Farmhouse Bedside Lights

I’ve been really into lighting this move. (It always seems like I get obsessed with something when I’m settling into a house.) I think because everything in the house felt dated I felt like changing out some lighting could make a huge difference in the feel of the house. I had it in my head that I wanted hanging bedside lights that evoked a farmhouse feel. Jeff had it in his head to leave everything alone.

I decided I wanted some hanging lighting next to the bed and settled on some sort of farmhouse dangling bulb situation. Jeff figured out most of the details and reused parts of our old bed (which was crushed when the storage facility roof fell in) to make the cantilevers.

Luckily, Jeff is going to help me guide you through how to make these lights for yourself.

What You’ll Need:

• Metal Cage
• Plug In Mini Pendant
• Edison LED Bulbs (You need to choose the shape and light color that you want.)
• 1×3 Common Board @ 3′ or 6′ long per bracket (Home Depot, Menards, Lowe’s, etc). 3′ board will constrain your design to ~10″, 10″, 12″ lengths.
• Kreg jig + 1-1/2″ Kreg screws (x4)
• Wood glue (Type 1)
• 1-1/4″ Screws to attach beam and leg (x2)
• Fusion Mineral Paint (Optional)

Once you have gathered all your supplies it is time to get started. We spent a bit of time discussing the design. Some of these types of lights have the cord passing through the bracket in a series of holes. We knew we would need to get the outlet and the switch through the hole. This called for a 3/4″ or larger hole. Instead we opted to drop the cord down the back, which also meant that Jeff had to account for that when he cut the wood.

The vertical (wall side) leg should be longer than the horizontal (coming out of wall) beam. We used a 14″ length for the vertical leg and 12″ for the beam. We cut the brace (diagonal piece) to fit, approximately 12″ long and mitered both ends (non-parallel) at 45 degrees. Using a table saw, cut a 1/2″ deep, 1/2″ wide channel in one side of the leg and beam. This is where you’ll put the cord. Lastly, cut a channel down the back side of the beam so that the cord can fit from the beam to the leg. You can use a Kreg jig and 1-1/2″ Kreg screws to connect the brace to the leg and beam. Or, you can be sloppy and just use wood glue. Connect the leg and beam using two appropriate screws and wood glue.

While Jeff was cutting and assembling the brackets I put together the cages and lights. I plugged them in and tested them out.

Once we finished assembling the brackets I gave them a coat of paint. I used some of the lamp white Fusion Mineral paint I had leftover from refinishing the end tables. This way the entire master would match.

Once everything was dry it was time to install them. Jeff had predrilled the holes but also needed some sort of special tool (called an ‘Offset’ or ‘Right Angle’ screwdriver) to install the screw at an angle. It was a buddy install because we needed to get the lamp cord in the right place as he screwed it into the wall.

I absolutely love how they turned out. They are the perfect accent for our room and they are so incredibly practical. One of the funny things about this project is that IKEA sells Ekby Valter brackets that look just like this design – for $5 each. You can easily modify that off-the-shelf bracket and get this same look. But it was loads of fun to spend way more labor time on a project as a couple.