How to Hide Electrical Cables in the Middle of a Room

Having a computer desk, lamp, or any other electrical device in the middle of a room may be the best option for you. However, we all know the difficulties of dealing with an unsightly power cord running through the center of your space. Not only is it an eyesore, but it can also become a tripping hazard if not concealed.

To hide electrical cables in the middle of a room, you have the following options:

1. Add a few rugs.
2. Hide cables under furniture.
3. Run cables under the floorboards.
4. Add some cable protectors.
5. Run electrical cables along your baseboards.
6. Attach cables to your baseboards.
7. Get power strips.
8. Hide electrical cables in baskets and boxes.
9. Incorporate them into your decoration.
10. Combine methods.

In this article, I will give you all the tips you need to know to hide unsightly power cords, so they don’t ruin the look of your room.

1. Add a few rugs

If you can’t avoid having a power cord running through your room, rugs are the quickest and easiest solution you can find.

Whether you want a rug to be a permanent solution to your problem or you just need something to hide a power cord until you come up with a long-term solution, you don’t have to worry about seeing an ugly cord option.

Area rugs work perfectly for almost any room and are available in countless styles and sizes, and you can find them in most stores that sell household goods and décor.

Even second-hand stores are a great place to look for them, especially if you don’t intend to use the rug to permanently conceal your power cords.

Try not to cover outlets or plugs with the rug, and regularly check if your power cord is not frayed or dangerously worn out.

The downside of this option is that this solution may not cover the entire cord unless you find a rug in a perfect size that also matches your budget and décor taste.

In that case, you may be able to cover the majority of the cord, but you may still see a bit of it peaking out at either end of the rug.

2. Hide cables under furniture

Like the rug option, using furniture to hide your power cords is another practical option. If possible, rearranging chairs and tables can conceal the worst of the power cord.

For this solution, you may not even need to buy anything new and may be able to work with what you already own, making it a great option if you have a very tight budget.

However, this is not a perfect solution.

Unless you like the look of a very cluttered room, you probably won’t have enough furniture available to hide the entire cord.

You may also not be able to route the power cord in a way that it is completely hidden by the furniture you have available.

But if you use your furniture to your advantage, the cords may not be unsightly enough to be a quick fix.

3. Run cables under the floorboards

This option is a bit more involved, but you’ll find it’s worth it.

With wooden floors, you can lift up some floorboards and route the cables underneath, so they are not visible.

You will need some tools like a pry bar and a drill if you want to create a hole for the cable to go through. Then, you will have to lift the floorboards and put them back in place. Hiding your cables under floorboards is not a complex project, but it is much more work than slapping a rug on your floor. You may want to ask for help if this is the solution you want to use.

The resolution is nearly perfect if you manage to do it since you’ll be able to hide most of the cords.

However, it has some downsides:

• You need wooden floors.
• This project takes more time than simply throwing a rug over the cord.
• You need more accessories to do the job properly.
• People who rent their apartments or offices may not be able to do this as it may not align with their lease agreements.

4. Add some cable protectors

Cable protectors are a great solution if you want to hide the appearance of the cable itself.

Cable protectors are sleeves or adhesive tapes (like electrical tape) that hold cables together and are meant to prevent fraying from wear and tear.

If you don’t like the look of power cords, this could be a solution that suits you since cable protectors are often available in a variety of colors that blend better into your room décor. These are also a great option if your main reason for hiding your electrical cables is to prevent them from being stepped on and damaged, as they are much more durable with a protector on them.

5. Run electrical cables along your baseboards

If you’re willing to be a little strategic, using your room layout to your advantage can be helpful.

Instead of just plugging your power cords into the wall and letting it lie on the floor however it falls, you can see if there’s a way to run your power cord along the baseboard of the wall.

Sure, if the cord is attached to a lamp or another device in the middle of the room, you’ll eventually have to have the cord on the floor.

However, there might be a way you can do this to minimize the amount of cord you have to see.

Maybe what you’re plugging in is closer to one wall than the other, but that wall doesn’t have many outlets.

If that’s the case, you can simply use self-adhesive cable hooks or wall clips and maybe an extension cord to keep your cord flush against the wall so it doesn’t just cut across the middle of your room.

The downside of this option is that you haven’t hidden anything completely.

However, a wall-mounted power cord might be less noticeable, and it might be easier to hide it with sofas and bookshelves.

