DIY Bathroom Light

Hey, Y'all Charlie here again.....It's been awhile, but I've been a little busy having surgery done.  Since I am planted on the couch for awhile, Emily thought it would be the perfect time for me to write some blog posts.  So, I figured I would show you guys how I made a homemade barnwood vanity light for our newly remodeled bathroom. 

This isn't any ordinary light you could buy at local hardware store; or is it? 

I started by using a simple vanity light that you can buy at any local hardware store.  We were fortunate to already have a light from the original bathroom that we were able to use. (Score one for us, no extra $ had to be spent).  It looked just like this...

(source)

When looking for a vanity light make sure it can be taken apart where only the wires and metal are exposed like this...

Take your light and remove the front cover, exposing the wiring and bulb sockets. Don't be alarmed, I hate electricity and if you can screw in a light bulb, you are an electrician on this project. 

Make sure that your barnwood is thick enough that the light sockets do not stick out too far and are exposed, or that they are too far down so that a bulb cannot be screwed in.  This piece of barnwood that we used is about 2 inches thick.

Ok, this is where the craftsman and not the blogger comes into affect....I jumped ahead of myself before I snapped some pictures. SIGHHHH....(from Emily). As you can see, I had already started to drill some holes, but you didn't miss anything important.  

I placed the metal light fixture on the board and got it centered.  Once I like where it was I traced a line with a pencil all the way around all of the light sockets. 

Lay this ↑

onto this ↓, socket side down so you can trace...

This is where I realized I didn't have a Spade-Blade drill bit that was large enough.  I had to call Emily to pick one up on her way home. (Score another tool for Charlie!!!) 

Once I had the bit I began drilling all of my marked holes for the light sockets.



After you have your holes drilled in your wood, place your light fixture on top of the wood, sockets into the holes, and push down so that the metal is touching the wood.

Now take a pencil and trace around the perimeter of the light fixture.

This time I have a valid excuse as to why I don't have a picture of the the next step. Not safe to take pictures while using power tools.  Once your line is traced you can use a circular saw and cut exactly on your line.  Make sure you set the depth of your saw as to not allow the blade cut through your board, but also make sure it as deep enough for the light fixture to sit into the wood.  

Now that your fixture is sitting flush, you can run some screws into the wood, being careful not to hit any of the wires. And, of course use short enough screws so that they don't go all the way through the barnwood.

Now screw in some light bulbs and you've got yourself a one of a kind vanity light!  

What do y'all think???  It was just the touch our bathroom remodel needed and it didn't cost us a thing!  FREE is always the best kind of project, right!?!?

Thanks for stopping by! 

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