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How to Hide a Cable Box and Other Household Electronics

As mentioned in my previous post, my bookshelves have turned into eyesores, and after hours of rearranging everything on them, I realized what the problem was: the ugly cable box, router and wires. They are necessary items, and after a while you tend to stop seeing them. However, once I began restyling my shelves by updating some of the decorative objects and reducing clutter, I decided the ugly electronics had to go. Obviously I couldn't actually get rid of them, so I decided to hide them instead.


A bookshelf with electronics and unsightly visible wires

How To Hide a Cable Box

The first thing i wanted to do was hide the cable box. When thinking of ideas on how to hide a cable box, keep in mind that it still needed to be exposed enough for the remote to work, so whatever is covering it can't be completely solid. I found a decorative piece of sheet metal in my basement, but you can purchase a wide variety of them at any hardware store or Amazon.


A piece of decorative sheet metal

The first step is to trim the metal to size. The height should be about an eighth to a quarter of an inch higher than the box. The length depends on where your cable box is, and if the sides are exposed. If they are, then you will want enough to cover the length of the front and both sides. If only the front is visible (as is mine) the length should be at least two inches longer on each side.


Although you can buy the sheet metal in a variety of colors, the piece I happened to have already was black, so I covered it with a layer of metallic gold spray paint.


A piece of black decorative sheet metal

A decorative piece of metal being spray painted

Once it was dry, I bent the edges at a 90 degree angle to wrap around the front of the box.


A sheet of metal with the edges bent at a 90 degree angle on each side

Lastly, I simply slid it into place around the cable box - and yes, the remote still works!


A cable box concealed by a gold painted metal sheet

I added a decorative box on top to further conceal it, and give the look of stacked boxes.


A cable box concealed by a gold painted metal sheet with a decorative box on top of it

I knew I'd get complaints about the clock on the cable box being covered, so I added a vintage style clock to the bookshelf to display the time (and force my kids to read analog time).


A bookshelf with a clock displayed on the shelf

HIDDEN WI-FI ROUTER

I had some decorative photo albums that I purchased a few years ago because they matched my decor, but I never got around to putting actual photos in them. You can use any hardcover book for this, but as I wasn't using the albums anyway, I decided to use one to hide the router.


Purple photo albums on a bookshelf

I used an X-acto knife to remove the inside pages from the spine of the book so I only had the cover remaining.


A photo album with the pages removed

I took the remaining cover of the book and placed it over the router. Because the router needs to emit a signal, I made sure to leave a bit of space between it and the book cover.


A book cover placed in front of a wi-fi router to hide it

I placed a couple of additional books next to it, and now it just looks like books on a shelf and blends in seamlessly!


An empty book surrounding a wi-fi router


HIDING UNSIGHTLY WIRES

Because my shelves are built in, I can't get the wires behind the wall, so instead I came up with a way to put the wall in front of the wires. It sounds difficult, but this is quite possibly the easiest and simplest way to hide wires and cables!


I grabbed an old cardboard box and cut it to the same height and width as the shelf back. Using the same wallpaper I used to line the back of the bookcases, I simply wrapped a piece of cardboard in the wallpaper. If your shelves are not wallpapered just paint the cardboard the same color as the shelves.


peel and stick wallpaper wrapped around a piece of cardboard

I placed the wallpaper covered cardboard in front of the wires and voila - a false shelf back!


A clean and organized bookshelf

HIDDEN RECORD PLAYER

I have all my mom's old records, and for obvious reasons they have a lot of sentimental value. The experience of sliding the record out from the sleeve, reading my mom's handwritten notes on it, placing it on the turntable, setting the needle on the groove, and then hearing that distinctive crackle brings back a flood of happy memories every time.


Handwritten list of songs

The record player itself though is another story. It's a bit of an eyesore, along with being super annoying to dust with all the parts exposed.


A record player on a bookshelf

I found a super cute, affordable HIDDEN record player on Amazon for only $39!


A record player hidden in a suitcase

The lid opens to reveal a complete record player with built in speakers. When closed, it looks like a little vintage suitcase that looks great with my mom's old cases for her 45's.


A record player concealed in a suitcase

A beautiful organized bookcase







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Emily Hazel
Emily Hazel
26. Nov.

Add style and function to your devices with a pink 3.5 mm audio cable.

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