Creative Ways to Hide the Electronic Cords Around Your Home

Are you tired of staring at a mess of electronic cords every day? The sight of wires hanging off media consoles in your living room or dangling from your home office's desk can make for a less than relaxing—or productive—environment. Visually, these eyesores are distracting, and take away from the integrity of your décor. To help you hide these nuisances, we asked two experts—interior designers Michelle Gage and Julia Newman—to share their best tips for wrangling wires.

Before you tackle any of these projects, however, you'll want to pull out and inspect all of your cords. "First, take stock of what cord goes where and for what," says Newman. "You'd be surprised how many of us still have cords for long forgotten things—such as landline telephones."

Get creative with clips, hooks, and power strips.

There are many ways to hide electronic cords within, under, or behind your furniture, notes Newman. To tackle laptop and phone wires, install power strips to the underside or back of your desk—or even onto the wall behind your desk, she says. Another option? "Affix clear hooks to train wires down the legs of a table or console," she says. "I suggest reversing the directions of the hooks to make sure the cord is held securely."

Or, if your wires are long enough, secure them to the baseboard with cord clips. "This works best if the cord is the same color as your baseboard," she says. Gage agrees—and suggests going the extra mile to purchase a cord that matches your floor color.

Be selective with your furniture.

Pick furniture that does the work for you, says Newman. Media consoles or nightstands often come with holes designed to snake these electrical cords through—and some even come with built-in charging stations. If you're working with an older piece or antique, go the DIY route, advises Gage. "Drilling a tiny hole in the back of your media cabinet allows you to fish the wire through the back," she adds.

Tuck away lamp cords.

"If you have a lamp sitting on an end table, see if there's a way to hide the cord under the rug some, on its way to an outlet," explains Gage of freestanding, mid-room lamp cords. If you can do so, Newman advises taping these wires down under the rugs for extra security.

Avoid electrical tape.

Black electrical tape sticks out like a sore thumb, says Gage, so using it to camouflage your wires will likely only draw attention to them (it's one of the biggest mistakes people make when tackling these types of projects, she notes). "Don't go backwards by wrapping a white cord up with black electrical tape! Use plastic zip ties, instead."

Go the professional route for wall-mounted TVs.

This involves purchasing a cable management kit ($52.91, homedepot.com) and running the cords behind—not down—the wall. "However, if you don't want to cut into the wall, you can zip tie the cable together and hide them behind decorative items and books," Newman notes.