We installed these to light the area over our kitchen sink as a retrofit. Hardwiring a fixture would have been almost impossible as a beam and cabinet were in the way, so we ordered these plug in sconces and hid the cords in the crown molding over the top window casing and ran the cords between the cabinets to a plug switch in the tile backsplash. This is a very NICE item- a little fiddly at the last articulation nut, but pointing straight down and not touching or adjusting fixture on a daily basis they are great. The wall mounts are very sturdy with the screw that goes through the metal mounting plate.