The Design Trick That'll Hide Unsightly Thermostats From View

Ideally, your home's thermostat is located about 5 feet up from the ground, out of direct sunlight, and in a spot that is neither too hot nor too cold. It needs enough ventilation to take proper temperature readings and maintain the climate. While your thermostat might technically be in the optimal spot according to these criteria, it might have also been placed smack dab in the middle of a wall. The genius design trick to hide your unsightly thermostat? Place it behind a piece of specially-designed artwork.

If a natural flow of light, energy, air, and design is important to you as a homeowner, then an oddly-placed or unpleasant thermostat calls attention to itself and interrupts an otherwise beautifully-designed environment. You might consider building a piece of artwork from scratch, or you can customize something store-bought. Whatever you use to cover it must have open space behind it to allow air to circulate. This is important because the cost of energy is significant, and costs can go off the rails if your thermostat isn't functioning properly. Although there are some thermostat myths you may believe are costing you money, the fact that your thermostat must be open to airflow in order to take accurate readings is not a myth.

For this relatively low-cost hack, you'll need a piece of framed artwork onto which you'll add pieces of wood that keep the artwork away from your thermostat. This will ensure that it still has proper airflow and can be easily adjusted. A wooden frame will be the easiest to work with. Take the dimensions of the space around the thermostat into consideration when you're deciding how large the art piece should be. Here's what you'll need besides the framed artwork itself: two 1 by 2 pieces of wood, two hinges for one side, a magnetic latch for the other, heavy duty construction adhesive, and screwdrivers to attach the hardware. A measuring tape or ruler and a level will also come in handy. 

Once the artwork is inside the frame, measure the height of the frame opening in the back and cut your wood to size. To one piece of wood, add hinges. To the second piece of wood, secure the magnet. Next, add the corresponding piece of magnet to the frame, so that they meet when the picture frame door is closed. Using the construction adhesive, mount your wood to the wall, then attach the hinged side of the wood to the frame and snap the artwork closed with the magnet.