Make Your Own Floating Book Sconce For A Clever Lighting Addition To Your Library

The way you light the rooms in your house can have a major impact on both the atmosphere and function of your living space. This is particularly true for your library or corner reading nook, which should be a warm and peaceful environment. Ideally, there's plenty of light in these areas for reading, along with a cozy chair and a comfortable glow that illuminates the beauty of your books. For a traditional, elegant design that perfectly suits this space, consider installing sconce lighting. These fixtures bring a classic, fashionable appeal to your home, provide both task and ambient lighting, and fit especially well with built-in bookshelves.

If you're concerned about the cost of purchasing new sconce lights for your shelves, you can simply build your own floating fixture instead with a clever design trick from @lonefoxhome on Instagram. In his quick DIY tutorial video, Drew shows us how he created a new sconce for his shelf with just an inexpensive Amazon lamp, a few blocks of wood, and an old book. The finished product looks incredibly luxurious but is surprisingly budget-friendly. This project is a great way to upgrade your favorite reading nook, but it can also be a wonderful lighting solution for your home office, as well.

To put together a bookshelf sconce using Drew's tutorial, you'll first need to find and purchase a small plug-in sconce that matches your preferred design aesthetic. An antique desk lamp that allows the bulb to stand upright when you turn the fixture on its side will also work as long as you can detach the base from the rest of the lamp. A LASENCHOO gold plug-in wall sconce is a great choice for this project because it has a small neckpiece, a classic metal finish, and a simple fabric shade. Make sure that whatever product you go with isn't too heavy or the fixture will fall from the shelf.

After you've found the perfect sconce, you'll need to find an old hardcover book that you're not going to read anymore. This will be the new home for the fixture's wires. Remove the pages carefully without cutting into the cover. Measure the book's spine, and then purchase a few wooden dowels of the same width. Instead of immediately gluing the dowels into the book like Drew does in his video, consider drilling a hole for the wire first to make sure the neckpiece of the sconce fits properly. Avoid lightweight woods, such as cedar and cypress, so that the book has enough weight to hold the lamp in place. This simple and elegant fixture might just be the key component for creating the perfect home library.