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After my last post showing you the thrift store tables in my family room, I received a few questions about the TV in the room – specifically wanting to know where all the cords and wires were since the TV is mounted above a fireplace. In a perfect world, I would answer that there were electrical and cable outlets on the wall behind the TV, but since my house was built in 1993 – flat screen TV’s mounted on walls was not something builders included in their design.
We could have drilled a hole in the wall ourselves and threaded the cords/wires through it to a basement outlet, but with the brick fireplace that was not an option.
What did I do? Abbracadabra… it is all wireless – Only kidding. My fix – not so magical or perfect is one that lessens the eyesore of exposed wires. I covered them with a sleeve of fabric in the same color as the wall.
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I took the cover off to show you how I made it. This is how the cords looked after I organized and bundled them with cable ties. There are electrical and cable outlets behind the corner cabinet. The cable box, DVD player, etc. are behind closed doors in the cabinet.
The sleeve of fabric has Velcro along the edges to keep it closed.
Fabric Velcro – sticky back Cable ties Scissors Optional: wire and a picture hanging hook
1. Figure out how long and wide your sleeve of fabric should be. The fabric should wrap around the bundled wires loosely. Cut the fabric to size and hem with fabric glue or sew it on.
2. Place your fabric right side down -peel the two sides of the Velcro apart. Attach one side of Velcro along each long edge of the fabric: On the left edge of the fabric place the Velcro on top of the fabric. On the right edge – the Velcro goes on the underside of the fabric edge.
3. A nice and neat sleeve of fabric.
4. Optional: I made a hook out of wire and wrapped it around the bundled wires that run behind the cabinet.
5. I attached a picture hanging hook on the wall and hooked the wire loop over it. This keeps the cords/wires from hanging down directly from the edge of the mantel.
Not perfect – but without a lot of options to choose from – I have been pretty happy with my fix the past 3+ years. I sometimes place pretty objects in front of it and other times I leave the space bare since the fabric blends into the wall.
Have you done any “quick fixes” that have turned into a permanent fix lately?
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
This is just GENIUS!!! I have been sitting in my living room staring at the bundle of wires hanging from the open shelves that house my dvd player and cable box, HATING THEM since May when we remodeled! My hubby is an electrician, so he tells me all the time, “I’ll do something about it soon!” Yeah, just like the wires that were hanging down on over the floor, that I finally attached to the baseboard molding with 3M hooks! Looks much better, and the dogs aren’t tripping on them anymore! I will be looking for coordinating fabric tomorrow! Can’t wait to fix it and see how long it takes him to notice I did it!!
Thanks Michele -
Just like the mechanic whose own car doesn’t run – you have your very own electrician and end up doing the the work. :) When I make any changes in my house my daughters and I take bets on how long it takes my husband to notice. It is usually about 2 weeks.
Diane,
You come up withe the best ideas! Perfect for your fireplace wall. We recently had this dilemma with a new flat screen in the bedroom. It is mounted on a wall, high, opposite our bed. We had a “flat “there, my favorite TV, but it went on “kind of a fritz,” called the cable co. and they managed to get the TV working again. Long story . . . eventually we had to get a cable box, mount it behind the TV because there was no place for it to sit. Box blocked the TV vents and fried the TV. Bought a new TV . . . Closet behind that wall. Hubby made a shelf, velcroed the box to this removable shelf should we need to access and made a hole through tthe wall for the wires using the insert for a cam light. Getting the picture? Works like a charm! Electric eye on TV to use remote for off/on. So . . . I have him on DIY projects now too. Hope this made sense. No brick wall to deal with so this was possible!
I need to take pictures . . .
Love, Lynne
Hi Lynne – Sounds like a charm to have a closet with a shelf on the wall behind – perfect. I can understand why you have hubby on DIY projects now.
GENIUS, Diane! Thank you for sharing that life-changing tip :)
Thanks Kristie – I did it a few years ago. Thanks to a few readers who asked about it – I realized it would be a good post.
