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Transform your living room with a sleek and stylish electrical panel cover. Learn how to cover the electrical panel in the living room and elevate your décor in just a few simple steps.
Let’s be honest – you didn’t invest that much in a great living room to have visitors notice the electric panel first. The beautiful accessories were both expensive and time-consuming, and it is a pity that they won’t attract attention first.
But how to cover the electrical panel in the living room? Sure, you can replace it with a catchier model, but electrical panels tend to be pricey. Instead, you should try and hide it.
Weaving tapestry, smartly positioned artwork, or a wood frame are all great DIY ideas to hide the electrical panel box. Keep reading for more.
How to cover the electrical panel in the living room
Before you begin
Image source: Castle Building & Remodeling
Most electrical panels are easy to cover, but there are some precautions to keep in mind. Make sure they are easy to open, in particular, their steel panel door from where you can access the breakers.
Depending on where you live, covering the electrical panel may be forbidden. Check this with the local building authority to ensure you are not violating any code. Local electrical codes are in place to protect you in case of fire, which means they should be easy to access and visible right away.
We’ve gathered the best DIY ideas you should consider to hide electrical panel in your living room.
A picture frame to hide electrical panel
Image source: Amazon
Here comes an easy, yet brilliant idea to hide your electrical panel. Artwork and photos are true living room material, and they contribute to the character of your household. Instead of displaying several photos on the shelves, assemble them into a collage and cover the electrical panel with it.
Image source: Amazon
The electrical box can be found both on supplementary and accent walls, but if you hide it well, nobody will even know it is there. You can quickly get rid of the boring grey door of the circuit breaker box and have the room you wanted.
Better yet, you can simply replace the collage with a new one when it gets boring.
Tapestry
Image source: Amazon
With or without a breaker box, homeowners use tapestry to accentuate the desired theme of their living rooms. Tapestry comes in all designs and sizes, which makes it the perfect breaker box cover material.
Cover the annoying metal door with tapestry in your favorite color, and you won’t even remember it was there.
Image source: Amazon
Switching will also be a viable option, so the tapestry will easily follow the materials and textures you’ve introduced. The best part is that no one will suspect that the tapestry hides an electrical panel, kids included.
A mirror board
Image source: Tamara Mack Design
If you wondered where to hang a beautiful, large mirror, you’ve got your answer. Mirrors are magnificent and useful accessories, and they can make even narrow and busy living rooms look bigger.
Cover the electrical panel with a mirror, and protect it with a sturdy frame. This way, the mirror won’t get damaged even when you take it down and back up.
Image source: Patricia Knox Designs
The biggest upside here is that mirrors reflect light, and they are therefore applicable in any design scenario. Your living room will never look boring, and your breaker box will be perfectly hidden.
Cover the fuse box with chalkboard panels and white dry-erase boards
Image source: Amazon
Creative DIY homeowners should give this idea a try. A circuit breaker box can easily be hidden behind a magnetic chalkboard or a blackboard, in a charming and homey setting. You won’t have to spend a fortune, and you will have a place for a to-do list or your kids’ drawings.
Instead of annoying circuit breakers, you will be able to read your favorite quotes and admire your travel memorabilia. What makes a living room better than this?
A pegboard
Image source: Amazon
Why not hide electrical panel beautifully and practically? If you have enough space, you can use the electric panel coverage for storage, for instance, a pegboard.
Pegboards don’t take up that much space, and all you will need are hooks and a cloth. The board will help you keep the living room organized, and know where what is at any point in time. We can hardly think of any less expensive way to cover the breaker box.
The pegboard can be used to store keys, cables, or even cleaning tools. Bigger families will simply love this idea.
A cabinet door
Image source: Braitman Design Studio
Enclose the electric panel cabinet-style, and use it as wall decor. There are endless options online, and you may even get a chance to use the vintage doors you couldn’t find a place for.
Image source: GJ Studio
The biggest advantage is, that the doors do the job themselves, and you don’t have to worry about decorating. You only need to ensure you can open and close them properly.
Accent wall decoration
Image source: Masterpiece Design Group
Fuse boxes are not installed with form in mind, and there is a big chance you will find them awkwardly located in the middle of a big wall. The more visible they are, the more challenging it will be to design on and around them and to keep them out of sight.
Instead of a sore thumb, they can become your accent item. You can conceal them in a jiffy and artistically mask them. Most homeowners opt for installing large cement board panels painted in an accent color, or even painting the panel door itself. This doesn’t cost much, and it will still be something visitors will love.
An old shutter as an antique window
Image source: Elena Roser
In essence, you’ve got an electrical box and a painted shutter to work with, so what could go wrong? Your living room can get the rustic charm you always wanted, and the annoying box will turn into a work of art.
Depending on your taste, you can stain or repaint the old shutter to make it look even more retro. This is a great tip for covering fuse boxes located in the middle of the wall.
Wallpaper
Use wallpaper to make the electrical panel blend with the rest of the wall. You can apply it with ease and it won’t cost you much. If you get recessed instead of wall wallpaper, the presence of the cabinet door below will be very difficult to spot.
Note, however, that you would need to cut the sides on the wallpaper each time you need full access to the fuse box. Most of the time, however, you will be able to stick it back on point on a perfectly flat surface.
The same as tapestry, wallpaper works in favor of Charmant and personalized living rooms. They will never bore you, as you can replace them any time you want.
Affordability is only the cherry on top of the cake.
Painting
Image source: Crowell + Co. Interiors
Painting is an excellent way to optimize your living space, so why not cover the electrical panel with paint? The sore grey spot in the middle of the wall will be gone, and you can always repaint it when it gets boring.
Pick the colors that work the best with your room. You can even play with texture or write over it. Also, let’s not forget that this is the best way to keep the electrical panel easily accessible.
Federal Pacific Panel Replacement Consideration:
If you’re dealing with an outdated Federal Pacific electrical panel, it’s crucial to consider Federal Pacific Panel replacement options. Federal Pacific panels have been known for safety issues and are no longer recommended due to their potential fire hazards. When covering or hiding an electrical panel, it’s important to prioritize safety by addressing any underlying issues with the panel itself.
Final thoughts
Now that you know how to cover the electrical panel in the living room, you’ve seen that this problem is easy to solve. You don’t have to come to peace with the annoying grey stain on the wall, and you can make this sore thumb work for you.
Get creative, and think of personalized designs to cover the electrical panel. You can even create your cabinet, or highlight your design style with a well-chosen painting. All options are on the table, or in this case, on the wall.
If you liked this article about how to cover the electrical panel in the living room, you should check out this article on how to arrange a narrow living room.
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