No need to bust open the drywall. From piping to ghost wire, here are some creative ways to conceal that rats' nest of electrical wires.
11 Best Ways to Hide Wires in a Room Without Going Into the Walls
Updated on Sep. 29, 2024
For years we ran our speaker and entertainment center wires under an area rug. We were renting at the time, so didn’t want to damage the walls. But every time I’d sweep, I had to hassle with shifting them around. I kept thinking that there must be a better way. Turns out, there are a lot of better ways.
“Some of the options depend on the look you are going for and what type of wire you are trying to run,” says Chad Thielk, a home improvement expert with JustAnswer.com. “If you are running low-voltage wire such as speaker wire or audio-video wire you have a lot more options than if you are trying to run electrical wire, since that needs to be better protected from damage.”
Whether you’re trying to clean up your entertainment center cables or camouflage a long lamp cord, here are some standard and creative ways to hide your electrical wires.
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Wire Raceways
A simple solution to hiding electrical wires and cables is mounting raceways to the surface of the wall or ceiling, and conceal the wires running inside. Some are even designed to look like trim, molding and baseboards. “Aside from being very easy to install, they can also be painted to blend into your walls smoothly,” says Jay Sanders, contractor an owner of Maryland Contractors.
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Wall Cord Kits, Fabric Cord Concealers and Flex Tubing
Beyond raceways, other products conceal electrical wires, such as TV wall cord kits, fabric cord concealers and flex tubing.
Wall cord kits come in various colors or can be custom-painted. “A fabric cord concealer looks more like a thin strip of carpet, and it’s easily mistaken for a macramé project,” says Josh Rudin, owner of ASAP Restoration.
Sanders suggests going a step further with fabric cord concealer by stylizing it. “Creatively make it into a wire artwork masterpiece [turning] visible wiring into an artistic piece of wall decoration,” he says.
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Wire Ties, Cable Wraps and Wire Clamps
If you have built-in wire hider fixtures, like wooden beams and doors, use wire wrap, zip-ties or tape to bundle them together, then keep them in place around the beam using clear wire clamps. You can even DIY your own wire clamps using a clear plastic soda bottle. To do this, cut the bottle into 1-1/2 x 1-in. strips, loosen the trim with a small pry bar, wrap the plastic around the wire, and slide it between the wall and trim.
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Conduit Piping
For industrial motifs, hide electrical wires in surface-mounted conduit piping on the wall. This can be used inside or outside and with low-voltage or electrical wiring. However, “You would not want to run both in the same conduit as electrical wires can cause interference in audio-video wires,” says Thielk. “Outside you would need to use exterior grade conduit with water tight fittings.”
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Baseboards and Carpet
For low-voltage wire, such as speaker wire, tuck it between the baseboards and the carpet, or under the baseboards, to get the wire around the room. Or you can attach the cord to the baseboard itself with wire clamps or tape, says Rudin. “If you have many cords this might not work well, but for just one or two it can be the best solution to the problem.”
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Behind Trim or Faux Crown Molding
If you will be adding trim to a room, you can hide low-voltage wiring behind it, says Thielk. Either create a channel in the drywall or in the backside of the trim or woodwork so that it sits flat against the wall.
Similarly, you can buy faux crown molding that includes channels specifically for cords. “If you have the means, faux crown molding may be the best way to hide cords that need to go in outlets placed in strange spots, as well as many cords at once,” says Rudin.
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Furniture
An easy way to hide electrical wires is with furniture, like bookshelves, couches and entertainment centers. For example, to hide wires from a wall-mounted TV, fit a cabinet underneath, which will also help hide cable boxes, receivers, routers and streaming devices, says Thielk. “Plus it creates additional storage for other things such as holiday decor and other household items.”
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Paint
“It seems too obvious, but you can also just paint the cords themselves,” says Rudin. This will make them the same color as your wall, which helps them blend in much better.” You can also combine this approach with cable holders or track, a combination that works well to hide electrical wires, especially for entertainment centers.
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Ghost Wire
For concealing speaker wire, there’s an ingenious product called ghost wire, made by Sewell Direct. It’s essentially a duct-tape-like adhesive with flattened speaker wire embedded in it. Just run it along walls, floors, baseboards or under carpets.
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Get Crafty
Use artwork or decorative baskets to hide electrical wires on the wall. “Home decor that doesn’t need to be moved can be a good way to conceal the mess without having to do any oddball techniques at hiding away the tangles,” says Rudin. “Baskets also serve an additional function in that if you need to curl up extra cordage from a particularly long one, you can do so inside of a basket and then place something prettier to look at on top.”
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Embrace Them
If you can’t hide them, then purposefully display them. “If you have an outlet that some handyman decided to mount in the middle of a wall and there is no way to conceal the cords, then make them into a design on their way to get plugged in,” says Rudin. “Geometric patterns work well, and to really sell the effect, it’s almost better to have more cords stretching out to the outlet than just one.”
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FAQ
Is hiding electrical wires safe?
Yes, if done correctly. Low-voltage wires, such as speakers or audiovisual wires, are safe to run in most indoor places and circumstances. Regular electrical wire needs to be more firmly protected from damage inside conduit or by using other code-approved methods.
However, hiding electrical wires is not always a great idea because a nail or screw from a future project may hit them, says Rudin. “If that gets put through the wires it could mean anything from a short-out, to blowing a fuse, to electrocuting yourself or starting a structure fire.” To safely hide electrical cords and cables, they suggest also using a nail safety plate.
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About the Experts
- Chad Thielk is a third-generation construction worker. He started in the industry at age 15 and worked for a commercial remodeling company before becoming a home improvement expert with JustAnswer.com, the on-demand platform for 24/7 help from pros.
- Jay Sanders is a licensed contractor based in Baltimore. He owns Maryland Contractors and Castle Dream Construction, and has been working in construction for more than a decade.
- Josh Rudin is the owner of ASAP Restoration in Tempe Arizona. He started the company as a one-man operation in 2008, and today it has grown into one of the city’s top disaster mitigation specialists.
