We recently got some new sconces from Poly & Bark for the DIY shiplap headboard we created.
I loved them with all of my heart, but the only problem? They were hardwired sconces made to be wired to the wall.
I had my heart set on adding them to our headboard and just didn’t see anything else I loved more, so I got them and told my husband I’d figure out a solution.
And figure out a solution we did! I did my research and discovered a way to transform hardwire sconces into plug-ins without too much of a headache. So we gathered the materials and gave it a shot!
I will walk you through our process which worked with a charm, but please do your own research and take precautions should you choose to try this yourself!
**DISCLAIMER**
We are not electricians! Please do this at your own risk and do your own research before rewiring anything yourself.
HOW TO TURN HARDWIRED SCONCES INTO PLUG-INS IN 5 SIMPLE STEPS
GATHER YOUR MATERIALS
To start, we looked around and found a few key materials needed to do this project successfully.
We purchased:
These cords were the biggest help. They already had exposed wires and were set up for wiring, so we didn’t need to strip or cut any wires.
We purchased the electrical tape just in case we would need to cover up any exposed wires, but we ended up just using the electrical caps to hide the wires instead.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
I just want to say again to make sure you do your research depending on what you’re wiring before you begin! We read the instructions on how to hardwire our sconces first to make sure we knew which wires were for what.
We also made sure to read the instructions for our cords to make sure there wasn’t anything special we needed to do with them first.
And of course, we double checked safety measures with wires before we began. Once we felt comfortable, we jumped in.
TWIST YOUR WIRES
Because our lamp cords had wires that were already exposed, this made our lives way easier. We did not need to cut or strip these wires.
We took the grounding wire from the sconce and wrapped it around the grounding screw that was in our sconce.
Then we had two additional wires to deal with. Using our needle nose pliers, we twisted one around one of the exposed lamp cord wires, and the other around the second exposed lamp cord wire.
Our lamp cord wires were identical, so we didn’t see any reason to specify which went with which. But do your research on this!
Some exposed cords will have different looking wires, and it’s important to make sure you match up each end with the right wire!
COVER EXPOSED WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL CAPS
Once the wires had been twisted, we used small electrical caps to cover up and cap off our exposed wires. This is really important!
The last thing you want is exposed wire anywhere when you go to turn on your sconces.
Also, make sure you use electrical tape to cover up anything else that’s exposed after your caps are on.
PLUG IT IN!
Once we felt comfortable, we tested them out! I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous before we plugged them in, but it worked like a charm!
It only took us about 5 minutes per sconce to go from hardwired to plug-in, so never again will I solely purchase a light fixture based on how it needs to be connected!
And that’s truly it!
It ended up being pretty straightforward on our end, so I wanted to walk you through our process in case you’ve ever wondered if you could go from one to the other!
Again, not all wiring is created equal so do your own research before ever trying to re-wire something yourself!
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