Install a Bedside Reading Light

A dedicated reading light transforms a bedroom from a place you sleep into a place you can actually live. The right fixture—mounted at the right height, with the right kind of switch—means you can read without disturbing a partner, without propping pillows into weird towers, without that neck-crane toward a distant overhead fixture. The work itself is straightforward electrical and drywall repair, but the difference between a light that works and one that actually improves your life comes down to three inches of placement and choosing a fixture with enough throw to light a page without lighting the whole room. Get it right and you'll wonder why you waited so long. This guide covers hardwired installation, not plug-in swing-arms. Hardwired means clean lines, no cords, and a fixture that feels like it belongs. You'll cut into drywall, run cable, make connections, patch holes, and end up with something that looks like it was always there. If you've never fished wire through a wall, this is a solid first project—the stakes are low, the wall is accessible, and you'll learn techniques that apply to every electrical upgrade you tackle after this.

1. Test Your Reading Sweet Spot. Sit in bed with a book and have someone hold the fixture base where you think it should go. The standard is 18-24 inches above your mattress top, 6-8 inches out from the headboard centerline. Mark the spot with painter's tape. Use a stud finder to confirm you're not drilling into a stud—you want open wall cavity for running wire. Check that there's no plumbing or HVAC runs in that bay by looking in the attic or basement directly above or below.
2. Kill Power and Find Your Source. Turn off power at the breaker for the bedroom circuit and verify with a voltage tester. Decide where your power will come from—either tapping into an existing outlet on the same wall, or running new wire from the switch box that controls your overhead light. The overhead light method gives you a switched fixture; tapping an outlet gives you always-on power that you'll control with the fixture's pull chain or a cord switch you'll add.
3. Cut Access Holes for Cable. Trace your old-work electrical box on the wall at your marked location and cut it out with a drywall saw. If running wire from below, cut a small 2×3 inch access hole near the baseboard in the same stud bay. If running from a switch, you'll fish horizontally—cut an access hole behind where the switch is. Use a flashlight to look into the wall cavity and confirm the path is clear.
4. Thread Cable Through the Wall. Run 14/2 Romex from your power source to the fixture hole. From below, push the cable up using a fish tape or stiff wire, have a helper grab it from the fixture hole. From a switch, you may need to drill a small hole through the top plate if fishing into the stud bay above—a long flexible drill bit makes this possible. Leave 8-10 inches of cable hanging out of the fixture hole. Strip the outer sheathing back 6 inches.
5. Secure Box and Wire Connections. Clamp the cable into your old-work box using the built-in clamp. Push the box into the wall hole and tighten the mounting ears until they grip the drywall firmly. Connect the fixture's ground wire to the box ground, white to white, black to black using wire nuts. Tuck wires into the box and screw the fixture mounting plate to the box. Most sconces have a plate that mounts first, then the fixture body attaches to that.
6. Power Up and Test Immediately. At your power source—whether outlet or switch—make your connections. If tapping an outlet, connect black to brass terminal, white to silver, ground to green. If running from a switch, connect the new cable's black to the switch and white to the neutral bundle in the box. Restore power at the breaker and test the light. If it doesn't work, turn power back off and check all connections for solid contact.
7. Patch and Paint Seamlessly. Cut drywall patches slightly smaller than your access holes, butter the back edges with joint compound, and press them in. Cover seams with mesh tape and two coats of compound, sanding between coats. Texture to match if needed. Paint once dry. Attach the fixture's shade or glass, install the correct bulb wattage, and adjust the arm or shade position for optimal light throw.
8. Perfect the Light Angle. With the light on, sit in bed and adjust the fixture angle if it's articulating. You want the bright spot on your book, with minimal spill onto the ceiling or your partner's side. If you want dimming control and didn't wire through a switch, install an inline cord dimmer on the fixture or replace the fixture's pull chain with a three-way socket that gives you high-medium-low control.