Charming fish-shaped wall sconces that adorn theater room walls.
Fish Wall Sconce: A “Tale” of Creative Lighting
Bill Harvey's basement renovation project was driven by his vision for exceptional decorative lighting.
With a focus on crafting a captivating theater room and a cozy family space, Bill recognized the crucial role that lighting played in achieving these effects. To bring his vision to life, he set out to craft a unique lighting experience using transparent colored acrylic panels in combination with textured plastic.
Having used ACRYLITE® products in the past, Bill was already familiar with their exceptional quality. In one of his previous projects, he had used acrylic for framing art reproductions and admired its versatility. This inspired him to use transparent ACRYLITE® Premium (FF) acrylic set in wood framing as a decorative recessed room border for his renovation project.
Bill delved into experimenting with another ACRYLITE® acrylic product, Resist High Impact Wave Profile Bronze (Prismatic). He was delighted by the enchanting "sparkling" effect achieved when he used it to cover LED "fairy" lights. His imagination took the form of charming fish-shaped wall sconces that would adorn the theater room walls. The shape of fish were chosen based on their ease of drawing and cutting due to their simple forms.
Crafting the Sparkling Wall Sconces
ACRYLITE® acrylic’s appeal is in its light weight, ease of fabrication, resistance to impact, and incredible ability to transmit light.
To create the wall sconces, Bill meticulously cut various fish shapes from the wave acrylic sheet using a 14" bandsaw with a ¼ inch 10 TPI (teeth per inch) blade. Before assembling the finished cuts, he flame polished the cut edges for a smooth finish. Keeping the designs unique, for one sconce, he attached three smaller "fish" together, allowing them to partially overlap. The wave-shape of the sheets facilitated easy attachment with epoxy and three small bolts, each screwed into a nut and to the top of a 1 ½ inch separator attached to a platform. This method provided stability and prevented horizontal sliding.
The "fish" were raised about 1 ½ inches above a platform made from a 24-inch diameter ACRYLITE® Premium (FF) black acrylic sheet. To ensure durability, he directly attached the platform to a smaller diameter piece of ½ inch plywood, creating a space behind the black acrylic to accommodate LED strip lights for backlighting.
Within the 1 ½ inch gap between the "fish" and the black acrylic, Bill artfully arranged a string of LED fairy lights, infusing the sconces with a touch of magic. To prevent unsightly wiring from being visible from the side, he covered the gap with textured acrylic, a material he had also used for the family room recessed lighting.
ACRYLITE®: Illuminating Creative Designs
Bill Harvey's creative genius shines through the "Fish" Wall Sconce, powered by the dazzling surface of ACRYLITE® Resist wave profile prismatic sheet. This versatile masterpiece offers dynamic hues, pulsating light patterns, and synchronized music for lively dance parties or a cascade of twinkling, multicolored lights for comedy or children's movies.
Taking it a step further, Bill paid tribute to his beloved Eagles during Super Bowl moments, illuminating the theater room with a steadfast, brilliant green light. Thanks to ACRYLITE® acrylic products, his basement transformed into an enchanting space where creativity met craftsmanship, proving that with ACRYLITE® acrylic, possibilities for captivating lighting effects were endless.
