Hiding the cords! (Ick)

September 23, 2013

I blogged about this before years ago (oddly almost exactly five years ago to the day!), but it’s worth another mention. Or ten. Keep in mind this is not something some of you probably even care about, but it keeps me from waking up in the middle of the night sweating because of my deep, burning hatred of electrical cords.

Yes, I loathe them. In somebody else's house – would probably never notice them. In my house, hate. them. And it does drive me crazy when I see them on a design show or in a magazine. I mean, they’re going to create this amazing space and then you see them laying on the floor or hanging around? Shiver.

So here’s how I deal with them. And this is for smaller things like lamps or whatever. The whole TV cord thing is a whole other post (which I will do too).
Here they are…my loves:
cord hiders
These are cord hiders. Otherwise known as the best things invented ever in EVER. I find mine at Lowe’s on the end cap near the cable stuff. Not the electrical aisle – near the cable supplies. You can also find them online here! (affiliate)

This is how I use them – when I have a lamp cord that hangs down behind something (that I can see – I don’t care if it’s something I can’t see. Not that crazy.) I will use my scrap pieces of the plastic cord things and stick them on the back of the furniture:
plastic cord hiders
They have a sticky back – you just peel off the paper and stick them on. And to cut them you just score them with your scissors (turn them around between the blades) and then snap it apart.
I also put them on the wall above the outlet:
how to hide cords
I actually wish I had made that piece a little longer. I can deal though. Kinda.

So instead of having the whole long cord hanging down behind the desk, you just see a little bit:
how to hide cords behind desk
And yes, I’ve considered painting the cords. Nothing is above me. Not quite to that level of crazy just yet.

You may have noticed no cords showing when I showed you my new blue lamps last week:
how to hide lamp cords
Same thing there – I took a piece of the cord hider and stuck it down the back of the pedestal table: 
how to hide electrical cords
Have I blown your mind? Huh? Yeah? Boom.

These are actually made to snap shut too – so that open side you see above could be closed. I don’t worry about that since you rarely see these in the first place.

I did it again in the kitchen/family room so that you can’t see the cord behind the console table:
hiding electrical cords
Oh my. That is beautiful, right?

You can also paint these things:
cord hiders
I hung the sconces that used to be in the bedroom down in the basement and used these to hide the cords going down the wall:
cord hiders for sconces
I’m not totally crazy about that look, but it’s something that hides dangling cords. I’d love to eventually have something hard wired there so this is a temporary fix. (And I tried one of the hiders along the bottom but realized the cords were less noticeable on their own since they match the wood top.)

The cord hiders come in a variety of sizes and I use them for our TV component stuff too. That little section at the hardware store is a magical place, be sure to check it out. ;)

Oh, and when I put them on the wall like above I don’t take the paper off the whole strip and stick it to the wall because they can damage the wall when you remove them later. Or sometimes the residue sticks too well and stays on the wall -- that’s my only complaint about these things. I just take off a tiny bit so just a smidge is sticky – it’s usually enough to hold them in place just fine.

There you go. How I survive life. First world problems, hiding cords. These things come in about five foot lengths and I think they’re like $4 each? But I usually cut them down so they go a long way for me.
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Comments

  1. I use those cord covers and absolutely love them! They are perfect for the sconces, too. I looked into hard wiring a few in our house and almost fainted at how much the electrician wanted to charge. I think the cord covers work just fine!

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  2. OK Seriously! I have despised cords for ever. Where have I been? These cord covers are the answer. Yay! Thanks for sharing.
    Cheers to you and yours,
    Therese @ Fresh Idea Studio

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  3. Love practical tips Sarah and this one truly is very helpful! Thanks!

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  4. Cords irritate me also. Not a huge deal but I use 3M Command Strip clear wire holders behind furniture. The rest of the cords I try to bury in the walls if i can.

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  5. My cords never bothered me until I read your post a few years ago. Now they are somewhat irritating. I think I need to buy some of those hiders,

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  6. Nice! I have spray painting cords before. For our kitchen pendant light I wanted an oil rubbed bronze cord, so our came the spray paint. Turned out pretty good!

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  7. For me it's the computer. I have cords galore there. And with the printer attached, even more yucky. My laptop though is plugged in to the left of the machine and the printer on the right. so the cords snake all round the laptop with two ugly cords going to the plug in the wall UGLY. And I doubt those will help.
    But a great idea for lamps and whatnots.

