This is the latest project in the Weekend Warrior blog post series, part of our quest to bring our customers unique products and offer creative ideas for DIY lighting projects around the house.
For my Weekend Warrior project, I took a boring, ho-hum playroom corner and created a cozy and private reading area for my 9-year-old son, Max.
Here’s the deal:
I think every kid needs a place to call his own. A place to curl up and read an adventure novel on a rainy day, or just a place to escape pesky brothers. A book nook.
After lots of intense discussion, Max and I decided that his book nook needed a few crucial ingredients to make it the coolest-place-ever:
- A small, cozy area with a comfy place to sit
- Tons of interesting books with lots of super-hero action
- A plug-in nearby for charging his Kindle
- A reading light so he can read under his many future sheet-forts
- Some pictures or posters to hang on the wall
Now:
We’ve already got most of the necessary ingredients for the perfect reading nook: a bookshelf full of interesting books, a cozy corner in the sitting area off of his bedroom, and an overstuffed bean bag. All we lacked was a reading light and some wall art.
How I chose the best reading light for our nook:
When I started looking for the right reading lamp, I had a few requirements:
- A plug-in light (because I wasn’t interested in doing electrical work)
- A flexible neck (so that he could position the light where he needed it)
- A bulb that didn’t get hot (duh)
- A good way to hide the cords (part safety, part pet peeve)
Fortunately for me, I have a nice variety of lights to choose from!
And the winner is……
The PBO-119 (a Gooseneck LED wall-mounted reading light), which is currently priced at $121.00.
Next step in Operation Book Nook: How to Mount the Reading Light to the Wall:
Attaching the lamp was actually very simple and took me about 20-30 minutes. The only tools I used were a drill and a level, but the level isn’t even necessary. Everything else is included in the box: The light fixture with an attached power cord, a GU10 LED bulb, wire ways with covers and mounting screws, and some basic instructions. (Scroll through the slide show below to see how I did it.)
- Unscrew the four knobs and separate the back plate from the mounting plate.
- Decide where you want the light on the wall and attach the mounting plate with four mounting screws (provided). Anchors are optional. I used a level to make sure the mounting plate was straight.
- Attach the back plate to the mounting plate by rotating the four knobs until it’s tight.
- Attach wire ways using the screws provided. I also used my level here to make sure it lined up straight.
- Push power cord inside slot of wire ways and recover.
- Attach bulb (provided) and turn on the light.
- Done! Adjust the flexible neck however you’d like, grab a book and read!
Wait…
Just when I was ready to sit back and relish my project, I realized I was missing something. Wall Art, which would now become Last Second Wall Art.
Inspired by a project I saw on Pinterest, I hastily grabbed some painters tape and an old canvas that I had picked up at a thrift shop and put together a DIY “R-E-A-D” canvas. Picasso, I am not – but it will do.
Now for the big reveal:
I’m already planning ahead to what I’ll do with the area once he grows out of the cozy little corner and bean bag.
Here’s what I’m thinking (with links to photo inspiration):
- Transition the light to his headboard for night time reading in bed.
- Turn the corner into a homework area and use the light over his desk.
- Switch out the bean bag for a more grown up version.
- OR, reward myself for years of devoted motherhood, steal the light and make THIS.
Guess which one I’m leaning towards?
For now, I’m more than happy to give Max a reason to dive into a good book.
Coming up next in the Weekend Warrior series: Chris brightens his bonus room with recessed LED lights and goes on to save a ton of money by switching out the halogen lighting in his kitchen with LED recessed retrofits.