Easy Guide to Hanging Wall Sconces (damage free!)

You are going to love this easy trick to determine wall sconce placement and the fastest way to hang them without damaging your walls!

Luckily for you I’ve hung many different types of wall sconces from candle, outdoor, hardwire, and plug-in light fixtures in my lifetime.

Something that is always a little tricky to determine is how high and far apart to hang wall lights.

Especially if you are hanging them on either side of a piece of artwork, mirror or headboard. I’ve done it all!

All that practice led me to create a no-fail method to determine the right placement.

Plus I’ll teach you how to hang the wall plate for the wall sconce in minutes with my easy DIY process.

Don’t worry I’ll explain everything in detail with lots of pictures and a video to reference too.

No more messing up your walls with misplaced wall lights or having to patch and repair holes when you don’t like where they are hung!

Where to Hang Wall Sconces

Wall lighting is a great addition in any room to add visual interest and mood or extra lighting to dark walls.

Where to Hang Wall Sconces / Wall Lights

1. Either side of a mirror or artwork
2. Down a dark hallway or up a staircase
3. Beside your bed to save precious nightstand space
4. In a dark corner of a room.
5. Flanking a tall piece of furniture
6. Alongside a window

The placements are endless, but knowing where to place them and how to hang them can be tricky!

After seeing all of these pictures you are probably asking yourself questions like:

• How high should wall sconces be hung?
• Is there a standard wall sconce height?
• What’s the right placement for wall sconces?

You may be surprised by my answer. IT ALL DEPENDS! You can search Google for this information and get several canned responses.

I’ve literally IGNORED the standard height recommendations, but I do pay attention to the distance guidance.

The truth is the standard for wall sconce placements both height and distance can be misleading. It’s better to test how YOUR wall sconces will look in YOUR space.

Porch Daydreamer

So you don’t have to hop on and search, I’ll save you some time and show you what you’ll find.

Here are the basic placement “rules” for hanging wall sconces:

Guideline	Detail
Height	60-66 inches above the floor
Spacing	28-30 inches apart
Distance from sides of art or mirror	6-9 inches
Size and style	Proportional to the size of the bed and the wall, and should complement the overall decor

See what I mean? NOT helpful at all right?

The good news is I have an easy solution for you to test the placement BEFORE you ever mount them to the wall.

This is so easy you will love it! I’m using a recent project at my home where I hang swing-arm wall sconces on either side of a headboard.

My son’s room has tiny little nightstands, so wall mounted lights on either side of the bed made more sense.

Now he has space on his nightstand versus competing with a lamp!

I’ll share two examples for determining placement and the DIY installation is the same regardless of wall sconce type.

Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made. {full disclosure here}

How-to Determine the Right Placement for Wall Sconces

When you see how easy this trick is you will use it for other hanging projects.

This is my go to trick for hanging pictures too!

Create a Wall Sconce Hanging and Placement Template

The first step in easily determining wall sconce placement is to develop a hanging template.

That way you can test the location height and distance, BEFORE drilling any holes.

This will help you avoid issues and determine the the best wall sconce placement for your room and space.

The method I’m teaching you works for all types of sconces that you can easily trace and or measure.

I’m giving you two options for creating a hanging template: regular sconces and swing arm sconces.

20 beautiful wall sconce options

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN | ELEVEN | TWELVE | THIRTEEN | FOURTEEN | FIFTEEN | SIXTEEN | SEVENTEEN | EIGHTEEN | NINETEEN | TWENTY

Before we get started, let’s cover some lingo first so it’s not confusing.

When I say “mounting plate” I’m referencing the piece that holds the fixture and is screwed into the wall.

The “wall plate” is how the fixture is attached to the mounting plate.

project supplies

• Pencil
• Wrapping paper (with a grid back is preferred)
• Painter’s tape
• Tape Measure
• Level
• Hammer
• Screw Anchors
• Power Drill and Drill Bits
• Phillips Head Screw Driver

Swing Arm Wall Sconce: Test Hanging Height, Distance and Spacing

how-to create a hanging template

1. Take note of the sconce width and height
2. Trace the fixture wall plate on wrapping paper and cut to size.
3. Hang on wall where desired with painter’s tape.
4. Pay attention to the width of the light fixture.
   • For bedside mounts, make sure to account for the width, so it is far enough away from someone sitting in the bed.
   • It needs to be close enough to swing closer for reading.
5. Adjust until you are happy with the distance FIRST (if you are hanging two make a note to use for the 2nd one).
6. Then move up or down until the height looks correct.

Here is how I placed the template in my son’s room. If you are hanging over a nightstand keep that in perspective.

My son’s nightstand and headboard are a lower profile:

• Headboard 50 inches tall
• Nightstand 24 inches tall

I ended up hanging the swing arm lamps 7.5 inches down from the top of the headboard to the center of the fixture.

The best option for the swing arm wall sconce I purchased was to center it over the nightstand. You don’t have to center the light!

For instance if you have a large dresser as a nightstand that wouldn’t look appropriate.

Focus on the distance from the headboard and someone reading in bed instead.

Regular Wall Sconces: Test Hanging Height, Distance and Spacing

how-to create a hanging template

1. Take note of the sconce width and height.
2. Mark measurements on wrapping paper and cut to size.
   • If you can trace the wall sconce, DO IT!
3. Hang on wall where desired with painter’s tape.
4. Adjust until you are happy with the placement.
5. If you are hanging two, measure to make sure they are hanging the same height at distance.
   • Adjust as needed until they match.

For the wall sconces on either side of the artwork above the fireplace, I moved ONE template until I liked the location.

Then took the measurements and hung the 2nd template. It’s important to stand back and look at the location from every angle.

Also, live with it for a day or so to make sure the hanging placement “feels right”.

Seeing the paper on the wall will help you get used to something hanging where nothing was previously.

In the example above, the sconces are hung 15.5 inches above the mantel and 6 inches out from the artwork.

if you are hanging sconces on either side of a window or artwork, this will give give you a starting point.

You have the perfect placement now don’t you? Now we are going to move into how to hang the actual light fixture.

How-to Install a Paintable Cord Cover

Like how nice the cord cover looks and how it matches the wall? I have a great post teaching you all about it!

How to Cover and Hide Cords and Cables

Now you are the master of hanging just about anything! I hope you found the tutorials helpful.

Tags: non hardwired wall sconces, how to install sconces without electricity, non hardwired sconces, non hardwired wall sconce, wall lamps with cords, best wall sconces, accent lighting, ambient lighting, white fabric shade, interior designer