How to Install Hardwired Bedside Reading Lights

Light is the difference between a bedroom that feels like a storage closet and one that serves as a true sanctuary. Installing dedicated bedside reading lights eliminates the clutter of table lamps and ensures you have targeted illumination exactly where you need it, without keeping your partner awake. When done well, the fixture sits flush against the wall, the wiring is completely concealed, and the switch is within easy reach from your pillow. Achieving this professional finish requires basic electrical knowledge and confidence working with low-profile junction boxes. You are effectively extending a circuit from your existing wall outlet or light switch to a new termination point behind your headboard. Take your time with the layout; measure twice, check your stud locations, and ensure you have enough slack in your wire to make the connections comfortable before you tuck everything into the wall.

  1. Mark Your Perfect Light Height. Measure the desired height of your light fixtures, typically 20 to 24 inches above the mattress top. Use a stud finder to verify there are no structural members in the way, then mark the center point for the junction box on the wall.
  2. Carve the Wall Cavity. Place the template provided with your 'old work' junction box over your marks and trace the outline. Use a drywall saw to carefully cut the opening, ensuring you do not slice into any hidden cables behind the wall.
  3. Thread Wire Through Walls. Fish your 14/2 NM electrical wire from your power source—usually an adjacent outlet or switch box—to the new opening. Use a fish tape to navigate the wire through the wall studs if necessary.
  4. Seat the Junction Box. Insert the 'old work' electrical box into the wall cutout and tighten the mounting screws until the wings grip the back of the drywall firmly. Pull your electrical wire through the box's cable clamp and tighten it to secure the cable in place.
  5. Wire the Fixture Safely. Strip the wire ends and connect the copper ground wire to the fixture's ground screw, then connect the white (neutral) and black (hot) wires to their corresponding terminals on the fixture. Tuck the wires neatly into the back of the junction box.
  6. Lock Down the Fixture. Secure the fixture mounting bracket to the junction box using the provided machine screws. Attach the light base to the bracket, ensuring the fixture is level and tight against the wall.