DIY Vanity Lights

Lindsay Fay
by Lindsay Fay
4 Materials
$8
1 Day
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These DIY Vanity Lights were a bargain project that used up a ton of supplies from my basement. The only things I purchased were the used sconces for $7.50. The light looks fantastic, and was 100% worth the effort I put in.

I mostly shopped my basement for this project, grabbing some scrap wood and general electrical supplies.

I started by removing the globe from the sconce base and spray painting all of the pieces a flat black. While those dried, I went to work on the scrap wood.

I cut and sanded the wood piece to size, then planned out where I would place my junction boxes.

I cut holes in the wood for each junction box using a jigsaw.

Then I flipped the board over and carved a groove in the back using a spade bit and a drill press. Theoretically, a router and/or forstner bit would have been better things to use, but I didn't have any of those.


The purpose of the groove is to provide a place for the Romex to run through, so it doesn't just get sandwiched between the board and the wall.

Next I stained the piece and added a mounting hole to each corner.

Finally, I mounted the board to the wall. This was a bit of a process, so check out the full blog post if you're curious how I made sure it was secure, even though I couldn't get my screws into studs.

Then I mounted each sconce to the board. I was getting pretty excited at this point, not going to lie. It was looking even better than I expected!

Finally, I reattached the globes to the base, and added lightbulbs. Then the light was done, and it definitely exceeded my expectations!


Admittedly, this was a bit more complicated of a project than some of my other DIY lighting projects ( this easy teapot lamp was a breeze,) but it was totally worth it in my book!

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Lindsay Fay
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  • Mandy Brown Mandy Brown on May 13, 2020

    I love the look! They came out beautifully. I was wondering if the black shade makes a big difference in how the light is cast? Is the light now concentrated straight downward? I guess a mirror effect or metal paint on the inside of the shade could reflect the light a bit more. But I think they’re pretty!

  • Cheryl Biermann Cheryl Biermann on May 17, 2020

    Ditto wondering if the light put out is diminished or just directed straight down.

  • Cecilia Ruder Cecilia Ruder on May 18, 2020

    What did Your junction boxes up to for power

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