Near the door to my front porch is a double switch. One controls the light in the center of the ceiling in the living room and the other controls the front porch light.
Just inside my bedroom are two switches. One controls the switched outlets in the bedroom and the other is a 3way that controls the overhead light in the hall outside the bedroom.

Is the logic that the switch nearest the door should control the lights/outlets in the room where the switches are located?
If so, the porch light would be away from the door in the living room, which doesn't seem right.

How should two switches be arranged?

 

Anyway you want, its your house.

 

No codes cover this, but common practice says that the switch nearest a door covers the light in that room. However, porch lights are an exception, because the switch is on the inside for a light on the outside. So the switch nearest the door is for the porch light, and the next one over is for the entryway light. If porch light switches were commonly on the outside of the house, this exception wouldn't be needed.

 

As was stated it's your house. If it bothers you the way they are change them.

 

Thanks for the info.
This was my first post and was unfamiliar with the unhelpful comments I might receive.
I should have mentioned that I intend to shortly rent the house and wanted to install the switches in a conventional manner for the tenants.
One helpful reply out of three is not a great average.
But the one I wanted was there!
Thanks.
drew saum

 

Ouch.

 

How is it unhelpful to tell you that there is no required standard and you can do whatever makes you most comfortable? There are a couple in my new house that I would have done differently, and I may yet change them. On the other hand, after a few weeks, your hand seems to know which one to switch, so I am not sure how important it is.
All of the people giving advice here are doing on their own time, and are trying to give the most helpful, safe, and accurate advice that they can. That kind of comment was completely inappropriate!

 

jlbos83,
WELL SAID !!!!

 

If you were walking into your house from outside, wouldn't you want to see where you were going or what was in your way (to avoid it) just inside the room that is being entered? Particularly, if a significant other was following behind you.
Turning off the outside light might not be as important as lighting the room entered.
This would probably be the reason for the closest switch being used for the room light.