DIY Rustic Sconces!!

Nicole
by Nicole
11 Materials
$45
2 Days
Medium
I copied the idea from a shanty-2-chic.com post (link to their project is below) but mine is a little different! I hate lamps that take up prized real estate on my nightstand and all lamps just look the same. So I was excited to try this!
  • Cut the 2x4x4 so that you have the following pieces
  1. Two 11" long pieces. (one will be the cross bar and one will be the mitered connector piece)
  2. One 18" long piece. (this piece will mount to the wall)
  • Cut one of the 11" pieces so that each end has a 45degree mitre cut. If you have a mitre saw great! I used a circular saw and adjusted the blade to the 45degree angle. My circular saw is really old so my cuts weren't a perfect 45degree. I used caulking to fill any gaps created by imperfect cuts. icon **If you have a mitre saw you are set! I have since purchased one after this project and it is well worth the $120 I paid for it!
  • Use a hole saw drill bit to drill holes in the unmitred 11"piece and the 18" piece. The size of the hole will depend on the diameter of the cord you are feeding through the hole. My cord required a 1/2" diameter because it included a toggle on/off switch that I needed to pass through. But you will at least need to fit the plug end of the cord through the hole. **You will need some clamps to keep the boards in place while you cut/create holes.
  • With the holes cut I would recommend painting or staining the individual pieces as this point. I waited to paint the wood until I was finished assembling and it was a bit difficult to get up under the mitered connector piece.
  • Use liquid nails or other strong adhesive and a clamp to attach the un-mitered 11" cross bar to the 18" piece. You'll want to attach the 11" cross bar just below the hole you cut. Let the liquid nails dry overnight then secure with a wood screw.
  • Secure the 11" mitered piece with liquid nails and wood screws
  • If the mitre cuts weren't exact you can use caulk to fill any gaps. If they were exact, congrats!! You are better than me! 🤣
If you didn't already stain and/or paint then now is the time! I originally stained with a Minwax weathered gray stain but didn't love it. So I then spray painted it white. I let that dry then spray painted grey. Then I sanded down so the white paint peeked through (really turned out perfectly distressed!) This picture is before I did the sanding.
This is a picture showing them fully sanded and distressed. I used a 220 grit fine sandpaper.
These are the pendant fixtures I used. I purchased from amazon. The cage and the light socket are separate but easy to "assemble" (I use that word loosely! icon )


light cage link here ($10)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017DUZEKA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_OUEEzbAPRM3DT


light socket link here ($14)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L5KWNCM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_lVEEzbDCXEZG6
**bulbs not included
This is the "final assembled" picture with the pendant light fed through. From here it was time to mount to the wall!
no turning back now!
The project I copied from Shanty-2-chic had the cord exposed (their project can be found at the link below) but I really really hate exposed cords so that is why I altered my design so that I could feed the cord behind the wall.


To do this I obviously had to drill a hole in the wall. I am planning to paint the bedroom soon so I wasn't really worried about holes in the wall. icon
**Depending on where you are mounting you might run into a fire-block (this is a horizontal stud in the wall that builders may be required to install depending on location of the wall) that you will need to drill through. If so, search YouTube for tips. I didn't have this problem, thankfully!


I used my hole saw to make these holes in the drywall. I needed two holes: one where the sconce would be mounted (align the bottom of the hole in the sconce to the top of the hole in the wall so that it is "hidden") and one near the bottom of the wall near the electrical outlet I was planning to plug them into.


I used fish tape to guide the light cord down through the wall and back out the second hole. Then just plug it in!


shanty-2-chic link:
http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2017/03/diy-corbel-sconce-light-25.html
Finished product! I really really love how these turned out. Every time I walk through my bedroom I smile because it was a fun, challenging project that turned out exactly how I planned (how often does that happen!?)


NOTE: my cost estimate below does not include the cost of the circular saw which I already had. I purchased a mitre saw after this project for $120 from The Home Depot (this cost not included in the estimate below). The $45 estimate below is for TWO sconces and is approximate since I didn't keep each and every receipt.
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  3 questions
  • Suzie Suzie on Aug 09, 2017

    Great idea! What is fish tape please?

  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on May 01, 2019

    Did you know there are "plugs" that quick connect to electric cords? If you use one of these you only need to drill a hole large enough for just the cord itself.

  • Charlotte Charlotte on May 11, 2019

    How do you turn them off wow your in bed?

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 58 comments
  • Kim Casper Kim Casper on May 10, 2019

    Great way to save valuable surface space but more importantly; it’s quite beautiful as well as not much cord trips to tangle or hurt the eyes! Thanks!!!

  • Tom Gerrety Tom Gerrety on May 20, 2019

    FYI - the installation is illegal. Electrical codes do not allow portable cords behind sheetrock walls.

Next