Thursday, 21 October 2021

The Most Affordable Hack To Make Your Outlet Covers Look Good

Last weekend I finally got to see my friend’s new house. I say finally because they’ve been basically bringing it back to life for the past four months. I’m real sorry I don’t have pictures (maybe a future collaboration will make that possible!) but trust me it’s BEAUTIFUL. It’s an English Country manor style home so it’s got a ton of charm. But from the before photos they showed me, there was just a lot of shiny orange woods, undesirable wallpapers, banisters painted one too many times, and hardware that had seen better days, etc. Now? Well, now it’s perfect. They refinished the original floors and arched front door so they are a beautiful light, matte oak (? I need to confirm that), painted all the walls and trim a perfect calming white, did a minor but transformative bathroom facelift (I really want to shoot that for you:)), and took literally every piece of small hardware and got them repainted a matte black. It makes everything look so clean and fresh but still keeps that warm soulful vintage feel. They’ve done more upgrades but with no pictures to drool over let’s get to the whole point of this post… the outlet covers.

Needless to say, this renovation has been umm, not cheap. So finding easy ways to save even a little bit of money has been the goal. My friend told me that she learned a cool trick from the one and only Jessica Helgerson about making outlets look like they belong in an older home. Are you ready? Just paint them the same color as the wall.

This might be a real “duh, Jess” to a lot of you but I have either just got the plastic covers and not painted them or dreamt of one day getting beautiful brass or matte black outlet covers. So let’s start there…

photo by tessa neustadt | from: griffith park living room reveal

Like I said, I have dreamt of having my home be so custom-designed that even the outlets are a beautiful moment. But having a contrasting colored outlet cover does draw attention which may or may not be your goal. They also aren’t a cheap accessory if you need a lot of them. If that’s the case you also don’t have to have all of your outlet covers match! Choose the fancy covers for the ones you really see (like the one above) and then go for the affordable plastic ones for the ones that are more hidden. HOWEVER, don’t just leave them plastic and naked…

photo by tessa neustadt | from: staging my dream parisianchotel suite with sothebys

Paint them the same color as the wall or trim they are on! It’s so easy, makes them look more camouflaged yet intentional, and ideal for an older, vintage-style home. My friends ended up doing it themselves (or one of them did it himself:)) because the painters basically said no. Cool cool. When I asked them how he painted them this is what they said: “We bought a paint sprayer but it looks kinda uneven and too textured. We want to take the paint to a place that will make an aerosol can.” Simple and cheaper than the statement covers but nicer than a naked plastic one! FYI I thought they looked great but I can 100% understand the desire for everything to look exactly you want. These are my people:)

So if you live in an older home and don’t love the look of a plastic outlet cover, grab your wall or trim paint, get it made into a spray can, and have a fun little DIY afternoon. I wish I would have done this in my old place but o well, guess I’ll have to work this outlet magic in my new one:) Thanks to Jessica Helgerson and my friends!

Love you, mean it.

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Jess’ MOTO: You Have To See How She Hacked Her Rental Kitchen With DIYs

The post The Most Affordable Hack To Make Your Outlet Covers Look Good appeared first on Emily Henderson.



from Emily Henderson https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/the-most-affordable-hack-to-make-your-outlet-covers-look-good

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