Install a Sconce Light Above the Kitchen Sink

My goodness, it’s been a hot minute since I got a new post out here. BUT … I’m back at it! If you follow along on Instagram, you already saw the announcement. If not, let’s just say we have a few new nursery projects coming up in the next … oh … 9 months or so!

But that aside, I’m f-i-n-a-l-l-y getting around to writing up all the tutorials from our kitchen remodel.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of the links, I may make a small commission at NO EXTRA COST to you. This helps keep the tutorials and plans free here at Bitterroot DIY. Thank you for your support! See my full disclosure here.

Guys.

I have 20 drafts sitting in my blog dashboard.

Twenty. 2-0.

We did so much work on the kitchen remodel. I have all this new knowledge and I can’t wait to share it for all you fellow ambitious DIYers. Get excited. The next few weeks will be jam-packed full of kitchen remodeling how-to’s!

So let’s start with #1 here today. We’ve seen it in all the latest trendy designs. All the cool kids are doing it. All the pretty homes have it. The infamous sconce light above the kitchen sink.

If you’ve been going through this remodel step-by-step, you’ve updated your cabinets. They’re tall. They stretch to the ceiling. You opened up the space above the sink between the cabinets. Why did they ever used to close that off? I don’t know.

All I know is that when I finally broke through that section of drywall, it was like the heavens opened and angels sang and the kitchen was magically 10 times taller and God said: “let there be light in that little kitchen!” And there was. And He saw that it was good.

But then what are you left with?

This weird destroyed unfinished area with some off-centered wires.

What do you do?

Install a sconce light above the kitchen sink!

Tools & Supplies:

Tape Measure
Pencil
Drywall Saw
Round Existing Construction Electrical Box (available at the hardware store)
Industrial Wall Sconce Light

Step 1.

TURN OFF POWER. Don’t forget that step.

Now, most houses (old, new, red, or blue) have a light above the sink somewhere. Installing a sconce is mostly a matter of moving the wires around where you want the light. If you do not have electrical above the sink already, talk to an electrician to get that set up.

We had a small can light hidden above the sink, so all the electrical was already there.

We were not messing around with this remodel … that wall had to go.

Step 2.

I won’t go into the electrical details here since I’m really not qualified to do that. But I will say that I found the book Complete Wiring incredibly helpful. The kitchen was on a three-way system so there were extra wires and a few weird things going on. I made note of how the old can light was wired before I disconnected the electrical and wired the new one exactly the same. If you know an electrician, or someone who’s good at electrical, you can double check with them as you go (that’s what I did, just in case).

Once you disconnect the old light, you’ll just have open wires. YOUR POWER SHOULD BE OFF TO THE LIGHT. If the power is not off, those are live wires. You don’t want to work with live wires.

As you can see, the electrical was just kinda pulled out at the top of the wall and plopped down onto a light above the sink:

Start by marking the center of the wall where you want the sconce to site. Cut a small hole with a drywall saw. The insulation and plastic vapor barrier was right up against the drywall, but I simply pushed it back so I didn’t hit it with the saw.

Trace the base of the existing construction electrical box centered over the first mark and cut the rest of the hole. Pull the wires through:

Step 3.

Push the wires into the new electrical box. You want to use an existing construction electrical box since you’re adding this to an existing wall. The existing construction electrical boxes have little “wings” that fan out and clamp to the back of the drywall when you tighten the screws down to hold it in place.

Position the box and tighten it down. Just a heads up, I pulled a little too much wire through the box and ended up having to re-do it and back the wires out. Keep in mind that all the wires have to fit inside the little blue box after you connect them to the light fixture.

Step 4.

I don’t have a clear photo of it, but the sconce light came with a mounting bracket to attach to the electrical box. All you have to do is wire the light and screw it into place over the electrical box.