How to WOW with a Builder's Grade Bathroom Light

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We both have those builder's grade row lights in our bathrooms—you know the ones with the bare bulbs that are ubiquitous in almost every home?! Steph was unable to find a new fixture she liked, so we came up with a plan to disguise the light. Much like you’d make a cornice in a window treatment, we decided to do the same for the light.

We decided to use a piece of live edge wood to bring a bit of nature into Steph’s bathroom.

Materials/tools:

• Live edge wood, cut to size
  
• 4 corner brackets & the screws that came with them
  
• 6 large bolt/nuts
  
• Drill with bits/drivers
  
• Speed square
  
• Miter saw
  
• Measuring tape
  
• Clear protective spray
• Pencil/permanent marker
  
• Safety equipment—masks, eye protection, gloves, ear muffs
  
• Magnetic stud finder
  
• LED light bulbs

We made our plans up as we went and had a few bumps in the process, but in the end we were pleased with the results. This is how we got from bare lights to covered.

First we replaced all the incandescent bulbs with LED lights for these reasons:
     1. LED are cool to the touch & with the wood covering we didn’t want a buildup of heat.
     2. The bulbs last a long time, so changing them will not be an issue for many, many years. 

Before making our cuts we sanded and sprayed a protective finish on the wood.

Next, we needed to determine how long we wanted the cover. Finding the closest stud on both sides of the fixture determined the length as we knew we needed to screw it into a stud for support.

After making our cuts, we attached the corner brackets to the front/sides of the board. We first marked the placement & drilled pilot holes, then screwed everything in place.

It took a while to get the angle right. We ended up making a cardboard template to play around with the angle before making the cuts.

Once we got all our cuts made we realized the live edge wood was not level, which caused it to not lay flat on the bathroom wall. Back to the drawing board we realized we needed to make new side pieces and make one slightly angled to compensate for the uneven live wood cover.

We drilled our pilot holes and screwed the L bracket into the wall first.

We held the wood in place and used bolts to attach the cover to the wall. This will allow us to remove the cover easily if we need to replace the lights.

What we learned:

• It's easier to use lumber that is straight and flat. This project probably would have taken two hours or less if we had not used the live edge piece. 
• LED lights are a must for this project otherwise you can’t use a cover like this.
• Attach the cover with bolts. They will make it easy to remove when needed.