shopping for...bookcase sconces

i am writing this blog post in real time as i am shopping for bookcase sconces. our office project is slowly but surely coming along, and ryan is building an entire wall of built-in bookcases. he's got all five of them anchored in, 2 x 4 cages built around them...and now he needs to know how big to make the holes for the three sconces i envisioned putting above them.

grrr. i hate it when its my fault a project stalls.

i haven't pulled the trigger on a purchase because i'm a little torn by indecision. everything has either been not quite right or not quite the right price. so i'm starting over on my search and here are today's contenders:

hudson valley 8321 garden city 8" wall sconce : : aged brass

$376 

restoration hardware 20th c. factory filament milk glass sconce : : aged steel

$139

restoration hardware 20th c. library single sconce : : aged steel

$209

restoration hardware 20th c. torpedo sconce : : aged steel

$129

restoration hardware 10" vintage barn sconce : : antique brass

$209

restoration hardware vintage barn sconce : : warm white

$209

restoration hardware 8" vintage barn angled shade sconce : : warm white

$219

wait a minute...lightbulb moment (no pun intended). on a recent trip to ikea, when i was looking for a pendant for this project, i purchased this sconce:

ikea ranarp clamp spotlight : : off-white

$19.99

i had seen it here, and had absolutely fallen in love. i bought it thinking it might hang above the desk, but alas it looked awkward and is now sitting in the return pile. but hmm....could it go above the bookcases?

hold on a minute.

i'm back. ryan and i just put it together and held it up and it seems like its going to work! he says it should be no problem to snip off the plug and hardwire it in (its so handy that he has a degree in electrical engineering). 

as i look at the sconces i've been drooling over tonight, this one has an element that i love from all of them: a bit of white, a little brass, an exposed cord, the right shape. and it's a scant fraction of the price!

well, this was a worthwhile post. thanks for walking through that with me everyone! now cross your fingers that it goes as smoothly as we hope. famous last words?

{update: it worked like a charm! check out our completed office & how the sconces look here}