Covering Ugly Small Plastic Appliances?

[denakayn22]

Hello,

My husband and I are moving into a tiny old/quite rundown Korean apartment (rental) that needs a lot of diy help. Of course no major changes can be made, so we will be stuck with a lot of eyesores, but I would love some ideas for how to hide/cover some of the uglier bits. Whereas flat surfaces like walls and doors can be covered with either artwork or contact paper, I am at a loss with what to do with the more 3D objects, such as this HIDEOUS yellowing plastic old phone/thermostat that is built into the wall smack dab in the middle of everything. It wouldn't be so bad if it was off in a corner where we didn't have to see it, but since our entryway/kitchen/dining/living room are all basically one room, there's no escaping it. I'm worried that simply sticking something like contact paper to it will peel off, and since it's plastic (and electronic) it's definitely unpaintable.
See attached photo!

Any ideas?
Thank you!

Untitled

• denakayn22
• 16 Jul 2014
• 1

 

[Belboz]

You could knock up a shelving unit to hang on the wall over the offending objects.

Measure it so that the spaces in between the unit fits over the offending objects.

Wouldn't need to be a heavy shelf so you could (if permitted) use a batten and hang the unit from that (using the 'angled slot' method)

Depending on how proud the objects sit from the wall you could construct a false back [which would need to be removable for access to the equipment if needs be]

Otherwise, put a few books/ornaments in front of the things on the shelf unit.

Just an idea...

B

 

[alan333]

There's stuff which you can apply to yellowing plastic to restore it. I've never used it but IIRC you apply it then leave it in the sun for some time and the UV rays do the work.

 

[geraldthehamster]

Make a small backless cupboard and fix to the wall over it?

Buy a small wall cupboard, remove the back and fix to the wall over it?

Get a nice picture, fix a six inch frame to the back of it, and hang on the wall over it?

Angle grinder?

Cheers
Richard

 

[sparkwright]

Sometimes the more you try to hide something the worse it looks.

However, you say one item is a thermostat. That shouldn't be covered by anything.

In fact all this stuff needs to be accessed easily anyway

As said, try cleaning them up a bit.

 

[emilybronte]

Make a feature of it.