The Simple Secret to Making Your Outlets Disappear
Nothing kills a dark painted wall faster than a bright white outlet cover. You paint a room this gorgeous deep color, and then, oh look!, there’s a little white rectangle hanging out like it owns the place.
And the options out there? Not great. You can paint just the cover, but then you’ve still got the white outlet staring back at you. You can rewire the outlet, but then you’re stuck with almond or black, which is somehow worse. Either way, it never actually blends.
This problem became impossible to ignore when I color-drenched two bedrooms in my house. Everything was dark and moody and seamless….everything except the stupid outlets. I wanted the whole thing to disappear…cover, outlet, all of it…without spending my weekend playing electrician.
That’s where these paintable outlet covers come in. I have probably 30 of them in my house so far. They’re so simple and so good that I can’t not tell you about them. And admittedly, I didn’t even find them on my own, a reader told me about them. Teamwork, baby.
Why Paintable Outlet Covers are Smarter Than the Alternatives
- They cover everything – Not just the plate, but the plugs too. Paint it and it’s gone. (These would also be great for rooms with wallpaper.)
- No rewiring – I can rewire an outlet, but I’d rather not. This takes thirty seconds with a screwdriver, end of story.
- Perfect match – Because you’re literally using your wall paint, there’s no “almost the same” finish. It’s exact.
- Completely undoable – Change your mind later? Unscrew it and you’re right back to a regular outlet. No commitment, no damage.
How Easy Is It Really?
So, so easy.
Step one – paint the cover.
Step two – unscrew the old plate.
Step three – screw the painted one on.
Done. Just look at the difference –
(Please ignore the fact that my hallway has needed touch-up paint for well over a year. It’s on the list. Also, the paint color in this room is Essex Green by Benjamin Moore.)
What About Light Switches?
While writing this post and grabbing links, I realized they make switch covers too. My plan has always been to get brass switch plates for my color-drenched rooms. They’re gorgeous…and not at all budget-friendly, which is why I’m still procrastinating on hitting the “buy” button.
These paintable ones might be the perfect compromise: no more bright white rectangles on the wall, and no need to hand over a fistful of cash. It looks like the actual switches will still be white though, which I don’t love, but it’s a step in the right direction.
In Conclusion…
Sometimes the smallest details make the biggest difference. This one just happens to cost two dollars and a dab of paint.
Thanks so much for this post! I just color drenched my mudroom and hate the outlets. The furniture piece shown in the last pic looks so much like my mother’s set. Is it a triple dresser or tall dresser with sliding doors on the top? She purchased hers in the early 60s from a catalog. Sight unseen, which wasn’t the norm back then.
It’s an antique three drawer dresser that is being used as my husbands nighstand. We got it about a year ago and had the option to buy a top section (like you mentioned) that would make it a tall dresser, but only needed the bottom section. it’s super cool, I love it. I have a totally mismatched but equally cool antique dresser on my side. You just can’t beat antique furniture!
I love these. Definitely going to be changing some covers in my house.
Good to know about this plug cover option. In the past I have painted typical plates and also delicately and carefully painted the plug section and the switch. It actually holds up pretty well.