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  8. Cant wait for the post to hide TV cords!! So many cords!!!

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  9. I use cord covers AND paint the cords. You gotta do what you gotta do to cover the pesky things!

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  10. I too hate cords. I always use the little command adhesive cable clips.

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  11. Here is another mind blowing moment. . They have the cord hiders at Ikea! You get a 4 Ft long pack of 6-8 for like $2. They have the same sticky backs like the ones at Lowes :)

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  12. Love this!! And can't wait for your post on your weekend in Nashville. I'm from Franklin, so I nearly died when I saw pics on Traci and Rhoda's Instagram that y'all were in MY Starbucks!! I really hope y'all made it to PD's in DT Franklin. :-)

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  13. OMG thank you! I dream of a land where everything is cordless! I've tried the 3M Command hooks, but this will be way better. And I'll be watching for your post about hiding the TV cords - those things are the stuff of nightmares.

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  14. I know just what you mean about cords! Wow, thanks for sharing these great covers! I have taped, stapled and painted them. This is so much easier! I saw your trip with Rhoda on Facebook; what a fun place and great friends!

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  15. I am always looking for ideas that don't damage walls, like Removable Command strips. The cords in my home are an issue. Thanks for sharing.

    iHeartCleaning
    http://iheartcleaning.blogspot.com/

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  16. This is such a great solution! I'm forever trying to hide cords, especially in photos!

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  17. When I saw the yellow plug, I was thinking that I was surprised you don't paint your cords. And then I read your comment. Bahahaha.

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  18. great tips, I'm actually one of the crazies that paints the cord. works pretty well!

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  19. Thank you for sharing. I'm heading to Lowe's first thing in the morning. I feel the same way about cords. They drive me nuts and I try to hide them at all cost. That drives my family nuts. My boys just don't get why cords bother me so much. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they see these buggers. I love that they can be painted. Genius.

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  20. I had a good chuckle when I saw this post. Just this afternoon while painting my book case backs in the living room I was thinking to myself, dam I have to do something with the cords dangling behind the sofa table. Ha, I know what to do with them now!!!!! Thanks for the awesome tip :)
    Marie@InteriorFrugalista

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  21. As to placing the cord covers with the sticky stuff that can pull off tape, I have an idea. 3M makes Velcro that is removable and will not harm your paint. You could cut them so they are long and skinny, or cut them any size you need. This Velcro is really strong. I've used it. You might need a bit more, but oh, how worth it it is. To be able to stick something to the wall and then pull it off without damage really makes me happy. You can take more risks this way.

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  22. I'm officially crazy. I paint cords - a lot. I also have some cord hiders (for which I paid WAY too much) that I use along baseboards because I don't want grandchildren getting at them. I'm adding cord hiders to my IKEA list. I didn't know about removable Velcro. Hurray!
    Ellen

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  23. THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I have despised the nasty tangled web of cords behind my desk and have found nothing that works very well. I had all but given up until this post of yours. I needed this! My sanity thanks you.

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  24. I use these, yes, I AM that CRAZY! and paint the cord if it's at a distance. I use 3M command wall hook adhesives instead of the adhesive on the back of these, that way I can remove and it doesn't damage the wall.

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  25. i despise the look of a dangling cord! i am really OCD about this and i always buy the fabric cord covers for mine in a neutral color so that it will blend in with any decor in any room - and when i find them at a good sale price i buy several!

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  26. Love this! Question for you... Do you have any suggestions for hiding a cord that runs across carpet? We have a sectional in our great room with a sofa table and lamp and the cord had to run across the carpet to the wall. I HATE it and it's a tripping hazard, but I don't know what else to do. The lamp is very necessary since we have 20 ft. ceilings with a fan that doesn't provide nearly enough light.

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  27. Thank you for this tip! I HATE seeing cords too. When I see them in photos I so want to reach into the photos and move the cords. I have a few cords that need to be taken care of with these things!

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  28. I just started following you from Lettered Cottage for the fall mantel and love your chatter (and decor ideas) so I added you to my bloglovin'. I have been peeking around (like at the million times you have made over your island :)) and find your commentary enjoyable. So...I noticed the console you have in your picture above. Just bought the smae one from WM. I am surprised to see it in it's normal state! I will have to show you what I am doing. Fingers crossed. I will be using MMSMP for the first time, antiqueing wax, and adding pulls to that piece. I am very excited and it will be done sooner than later. I will email you the before and afters. And I look forward to checking out more about you and following along!

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