6. Attach cables to your baseboards

Using your baseboards to hide a power cord is similar to the wall solution. Again, with this option, you’re using your room layout to your advantage.

With this method of hiding your cables, you need to use wall or baseboard clips or cable hooks to keep your cables against the baseboards of your room. To conceal the power cord, you can simply circle it around the baseboards until you get there.

Again, this is not a perfect solution. You’re not hiding the power cord completely, but you’re moving it a bit further out of sight where it may be less noticeable.

Depending on where what you’re plugging in is placed in the room, there may still be a portion of it showing on your floor. Attaching the cord to your baseboards is not a good option if you have doors cutting through the path you will use to hide your power cord as this can be a tripping hazard.

7. Get power strips

If you find that you need to route multiple power cords from the center of a room to an outlet, power strips can help you hide the worst of it.

With a power strip or surge protector, you can plug multiple cables into one place, which you can then plug into your main outlet.

By choosing this route instead of having two, three, or more cables causing chaos on your floors, you only have to deal with the cable from the power strip.

It’s still a possible eyesore, but it’s a step in the right direction, and you can apply one of the other methods on this list to deal with the cable from your power strip.

You can also hide the power strip behind a table leg or under your furniture. I like to attach my power strips to hidden, convenient places with zip ties or adhesive tapes.

8. Hide electrical cables in baskets and boxes

Depending on what part of your power cord bothers you the most, you can try to find another simple way to hide or at least disguise them so they are less noticeable.

Baskets and decorative boxes are great for this, especially if you’re trying to hide a cluster of power cords that you may have in the corner or center of your room.

With this type of decoration, you can tuck loose cords away.

Even if you can’t completely hide an electrical cable this way, it becomes easy when the cables are neat and not loose and sagging with a lot of play in them for someone to trip on, and it hides the messy appearance of cords everywhere.

This method is relatively budget-friendly as you can find boxes and baskets for any budget, style, and size.

Similar to the options of hiding rugs and furniture, you may decide that this is more of a temporary solution than a permanent one.

However, if it can keep this particular problem in check, especially if you have more important projects to tend to, then it’s an option worth considering.

9. Incorporate them into your decoration

If you’re a creative type who loves decorating challenges, this might be the perfect way for you to hide an unsightly power cord running through the middle of your room.

Most electrical cables are not particularly decorative. However, they are also blank canvases, ready for decorating!

Power cords usually have a plain, neutral color such as white or black. While these colors may clash with the color scheme of the room you have them in, it’s likely not their color that makes them an eyesore to you.

By incorporating your cables into your room’s décor, you can hide them from plain sight.

You don’t have to fret too much about undoing anything or moving to showcase them as they are already visible!

You can carefully wrap them in ribbons, cords, artificial vines, Christmas lights, or artificial flowers.

This project can stretch your interior design muscles and challenge you to make your power cords a beloved part of your room’s look.

10. Combine methods

This option may seem a bit too obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know they can combine methods to hide their power cords!

All the solutions listed above work well on their own, but you can mix and match them as you please to customize them to best suit your needs.

For example, you might want to attach a power cord to your baseboards and then use a rug to cover what needs to be on your floor. Additionally, you can add a colorful cable protector to better incorporate it into your décor.

There are no limits to the hiding methods you can do, and this can allow you to possibly find temporary solutions to transition into long-term ones.

Honorable Mention: Install floor outlets

Of course, the best way to plug something in the middle of your room is to install a floor outlet.

Floor outlets will allow you to hide most of the cable mess as the cable will have its own outlet. From there, you can bundle up your cable and hide it in a basket or tie it up so that you probably won’t notice it too much.

While this is the ideal solution, I understand that it may not be an option for everyone. Installing an outlet requires much more work than lifting up a few floorboards to hide your cable underneath.

You probably need to hire an electrician, which means it’s probably not a quick solution if it’s something you can do at all. Additionally, you may not be able to install an outlet on your floor if you’re not on the ground level or if you have, for example, concrete floors.

This option is also an unlikely solution for people who don’t own the property for which they need a solution.

Final Thoughts

Hiding power cords in the middle of a room can be a headache. However, you don’t have to stress too much. There are plenty of solutions you can try to see which one works best for your space.

You can use other decorative items to hide most of your cables and use your room arrangement to minimize the amount of cables you’ll have to see on your floor or incorporate them into your decoration.

Whatever you need, there is a way to hide unsightly cables so they don’t ruin the look of your room.