Our tv is above our fireplace but the cords are in the wall. And I still hate it. I hate the big black box over my mantle. It makes decorating the mantle more of a challenge. I would much prefer my little tv in the cabinet that I could close the doors on.
Ha, I made the same exact thing a few months ago! Great minds think alike. It looks great! For anyone who plans to try thi, If you have the paint swatch from when you painted your room, remember to take it with you when you pick out fabric :)
Fabulous and so creative! Thanks for sharing your tip, Diane! :)
xoxo laurie
What I need is an idea to disguise the tangle of cords and cable box behind my TV cabinet, not really all that visible, but can be seen when you enter the room if your eye travels down that way, plus I know it’s there. Any suggestions?
What I need is an idea to disguise the tangle of cords and cable box behind my TV cabinet, not really all that visible, but can be seen when you enter the room if your eye travels down that way, plus I know it’s there. Any suggestions?
Hi Madeline – Maybe you could add a piece of wood molding stained or painted the same color as the cabinet to the side of the cabinet or on the wall that is visible when you walk into the room. Measure the height of the cabinet for the length of molding needed. For the width -measure the space between your wall and cabinet and make sure that the molding is this wide so it will fit in. Add a hook to the back side on one end of the molding. Hang another hook on the wall and then hook the fitted molding over the wall hook. You may have to play around to get it to align to fit just right, but I think it would seamlessly hide the view behind the cabinet.
Thanks, Diane, excellent idea but I’m just going to modify it a bit, but you got me thinking on the right track. I’m just going to make a U shaped, three sided box, stain to match cabinet and place over the cable box and tangle. Thanks for helping me think “out of the box” (pun intended!)
Thanks for the great idea. I have been going crazy looking at cords above my mantle in my bedroom and this should be a perfect fix.
What a smart idea!!! I am thrilled and amazed! Since it’s the same color, you don’t see it!!! In everything, give thanks, GrandmaSoucie
I read a lot of blogs for inspiration. But some of the projects are very intimidating. What I love about your blog is that is full of little things that ANYONE can do, and in the end all of those little projects make a huge impact. THANKS!
Umm..why did I not think of that myself! Fantastic idea! I didn’t even notice the white fabric in the first picture until I saw the others. It is hidden well!
Another great idea, Diane! You are amazing. You keep coming up with new ideas and you are so wonderful at explaining them — your instructions are easy to follow and the photos really help. Do you ever get tired?!? I look forward each day to 8pm when your blog will appear in my inbox — what will Diane think of next? :-) Thank you!
Diane,
You are brilliant as always ; )!!
xo
Happy weekending!
Now that is really clever!!!!
I have used the “gathered” sleeve look in several areas to hide cords, but hadn’t thought of using velcro to cover something bigger. I can’t stand exposed cords either, so this is a great idea!
That is a wonderful solution! I don’t have a television on my mantel, but I do have some tiny white lights that required an extension cord – so it’s a small cord. There’s only a small space where it could show because of the bookcase beside the mantel, but I painted it the same color as the wall, and it disappeared. It’s visible – just like your cover – but not noticeable. That wouldn’t likely work for a bundle of cords, but it would probably work in lots of situations with lamp cords.
Now that’s clever. Why didn’t I think of that. aaahhh that’s why I read blogs for clever ideas.
Thanks for sharing.
That’s a nice tips there! I would like to follow and apply it on my flatscreen tv wire!
Nice job of hiding wires. When first looking at picture you have to look for the fabric cover and it looks fine. Blends in nicely.
Omg!! Thank you for this, my cables look terrible!! I never comment on blogs but felt it was a must!! Hopefully I can hide mine as well as you have!
That is a very nice tips.
Thanks! This is the perfect solution for me. I was not looking forward to some hardcore fix of running wires/cables into or behind my fireplace!