Plug In Wall Sconce

Wall sconces are lighting fixtures that are mounted on the walls. These fixtures do not have any communication with the floor or with the ceiling – the wall is their only support. However, they are given an appropriate amount of fixing at the wall so that they stay well-supported. 

In ancient days, these wall sconces were made of quite heavy materials such as stone and marble and thus they needed considerable support on the wall. However, the wall sconces used today are quite light and can remain fixed on the walls with just a screw or nail or two.

There is one more very important difference between the wall sconces that were used in those days and the wall sconces that are used today. The old style wall sconces actually contained a live burning torch or candle inside. In feudal houses where wall sconces were quite popular a few centuries ago, a servant was employed just to light up all the wall sconces and chandeliers when evening set in and then turn them off in the night.

Installing Plug In Wall Sconces

However, today’s wall sconces are much simpler than that. All wall sconces used today run on electricity and they are simply meant to be plugged into the main electric line of the house.

If the main electric line runs through the wall, the plug in wall sconce could be very easily connected into it. But even in the absence of a main electric line, it is quite simple for an electrician or a DIY enthusiast to extend the line to the point where the wall sconce needs to be attached.

Apart from drawing the electric line, the other job in setting up a plug in wall sconce is to fix it to the wall. The holes are already provided in their frames and the only requirement is to mount them on suitable nails or screws already attached to the walls. 

The actual definition of a sconce is that it is a lighting fixture that directs the light to the top, i.e. to the ceiling, from where the light is then reflected into the room. Reflecting surfaces are usually provided which can increase the amount of illumination that a wall sconce provides.

Types of Wall Sconces

However, today you can find that this is not generally followed. Although most of the plug in wall sconces available today direct the light to the ceiling, there are also some that direct the light downward into the room. There is actually a lot of variety in the design of plug in wall lights and sconces available today and even the way in which they function. There are even some plug in chandeliers available on the market.

Most of these devices have metallic frames that are very artistically shaped. The light sources in them are generally incandescent bulbs, but other sources of lighting are also equally popularly used.

Glass or transparent plastic is used to protect the light bulb as well as to enhance the esthetics of the plug in wall sconce. These could be color tinted in various ways, thus improving the overall look of the wall sconce and even the kind of light that it emanates. There are features for dimming the light if needed.

We highlighted some great options on this site; have a look around!