooms. I know you can replace your regular light bulb with these for some black light ones. Let me know if you remember these.
Plasma Ball
Plasma balls are the most interactive bedroom lighting on this list. It is the safest to touch and play around with, without burning your fingers. While it won’t make your hair stand up, it is a pretty awesome light to have next to you on your desk. I recommend getting this one from Amazon.
Novelty Street Lamp
Novelty traffic lights was a 2000s lighting aesthetic that I saw on a lot of television shows growing up, most notably Icarly. A ton of these lamps flicker in strange patterns that can cause epileptic problems. The one I recommend you to get is this one on Amazon.
Novelty Siren Lamp
Siren lights are a fun gag light from the 2000s, But I don’t remember much people having these. All the versions on Amazon are cheap and not worth checking out. If you do plan to buy one of these, I would try sourcing a vintage one from Ebay.
Glow in the Dark Stars
Finishing off with a bang. EVERYONE had these as a kid. Glow in the dark stickers are the most nostalgic type of room lighting decor, and I didn’t even put it in my YouTube video😅. Part of the reason for not including glow in the dark stickers is that they become semi-permanent parts of your wall, and a pain in the butt to remove. I think that’s why many users online still have their stickers on the wall. Maybe you moved and no longer have your wall stickers, You can get some on Amazon.
How many of these rooms lights do you remember and which ones did I forget?