We faced a big hurdle when we tried to upgrade the standard silver bathroom light fixture in our master bathroom. We made a wooden light fixture with Edison bulbs as a solution to stay within the limits of our wiring situation but still bring personality to the space.
Remodeling or replacing bathroom light fixtures can be tricky when a builder installs and wires one up specifically for the light fixture they installed.
We learned this the hard way when we recently attempted to remodel the light fixture in our master bathroom. We wanted to get rid of the small silver light fixture over our mirrors and replace it with two separate light fixtures, one over each mirror but we ran into a few set backs that eventually led us to creating one large wood light fixture.
Today we are sharing our process on how we created a custom wood light fixture for our master bathroom.
BEFORE – The above photo shows what the light fixture looked like when we moved in. Before we split the mirrors, we had one large mirror and the light fixture was centered above it. Since we cut the mirrors, the small light fixture looked a little weird above them. Plus, we have slowly been trying to de-silver our bathroom so the silver light fixture was the next thing to go. Instead we opted to go with a wooden light fixture in our master bathroom to match the mirrors.
How We Made Our Wooden Light Fixture for Our Master Bathroom
SUPPLIES
- Screwdriver
- Jigsaw
- Metal Cutting Blade for Jigsaw
- Miter Saw
- Punch
- Table Saw
- Mallet
- Clamp
- Holesaw
- Drill
- Chisel
- Ebony Wood Stain
- Edison Light Bulbs
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STEPS
1. The first thing we did was to remove the old bulbs and to use a screwdriver to take off the front piece of the light fixture to expose how this thing was wired up and put together.
Unfortunately, after we took everything off the wall we found that the electrical box was between the two mirrors and off centered so there was no easy way to hang two light fixtures (one above each mirror).
Another problem we ran into was that the wall behind the light fixture was not textured and therefore did not match the rest of the walls in the bathroom.
It’s like the builder wasn’t even trying to care when they installed these lights. So we decided to make our own wooden light fixture front to span across the entire length of the two mirrors and fit in the space better.
2. Using a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade, Brent cut the back of the silver light fixture into two pieces.
3. Next, Brent cut the piece of wood board to the appropriate length using his new miter saw. Even though he only needed to make one cut on this project, he was pretty excited to use his Christmas present.
4. Brent measured and laid out where the holes would need to be drilled into the piece of wood so the light bulbs would fit into the new wood light fixture.
5. Brent used a mallet and a punch to create a small hole in the surface of the wood that would guide the drill bit.
6. He attached the board to our table using a clamp to keep it from moving. Then, Brent used a hole saw attached to a drill to cut out the eight holes where the light bulbs would go.
7. Using a table saw, Brent cut the board to the appropriate width so that the holes were centered on the board.
8. Then he lowered the blade and made multiple passes right next to each other to remove the wood to create an inset on the back of the new wooden light fixture so it would fit over the back half of the old fixture. He used a chisel to remove the excess wood.
9. Once all the excess wood was removed from the back, it looked like the above.
10. Finally, we stained the wood using the same ebony wood stain as the frames of the mirrors so everything would match.
11. We replaced the old large round light bulbs with Edison light bulbs to give it a unique look.
While we are happy with the results of how the wooden light fixture turned out and how it looks in this space more than the original silver light fixture, we have decided to revisit this project in the future to find a solution that better suits this wall as a whole and take advantage of the height in our bathroom.
Now that we know the obstacles we faced while attempting to remodel this light fixture, we are going to try something new in our guest bathroom. We have a few ideas on how we can improve on this project and if all goes well with our second attempt in the guest bathroom, we will try it again here in the master bathroom. Stay tuned.
PIN FOR LATER
Love this idea! Our master has the exact lighting and when we took it down we were faced with the same wiring problem.