I have collected local hand-blown votives for over a decade. A few years ago, I was looking for ways to display them and discovered the Pottery Barn cubby was perfect. Each glassybaby perfectly fits into one of the 25 cubbies which create an awesome piece of art on the wall.

Pottery Barn cubby filled with glassybaby

Over the years I have tried to find the best way to illuminate these glassybaby in the cubby. I started with battery operated tea lights, then moved to puck lights to illuminate from above. The problem with both of these options is that they require frequent battery changes.

The tea lights I used were great because they would automatically turn on and off (6 hours on, 18 off); however, that meant that I needed to do the battery changes around the time that I wanted them to turn on daily.

The puck lights ran off of reusable AAA batteries; but I would spend all weekend charging batteries to get a few hours of enjoyment.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to Brad that I would love to hardwire LEDs into each cubby so that I could ditch the batteries for good. In true Brad form, he started researching how to do it for me (and only giving a partial eye roll when I said that I also wanted the power cord fished through the wall so I wouldn’t see it).

This past weekend, all the parts arrived and he spent a few hours doing the assembly.

Lighted wall display of 25 glowing candle votives

The lighted cubby is now back on the wall and it is absolutely amazing. We have it plugged into a smart outlet so they automatically turn on and off each evening.

All of the wiring is done using low voltage components, and runs off of a single power supply. Check out the full tutorial below to hardwire lights into your own Pottery Barn Cubby.

Lighted Pottery Barn Cubby Display

Add wall powered lights into the Pottery Barn Cubby display using LED strips.

Active Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours

Materials

Tools

Wire Strippers/Cutter/Crimper
Small Screwdriver
Powered Drill

Instructions

If puck lights were previously installed, remove them from each cubby. Remaining adhesive can be removed with Goo Gone and a Scrub Daddy sponge.
Drill ~1/4" hole in each cubby. Try to make this hole close to the top in the center to avoid seeing wires.
Push the wires of each LED strip through the hole. Remove the adhesive cover and adhere in the center of each cubby. As the lights are going on the top of each cubby, it is easiest to do this with the display case upside down.
Install three terminal blocks to the top of the display case. Use the provided stand-offs so that cables can be run underneath. The end terminals will be used to daisy chain the terminal blocks together.
The top row wires are long enough to reach the terminal block; however the other rows will need to have additional wire added. Use crimping wire nuts to attach the additional cable.
Install each wire into the terminal block, we combined the two outside rows on each side onto one block and then a third block for the middle row.
Once all the cubbies are connected, use cable ties for cable management.
The power supply comes with multiple ends, one of these includes an option for direct wire connection. Use this block and wire it into one end of the terminal blocks.
We opted to fish the wire through the wall {we'll have to patch whenever we move, but that is a long ways off}. if you don't mind a dangling power cable, it can simply be plugged in. If you opt to go this way, make sure that the cable is long enough to do all the connections while the cabinet is on the floor.
To mount the display case, use hallow wall anchors. Add a washer and nut so the anchor is pulled tight, but allows for the screw head to protrude for hanging.
Hang, Fill, and Enjoy!