We all love sconces, but where should we put them, how high should they be placed, and how much room do we need for them to look right? I get these questions on pretty much a daily basis, so I figured it would be the perfect topic for this article.
Photo Credit: Supreme Lighting
Let’s start with location. Where is the perfect place to put sconces? Sconces are used for multiple purposes. In older homes, you will see them on every wall, sometimes placed every several feet, to provide the overall lighting for the room. Before recessed lighting was available, sconces were a great way to make sure there was light in all areas of a room. Personally, I still love to use sconces this way, though in conjunction with recessed lights for a brighter option. I love how sconces can provide an almost romantic feel to a room as if candles are glowing to light your way. Layers of lighting are important, and using sconces is a wonderful way to achieve that goal. You can use less than they would have needed in the early 1900s because, thankfully, we do have many other options for overall lighting. It's a nice option to be able to turn off your overhead lights and relax in the cozy light provided by sconces throughout the room.
Photo Credit: Supreme Lighting
Let’s discuss sconces flanking a mirror or art in a foyer or dining room for example. (I'll discuss bathrooms shortly.) When placing sconces on the sides of a mirror or a piece of art, it is beneficial to know before installing the electric boxes, which mirror or art you will be putting between the sconces. If that is the case, you ideally want 2-3” on each side of the sconce. The problem we constantly come across, though, is that when building a home, you may not have chosen the art or mirror yet but your electrician MUST know the location of your sconces right away. I cannot tell you that there is a perfect solution to this problem if your electrician isn’t willing to leave wire tails until you are ready for sconce installation. Still, I can give you a general idea of where I would place the sconces in this situation. I am going to use a standard 9’ ceiling for my example. On a 9’ ceiling, I would recommend 63” as the standard height for the electric box. At this height, you can go up or down with the sconce without it getting too high or too low for the height of the room. On ceilings 10’ and up, I would move the box up 4-6”. Width-wise, I cannot really give a general answer because the wall could be any size, or there may be moldings for the sconces to sit inside, but I would recommend figuring out an estimated size of the mirror or art that would be appropriate in the space and giving yourself 2-3” minimum, (not more than 6” between the object and the sconce) on each side of the sconce and about 6-8” for the sconce itself. Working with the unknown is tough, and is not a perfect science, but this is the closest you will be able to get.
Bathrooms are one of my favorite rooms to light, especially powder rooms. We will discuss vanity lights another time with our focus today on sconces that flank the bathroom mirror. A lot of powder rooms and even full bathrooms have very limited space. Let's start with a classic example of a bathroom with a 36” vanity. In a powder room you can get away with doing a small mirror, even 18”, which gives you ample space for sconces. However, in a standard bathroom, where you may want a 24” mirror, we can run into issues. Most sconces will have a backplate of a 4” minimum. This leaves us with only 4-5” left and that is simply not enough for the optimal spacing that I mentioned above. The good news is, that you can find sconces with extra narrow backplates measuring only 2.75” or 3” wide. When using those, you will need to notify the electrician PRIOR to installing the electric boxes because they will need to install, what we call, an outlet box. Those measure at just 2.25” wide and are the perfect solution for any sconces that have backplates narrower than 4”.
Fun Fact: In Europe, a lot of sconces are actually made without backplates at all and are wired directly from the wall to the sconces with no electric box in between.
Please see Diagram A below for a visual of proper spacing over a 36” vanity.
Diagram A:
Designer Questions:
Q: What size vanity is too small for sconces flanking the mirror?
A: None, really. If you are okay with a small mirror. You will need at least 5” on each side of the mirror for sconces and the smaller the space, the fewer options of sconces you will have.
Photo Credit: West Elm
Q: How does the mounting height differ when the sconce lights face up, down, or both?
A: If the sconce has up and down lights, like in Diagram B, below, you will place the sconce directly in the center of the mirror. If it is on a wall not flanking anything, you can place them according to the suggestion above, at 63”+. If the lights are going down like the ones in Diagram A, above, you will need to place the sconce higher, so the bottom of the sconce doesn’t go below the bottom of the mirror. I would also make sure to place them higher than the standard 63” so the main part of the sconce falls closer to the 5’ mark. If the sconce is flanking a mirror and it goes up from the backplate, I like to place the backplate slightly lower than the center of the mirror so the top of the sconce hits at about the ¾ mark of the mirror. See Diagram C.
Diagram B:
Diagram C:
Q: Where is your favorite unusual spot to place sconces?
A: I love the way sconces can give a whimsical feel in spaces like reading nooks and over windows, especially in children's rooms. When I get the creative freedom to place sconces in unique spaces, I get excited. Any unexpected location is fun and exciting for me. I love placing sconces in pretty or fun laundry rooms, on an empty wall in a kitchen, flanking a beautiful shower stall, or even as an unexpected part of a gallery wall. This photo is a perfect example of a magical, whimsical sconce moment:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Malka has been in the Lighting industry for over 19 years and specializes in high end residential and commercial spaces. She has the ultimate passion for lighting design and is grateful for the opportunity to help other designers and homeowners gain some lighting knowledge through this blog. Malka now works for Supreme Lighting in Brooklyn, NY as a Senior Lighting Designer and works on projects all over the country. She is available to help with your lighting needs and can be reached at Malka@supremelightingny.com.
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