Installing lights with no electricity? No problem!

Hello my friends! It's been a lovely (almost) fall week here and I've been busy working on some fun projects! 

I have a small makeover planned for our little hallway off of our foyer. Part of my plan involved adding a picture light similar to the one over my giant fabric bulletin board in my office. 

If you have an outlet under the spot where you want a sconce or light, it is actually a pretty easy wiring job for an electrician (and in my experience not very expensive). I called an electrician we use to see if he was available and he was booking two weeks out. 

Because I'm impatient when I want to start a project, I decided to look into some options on my own. If you don't want to mess with the money or the time of wiring for a new light, this trick is perfect!

I've shared this with you a couple times, but I'll show you all the ways I've installed lights without electricity in one spot! Here's the hallway I'm working on: 

You can see how I did that wood planked wall for cheap here! 

I wanted to put the picture light above the art on that wall. We have an overhead light but I wanted to add a little accent lighting in this spot. 

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I started doing some checking online and ended up going with this battery operated picture light: 

The color was just awful. 😂 But the light is surprisingly bright and it has a remote for easy operation. 

It also has a switch on the side that you don't even notice, in case you want to use that instead. There are three lighting options -- warm, natural and cool light. 

I sprayed the light in a gold spray paint and then got it hung up. (It even has a tiny level on the back for easy hanging.) It has a remote similar to other lights I've used: 

Step one of 25 for this small makeover is done!...

It's low enough we can easily reach up to turn it on without the remote. Love it! A couple reviews say the light isn't very bright, but I'm pleased with it. The lights can be angled to where you want as well. 

Here are the other ways I've added lighting without electricity or wiring...

I hung sconces and added remote lighting in our dining area: 

I hung a sconce in our mud/laundry room in a spot with no wiring using this method as well: 

And did the same for the bookcase lighting in my office (that link shows how to attach the battery lights to sconces that face the floor): 

This method saves a TON of money instead of hiring out electrical work. I wouldn't use it for an area we use a lot...say, for a vanity light. But it works great for accent lighting you don't need on all the time. 

The remote versions with timers are AWESOME. Otherwise it's easy to forget they're on and the battery will run out. :) 

 

Have you tried any of these hacks to get lighting without electricity? 

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How to build a {modern} DIY vent hood

Hello there! After a long summer slumber, I'm back at it with a bunch of DIY's! If you've read TDC for awhile, you know that I turn into a sloth in the summer. I try to fight it but it's something that happens every year. I slow down and love it. :)

The second the temps start to cool down a bit I'm back at it with tons of ideas and projects! This DIY vent hood is an update I've been planning for a long time. 

We had a metal vent hood that came standard with our kitchen. I considered a wood vent hood when we built, but I wanted to see how we liked this for awhile: 

I had a vent hood added when I remodeled our last kitchen and loved it!: 

That kitchen had more of a farmhouse feel and that design fit in perfectly! 

Over time I was missing that added custom touch in our current kitchen. There's no wrong or right here -- the metal vent hood looked great! But I knew I could add some character with this project. 

I had a design in mind that was a little more modern. I also had an idea that would allow me to build the whole thing without drilling into the tile backsplash. (In case we ever need/want to take it down.) These kinds of projects are so fun for me -- it's like putting a puzzle together as I go!

My plan called for removing all of the trim and crown on the sides of the cabinets: