How to Hide Cables & Cords in Your Home

How to Hide Cables & Cords in Your Home

No matter how well-designed your home is, Murphy’s Law dictates that your outlets must be placed in the world’s most inconvenient and impossible-to-hide locations. Sure, this can make configuring a room tough, but it can also mean you feel cornered into keeping certain pieces of furniture in places that strategically hide outlets and wires. And now that many of us are working from home, in addition to contending with HDMI cables, Wi-Fi routers, and ethernet cords, you’ll also need to find easy-to-reach outlets to charge your laptop or cell phone. But getting rid of unsightly cords doesn’t have to mean playing living room Jenga. Here are a few ways you can keep cords and wires where they belong: out of sight.

The best way to keep your unsightly TV cords from running along your wall, of course, is to run them behind it instead. While we don’t recommend putting any holes in your wall if you’re untrained, it usually doesn’t take more than a few tools and half an hour to install an in-wall cord system. Shut off the room’s power, then use a stud finder to make sure you’re not near any wall studs before you cut two holes in the drywall—one behind your television and the other near the outlet. Install the wall-mounted cable plates on each of the holes, then run the cords through the top plate down through the lower plate.

If drilling holes in the wall isn’t an option, keep wires, routers, or anything else hidden inside a wicker basket instead. Cut a hole through one side of the wicker basket, then place it next to your credenza or cabinet. It’ll look just like part of your normal decor. If a basket isn’t your go-to decor item, consider hiding wires in a functional piece of furniture like a sideboard or cabinet. You can easily add a hole to the item with a power drill and a hole-cutter attachment.

Another strategy to keep a power strip from taking away from your bedroom’s focal point is to lift it off the ground and onto your wall or the back of your entertainment center. Another option is a wall-mounted power strip that plugs right into the outlet.

These days, it’s easy to invest in a cord wrap or docking station to keep all your wires in one place. Not only will a cord wrap or dock organize wires that you reach for often, but it’ll also help keep everything streamlined and less cluttered. Just be sure you label your cords so you don’t get any, ahem, wires crossed.

Lastly, if your cable clutter comes from extra-long cords with tons of slack, invest in a cable reel, an ingenious tool that allows you to wind up your cords to conceal them, shorten them, and keep them untangled.

Worst case scenario, you can always use a shower rod to conceal wires—or wrap your cords in a chic material like jute rope to make them blend right in with your decor. Have other fun ideas to hide your cords and wires? Tag us in them on Instagram for a chance to be featured!

xx LC