Cute ways to hide your electronics

Wires, and routers, and speakers – oh, my! If your living room is cluttered with electronic eyesores, you may want to perk up. We’ve tracked down three DIY experts who have some awesome ways of passing off electronics as cute pieces of home décor.

Here are a handful of design hacks for disguising technology.

Turn speakers into pieces of art

If you’re into customized décor, this speaker-hiding project is definitely for you. The idea is to transform your speakers into art pieces that naturally blend with the rest of your space – whether it’s kitschy, modern or somewhere in between. We wish we could say we came up with the idea ourselves, but it was actually Farm Fresh Therapy’s Chelsea Mohrman who brought it to life.

“This is one of my favorite projects because it really allows you to customize the speakers to your space,” says Mohrman. “You can vary the sizes, pick out cool fabrics, and get crafty with the frame designs and colors.”

According to Mohrman, the DIY component itself is a little tricky (and time intensive), but definitely well worth it. In a nutshell, it involves deconstructing the speakers, then putting them back together using framed fabric.

For full directions, click here.

Hide your equipment in decorative boxes

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<p>Here’s a router hidden in a decorative box.
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<p>Here’s a router hidden in a decorative box.
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<p>Even if you have wireless equipment, a collection of blinking routers and bulky modems are the last thing you want to showcase on your media console. Kerry Kobe over at <a href=

Sweet Sanity Designs recommends hiding these accessories in decorative boxes.

“Life always seems so hectic that I am drawn to making spaces around me organized, balanced and serene – but technology junk never seems to fit into that look!” says Kobe.“I am always excited when I can find sneaky ways to tuck it away.”

Try The Container Store for reasonably priced little boxes. From there, carefully cut out an opening in the back of the box to feed any wires and cables through to the back of your TV stand. Put the top back on and – voila! For a nice touch, Kobe suggests writing inspirational messages in subtle ink in the label slots.

For full directions, click here.

Literally slip TV wires behind the wall

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<p>Hang a flat-screen TV without the dangling wires.
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<p>Hang a flat-screen TV without the dangling wires.
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<p>If you live in a smaller space (we’re looking at you, city dwellers) mounting your flat-screen on the wall is a great way to free up extra room. The only problem is that this sometimes results in a dangly tapestry of unsightly wires. Diane Henkler from <a href=

In My Own Style has the perfect solution – simply tuck them away within the wall.

This project may seem a bit intimidating to the novice DIY-er, but Henkler assures that it’s actually much easier than it seems. “Having the right tools makes any DIY project easier,” she says. “In this case, the steel fish tape makes the job of getting the wires behind a wall an afternoon project.”

In simple terms, use a hole saw to drill two small holes; one right below the TV mounting base and one closer to the floor (behind your media console). From there, you basically have to feed the wires through the wall itself. The finished product is a wall-mounted TV – minus the unattractive cables and wires.

For full directions, click here.