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11 Magnolia Lane

Sharing our easy DIYs, decorating, entertaining and more!

DIY 101: Hiding Electrical Cords

January 5, 2016 By Christy 7 Comments

This Post Contains Affiliate Links

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How to hide unsightly electrical cords | 11 Magnolia Lane

Electrical cords are a part of life that I’m happy to embrace because, after all, I’m pretty fond of air conditioning, lights, computers, and my KitchenAid mixer, among other things.  I’d rather not see the cords if I can help it, however.

I usually do a pretty good job hiding cords through a variety of methods that I’ll share here.  They’re all easy for the DIY’er with moderate skills.  Here are my tips for hiding those cords:

1. Tuck them under furniture or behind curtains.  Sometimes I’ll use zip or twist ties to adhere them to a piece of furniture so they don’t sneak back out, or I’ll hide them under a rug.

2. Match the cord to the flooring.  If I have a lamp with a white cord, but the floor is dark brown, then I’ll just use a dark brown extension cord to plug it into the wall.

3. Sometimes I’ll use fabric cord covers; I have a variety in different colors and they are decorative and disguise cords all at the same time.  Buy them here, or they’re a snap to make if you can sew (Our posts contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking on these links, we will earn a small commission, which helps to keep our content free.  You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise, since that would be tacky! Full disclosure policy here).

If you look closely, you can see an off-white cord cover underneath the television.  That was a great way to hide the cords in our last home (in military quarters).

Eclectic and colorful living room decor | 11 Magnolia Lane

|  Living Room  |

4. Our current living room doesn’t have floating outlets (i.e. outlets in the floor) and it’s a large space.  We have several small holes drilled in the floor that allow us to plug in lamps in the crawl space underneath the house by removing and replacing the plugs.  This is obviously a fix for more experienced DIY’ers, but if you’re comfortable working with electricity, then {this} is a good tutorial.

The blue and white lamp below plugs in under the house using this technique:

Fall home tour | 11 Magnolia Lane

5. For cords on the wall, like for sconces or chandeliers that aren’t wired into an electrical box, I like this plastic conduit.  You can cut and paint it to fit, it’s self-adhesive and sticks to the wall, and when it’s time to change out the fixtures or move, it’s easily removable.

Here’s the before (and Harley; he likes to be in all the pictures if possible):

Hide an ugly electric cord for $5

The product I buy is available on the shelf at Lowes or Home Depot {exact product here} and it’s under $5 for a 5′ section.  It’s called “raceway,” “conduit,” “low-voltage cord cover,” “wire mold,” or “cordmate,” depending on where you’re shopping.  It’s white plastic, and you can leave it as-is, or paint it to match.  I painted mine to match the walls (Sherwin-Williams’ Comfort Gray), and cut it to fit.

Then, all you do is feed the cord into the cover.  It’s easiest to do before you adhere it to the wall.

Hide an ugly electric cord for $5

There’s a long strip of adhesive, what I grew up calling “double-stick tape,” on the back.  You just remove the paper and press it into place.

Hide an ugly electric cord for $5

Doesn’t it make a huge difference?

Hide an ugly electric cord for $5

It really finishes the room.

Master bedroom refresh in soothing blue grays | 11 Magnolia Lane

You can see the rest of the bedroom here, here and here.

Are there any tricks I’ve missed for hiding cords?  Let me know in the comments, please!

How to hide unsightly electrical cords | 11 Magnolia Lane

I wanted to show you two quick shopping deals I’ve found.  You can tell that I’m all about wraps and ponchos right now because it’s COLD here!  Check out this yummy wrap–it’s only $14.99 and it would look great paired with jeans and boots, or dressed up with black or camel pants and pumps for work {shop here}:

poncho

My daughter found these booties; she’s been wanting a pair forever.  She ordered the taupe, but I love the camel and even the red, and they’re under $25 {shop here}:

Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 9.07.42 AM

Have a beautiful day, and thanks for stopping by–

Final New Christy headshot 2015

 

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Filed Under: DIY/Projects/Tutorials, Wall & Door Decor Tagged With: diy, electrical, hide cords, lamps

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christene says

    January 5, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Awesome tips!! I’m going to be implementing #5 in a room redo that we are working on soon, I never thought about painting it to match the walls lol …. Super easy and functional. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    January 9, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    Great tips Christy…..and love those ponchos/wraps!

    Reply
  3. Laurie says

    February 15, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    I dislike seeing electrical cords everywhere or outlets everywhere even, I like when you can tuck things away. These are great ideas to make things less noticeable. The crawl space idea is a new one. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. James Banyard says

    March 21, 2016 at 4:29 am

    Amazing post.
    Thanks for sharing the wonderful tips. These tips are really beneficial for everyone.
    Keep sharing!!!

    Reply
  5. Lynette McCullough says

    August 5, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    Hi. I love your ideas, but mostly, I just wanted to say hello to Charlie!!! Hugs and kisses, Charlie!!! You are beautiful!!! ???

    Reply
    • Lynette McCullough says

      August 5, 2016 at 5:25 pm

      Sorry, I’m meant Harley, not CHARLIE!!! LOL!!!

      Reply
  6. Nana says

    May 28, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    Great ideas, except for the putting it under a rug. Walking on cords will damage them eventually, risking fire. Instead, there are channeled floor cord covers that make hiding them safe.

    Reply

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  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
    • IF YOU’RE NEW HERE…
    • WORK WITH US
    • 11 MAGNOLIA LANE 101
    • DISCLOSURE + PRIVACY (the fine print)
    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
    • Back
  • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
    • CHRISTY’S MCC HOUSE
    • AMY’S NEW HOME BUILD
    • HOLIDAY HOME TOUR SERIES
    • SPRING HOME TOUR SERIES
    • Back
  • CELEBRATIONS
    • EVENTS + ENTERTAINING
    • GIFTS
    • HOLIDAYS
    • RECIPES
    • Back
  • HOME
    • CLEANING
    • DECORATING
    • ORGANIZING
    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
      • CRAFT ROOMS + OFFICES
      • DINING ROOMS
      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
      • LAUNDRY ROOMS
      • LIVING + GREAT ROOMS
      • OTHER SPACES
      • PANTRIES
      • PLAYROOMS + BONUS ROOMS
      • PORCHES + OUTDOOR SPACES
      • Back
    • TIPS
    • Back
  • SHOP
    • SHOP OUR INSTAGRAM
    • SHOP OUR AMAZON STORE
    • FRIDAY FAVORITE FINDS
    • 11 ML ETSY SHOP
    • 11ML ORGANIZING SHOP
    • Back
  • PROJECTS
    • CRAFTS
    • DIY PROJECTS + TUTORIALS
    • FURNITURE
    • PRINTABLES
    • WINDOWS, DOORS, + WALLS
    • Back
  • LIFE
    • FRIDAY FREE FOR ALL
    • HEALTH
    • SIMPLY ON SUNDAY
    • TRAVEL
    • Back
  • CONTACT
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
2889 shares
  • 33