How to Decorate Wall Sconces

Wall sconces can add interest, texture, and color to a wall or provide beautiful accent to artwork or metal pieces. Sconces now come in a variety of different materials including metal, ceramic, and wood. They also come in various sizes, shapes, and colors. But if you can't find the sconces that you want or need, then perhaps you can decorate your own. Follow the steps outlined below for a variety of ways to decorate your own wall sconces

Things You'll Need

• Wall sconces
• Paint (spray on paint-on)
• Stain
• Color wash
• Granite texture product
• Marble texture product
• Crackle
• Sandpaper
• Auroa borealis overcoat
• Glitter
• Leafing
• Mirror and/or tile
• Mosaic glue

Instructions

How to Decorate Wall Sconces

1. Determine how you want to use wall sconces in your home decor and which room in your home they will help to decorate. These decisions will have an impact upon how you decorate the pieces in question and the colors that you choose in your materials.

2. Decide on the type of wall sconces that you want: metal, wood, ceramic, or something else altogether. This decision will impact on "how" you may be able to decorate the sconces.

3. Decide on the size of the sconces you want to use.

4. If you don't already have wall sconces on hand, go out and purchase the ones that you want. Look at yard sales and thrift stores for inexpensive varieties or craft stores for those without any previous coating or texture. You can, of course, also purchase pre-decorated sconces and change or update them to your design.

5. Paint the sconces a background color if you desire one different from that the sconce already has. Be sure to use paints that are appropriate to the "type" of sconce that you have purchased. Paint options often come in flat, semi-gloss, gloss, pearlized, and in some instances even textured choices. You can paint them a single shade or handpaint them in any number of ways. This could include taking advantage of the sconce's natural design or by creating your own. Follow the directions on the paint(s) of your choice to apply the color correctly.

6. Stain the sconces for a certain type of wooden look. While this technique is most often used on wooden sconces, it can also be used on some ceramic or poly resin choices. This process generally includes painting the sconce a background color (let's say medium brown for faux oak) and then adding a false looking wood grain texture with a darker shade of stain in the same color family. Most staining kits provide detailed instructions on the overall process, which should be followed explicitly.

7. Use stain to add an antiqued look to just about any type of sconce and any color choice. Be certain, however, to choose a stain that works with the specific type of material from which the sconce is made, such as wood, metal, or ceramic. Stains come in a variety of colors and do not necessarily have to be an unusually deep or dark shade. You may even want to use more than one stain color to achieve a certain type of look. Follow the directions outlined on the stain of your choice to achieve the desired result.

8. Add a color wash to your sconce. Done similar in nature to a stain, a color wash can even be a color that is the same intensity as or a lighter shade than the sconce's background color. This technique is great for those trying to achieve a Grecian looks, for certain nautical styles, and in some instances even in Victorian styling. Color washes come in a wide variety of colors. Follow the directions outlined on the wash of your choice to achieve the desired result.

9. Add texture to your wall sconces with a faux granite look. There are some faux granite paints (both spray and paint on) available through craft stores or you can create your own by adding very fine sand to the paint color of your choice. Apply according to the method outlined on the texture paint of your choice in order to achieve the desired results.

10. Add a faux marble look to any semi-gloss or gloss painted sconce by adding spray webbing that can be purchased at most craft stores. You can add as much or as little of the webbing as you want to achieve the marble look of your choice. Webbing comes in solid white, cream, brown, black, as well as a few designer colors. Follow the instructions on the web paint of your choice in order to achieve the desired look.

11. Crackle the paint of your wall sconce to give it an old, antique look. Crackle is a glue-like substance that can be purchased as most craft stores. It dries clear, crackling any background paint color as it dries. You can a little or a lot of crackle, depending upon your desire. It is controlled by the amount of crackle product painted on the sconce.

12. Add your own antiqued look by using sandpaper to scrape off part of the paint on your sconces for a natural worn look. You can "wear" the paint as much or as little as you like to achieve the look that you want.

13. Add a clear coat of auroa borealis coating to give your wall sconces a unusual overcoat that will look different from difference angles and in different types of light. While a bit more difficult to locate, this type of overcoating can be found in some craft stores. It comes both in spray and paint-on format. Follow the instructions for the overcoat of your choice.

14. Add a bit of glitter to your wall sconces with the spray or paint-on glitter color of your choice. Follow the instructions for the type of glitter you have chosen.

15. Add gold, silver, or platinum leafing to your wall sconces. Leafing product comes in sheets as well as paints that can be purchased at most craft stores. Follow the instructions for the type of leafing product chosen.

16. Mosaic plain sconces with broken tile or mirror to give them an upscale, designer look, using glue appropriate to the type of materials you are using.

17. Hang the sconces on the wall with the appropriate type of wall hanger for the variety of sconce chosen.

Tips & Warnings

• Be creative in personalizing your wall sconces.

• Apply an appropriate overcoat of acrylic, polyurethene or other product to seal in your work.

• Be cautious to hang heavy sconces with wall hangers that are made to carry their weight.

• Hang heavy wall sconces from wall studs whenever possible.

• When working with paints, stains, washes, and like products, make sure you have good ventilation in the room where you are working.