Plug In Wall Sconces

Plug in wall sconces screw to the wall and run a cord to an ordinary outlet, so there is no electrician and no junction box, and the fixture comes off the wall when the lease ends. Beside a bed, mount 20 to 24 inches above the mattress, which lands near 38 inches from the floor.

Bedside height: 20 to 24 inches above the mattress, near 38 inches from the floor
Cord run: measure from the backplate down to the outlet, then add 12 inches
Anchors: toggle bolts in drywall, masonry sleeves in brick with the matching bit

How to choose plug in wall sconces

Work out where the light has to land before anything else. Beside a bed the aim is a pool on a page without lighting the whole room, which points to a shielded or adjustable head at shoulder height when seated. In a hallway or beside a sofa the job is ambient, and a diffuse shade or an uplight serves better. The mounting spot follows from that, and the outlet position follows the mounting spot.

The cord is a design decision rather than an afterthought. Three approaches work. Run it openly and let it read as part of the fixture, which suits a fabric or braided cord in a color chosen on purpose. Hide it in a paintable channel that disappears into the wall color. Or drop it behind furniture, the easiest route beside a nightstand or a bookcase. Settle on one of the three before you drill.

Then look at switching and anchors. Some fixtures carry a switch on the body, some an inline rocker on the cord, and a few respond only at the outlet, where a smart plug closes the gap. On the wall, a metal backplate into drywall wants toggle anchors rather than plastic sleeves, particularly where the fixture projects several inches and levers against the wall each time it is moved.

Cord length and mounting for plug in wall sconces

The measurements below assume a bedroom outlet at the usual 15 inches above the floor.

Bedside height: 20 to 24 inches above the mattress, which lands near 38 inches on a standard bed.
Cord run: measure from the backplate down to the outlet and add 12 inches.
Reading position: set the fixture 8 to 12 inches out from the edge of the headboard.
Anchors: toggle bolts in drywall, masonry sleeves in brick with the matching bit.

Height above the mattress is what people revise after a night of use. Mount too high and the fixture lights the wall and the top of your head; too low and the shade sits in the sightline of whoever is lying beside you. Where the sconce has an adjustable arm, err high and swing it down. Look at the projection on the product page as well, since a long arm beside a bed is easy to catch when getting up.

Which plug in sconce for which wall

Sconce type	Best in	What it does	Price here
Slim bars and rods	Above a mirror, above a headboard	An even line with a cord instead of a junction box	$99 to $289
Swing arms	Beside a bed, next to a chair	A beam you move, and a nightstand left clear	$144 to $299
Glass globes	A bedside wall, a hallway	A lit sphere on a wall you cannot open up	$129 to $249
Ceramic and pull chain	A guest room, a rented bedroom	A switch on the fixture, not on the wall	$169 to $349
Stone and alabaster	A stairway, a landing, a bedroom	A warm glow through stone with no wiring work	$129 to $739
Wood brackets and rechargeable	A rental, a wall with nothing behind it	Light on a wall nobody is allowed to drill into	$126 to $260

What plug in means here

Plug in, wall mounted: The fixture screws to the wall through a bracket or a plate, and a cord runs down to an outlet. That is the whole point of this page: no electrician, no junction box, and the fixture comes off when you move.
Inline switch: A switch on the cord itself rather than on the wall. Several models here have one, and others use a pull chain on the body. Either way the fixture works on a wall with no switched circuit behind it.
Cord length and route: The cord has to reach an outlet, and it will be visible. Measure the run before choosing a mounting height, since a cord crossing a wall at an angle undoes the look that the fixture was bought for.
Bulb not included: Most fixtures here ship without a lamp, which each page states. Read the socket and the maximum wattage there. On a clear or open shade the bulb is seen from the room, so buy it for its shape too.
IP20: The dry indoor rating carried by almost everything on this page. It confirms the body is closed against fingers and offers nothing against water, which rules out a bathroom zone near a shower.

Questions about corded wall lighting

Can these be mounted without drilling?

Some can. A few models use an adhesive plate or a hook style bracket that holds a light body on smooth painted drywall. Anything with a metal arm and a real shade needs screws and anchors, and the mounting method is listed on each product page.

How do I hide the cord?

A paintable cord channel is the usual answer, fixed to the wall and painted the wall color so it reads as a shadow line. Behind a headboard or a bookcase the cord needs no treatment at all. A fabric cord sleeve is the third option where the run stays visible.

How high should a bedside sconce go?

Twenty to 24 inches above the mattress, which lands near 38 inches from the floor on a standard bed. Sit up with a book and hold a hand where the light should come from. That height usually falls within an inch or two of correct.

Can a corded sconce be converted to hardwired?

Only where the specifications say the fixture supports both. In that case an electrician cuts the cord and terminates it in a junction box behind the backplate. Where they do not, cord and plug is the only supply the fixture was built around.

Do they work on brick or tile?

Yes, with the right anchor and bit. Masonry sleeves in a drilled hole hold well in brick and block, and tile asks for a diamond bit and a hole placed in the grout line where possible. The cord run matters more here, since chasing a channel into masonry is not a small job.

Sources

Mounting heights, diameters and clearances on this page follow common US residential practice rather than a single published standard. For color temperature and the lumen output that replaces a given incandescent wattage, see Purchasing Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs from the U.S. Department of Energy, which lists 2700K as warm, 3000K as soft, 3500K as neutral and 4100K as cool. Lighting level standards are published by the Illuminating Engineering Society.

You may also want Rechargeable Wall Sconces, Hardwired Wall Sconces, LED Wall Lights Plug In Pendant Lights, Battery Operated Picture Lights and Wall Mounted Reading Lights. This page is part of Wall Lamps.

Buying guide reviewed October 2026 by the OroDwell editorial team.