My home is set up in such a way that the thermostat is visible on the wall from the living room and kitchen. This sort of thing does not bother me in other peoples’ homes. It truly didn’t bother me in my own home. However, I thought up an easy way to hide the thermostat without too much headache that it was time to try!
The idea of covering up the thermostat of course lead to a much bigger project. It is almost like what happens when you start doing a deep clean on something. In order to really get the job done, you have to make a bigger mess first, right?
Here is how it started:
Now, if you’re paying attention at all, you can already see what I have done to hide the thermostat. However, since I have some sort of DIY addiction, I went ahead with a full blown hallway makeover.
After building my own farmhouse table, (Check it out here: http://www.thehomemadeabode.com/2023/11/04/diy-farmhouse-table/) I had some leftover strips of wood. These strips were super thin and had a uniform width because they were ripped from 2×8’s to give me clean edges for the table. There were a bunch of them, but for this, six is all you need.
I didn’t bother sanding them, but it might be a good idea. For color, I used my favorite combination of Minwax stains to get the same rustic-refined feel that I have throughout my house. First I put on a layer of Special Walnut. After that is dry. I sparingly use Classic Gray and wipe it off quickly so it doesn’t make the whole thing cloudy.
While the strips were drying, it was time to paint the walls. When we finished building our house six years ago, Sherwin WIlliams Agreeable Gray was all the rage. It was a good hallway color for all that time, but going white seemed like a good idea for this. When choosing whites, I lean into the slightly warmer feels. Sherwin WIlliams Alabaster is my go-to.
To make the plant hanger fit over the thermostat, I cut a small wooden box in half. This way, when the box hangs over the thermostat it fits neatly inside. Hot glue is effective at holding the macrame hanger in place so when you need to move the plant to access the thermostat, the whole thing will stay together.
Once the paint was dry, I lined up the strips on the wall behind and around the thermostat.
Since my plan to hang the fake plant over the thermostat was already in motion, I spaced the wood strips appropriately for the fake plant box. There are many ways to secure these wood strips to the wall, but making them super permanent wasn’t in the cards this time. Command strips are powerful little tools, and they did the job just fine for this project. In the event that I wake up in a week and can’t stand the way this looks, it will be easy to peel them off the wall.
PS. Painting the walls white helped to hide that gigantic cold air return near the ceiling. Another win!
This rug helped to tie the white walls with the dark doors and black metal fixtures.
And as for the thing that started this whole project? Tucked away and fully accessible to keep doing it’s very important job, but not in my line of sight 🙂
