Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cord Pet Peeve


 One of my biggest pet peeves is "cords".  

In the picture below you can see the cords/outlets that I stare at every time I'm on the computer. The paper "catch all" above the outlets is for notes/reminders and I posted about it here.  I like the note holder, but as with everything else in the kitchen/family room lately..."the red has to go", and I'm tired of looking at the cords. 

I think I can re-use this note holder in my daughter's room for a future project.


I decided to recover a bulletin board and lean it here to hide my cords/outlets.

This board is actually a piece of mylar board.  It works just like a cork bulletin board.


I worked the fabric (less than 1/2 a yard) around the board from 
end to end, and attached with my staple gun.



Once I had some staples in the top and bottom, and the left and right sides,
I began folding the corners.


Gather the corner fabric and pleat it before adding staples.


 Be sure your mylar board is cut a "hair" wider and longer than the frame
opening in order to squeeze it in to fit snuggly.



Here's the final look.  What outlets?  What cords?


Well, there is just that one cord to connect the laptop, 
but it's essential so I'll have to live with it?!



This desk top also has a piece of plexi glass that I added years ago.  It's nice 
to protect the desk top finish and it doesn't hurt to keep weekly reminders handy 
(what bills need paying, garbage pick up schedule, etc).  

Home Depot cut this plexi glass to size for me free of charge.


Stay tuned for a kitchen curtain made out of the same bulletin board fabric!

I'm linking to the following parties:




13 comments:

  1. I wish cords were my biggest problem... do you think they make bulletin boards large enough to cover kitchen counters??

    Looks great, my friend:)

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  2. I hear ya! Okay, Heather tks to you I had to look up chord vs. cord. Of course, you're right. I guess I should fix my post :)

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  3. I like your solution to the cord problem. It turned out great and you'd never be able to tell what is behind it!

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  4. Petie, you are entirely too clever. I LOVE that you not only covered those cords, but ended up making a beautiful piece of art in the process. It really adds another element to your desk area. Great Project. Thank you for sharing it at the Boardwalk Bragfest!

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  5. Great idea and I'm lovin that fabric...looking forward to the seeing the curtain!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  6. Thanks for visiting my blog and your kindness. I love what you did here..what a good idea! It makes me want to start looking around my house now! :D

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  7. Love that idea!! Unfortunately I have about 20 ugly cords under my desk....not sure what to do about that! :(
    Great solution!

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  8. Great idea! It's beautiful too!

    New follower here from My Backyard Eden.

    ~ The Speckled Dog

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  9. Hi! I just found your blog and realized that you are an Oregon Blogger too! I absolutely love this idea for the cords. Brilliant!! Your blog is so lovely and I'm looking forward to perusing it some more. Hop over and say 'hi' sometime! :-)
    Vanessa

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  10. I hate cords too. What a great solution! The fabric is so pretty. Can't wait to see the curtains! I'm a big believer on adding glass or plexi to surfaces to protect them! Peace of mind!!!

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  11. Now that's a great idea! I hate cords too. Yours have disappeared! Thanks for sharing at My Backyard Eden!

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  12. That looks great! Love the fabric and color frame you chose.

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  13. I detest eXposed cords too ~ drives me batty. I've used twist ties, zip strips, packing tape, tacks and all manner of tricks to bind and hide wads of cords behind desks, lamps and cabinets. Just when I managed to hide them all, dear diXymister decided to install surround sound. Now we have yards of black cords attached to obnoXious speakers in every corner of the family room. Oh, the inhumanity! How does one hide those hideous black boXes, pray tell?

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