How To Hide Computer Cords In A Home Office
When I recently
redesigned my home office, one of my biggest challenges wasn't picking the furniture or the paint
colour, it was determining how to hide computer cords. I think it's a problem
that many of us face. Your workspace might be neat and orderly, but if you're
staring at an ugly mess of cords and cables from your laptop, monitor,
printer, lamp, and phone charger all day, you're bound to feel distracted.
How To Hide Computer Wires In A Home Office
Having a plan on how to hide your computer cords or electrical wires is essential. There's lots of cable management ideas and products out there, but it all comes down to how visible or invisible do you want your cords to be?
I'm a minimalist when it comes to home office decor. I prefer for my office
supplies to be tucked away, the printer to be hidden, and only my every day
essentials on my desk. It's no surprise then that I wanted my computer wires
to be practically invisible and neatly tucked away.
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Power cords aren't going anywhere but you can find a way to hide them that
is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Before you decide on a
solution, you'll want to ask yourself a few basic questions.
How Many Office Items Do You Need To Plug In?
Hiding wires for one or two items might not be an issue. But when you need to plug in more than a handful of peripherals or accessories, you need to think about:- how many outlets you have in the room and where they are located
- how far the peripherals will be in relation to those outlets
- are there a sufficient number of plugs? Do you need to add power bars? Is installing floor electrical outlets an option?
You'll also want to consider "how you work"? Do you always work at your
desk and have a permanent setup with a monitor and keyboard? Or are you
mobile some of the time, perhaps working at your desk one day and then at
the living room sofa another day? These preferences will determine if your
cords needs to be fixed in one spot, or have the ability to be unplugged
and moved.
Can You Minimize What You're Plugging In?
Think about how you can eliminate your computer cables and cords. Can you
go wireless or have plug-in items that do double duty? For instance, this
table lamp has a usb plug built in, thereby eliminating the need to plug your phone charger into an outlet
- just plug it into your desk lamp. This
modern desk lamp
goes one step further and has a wireless charging strip for wireless phone
charging.
You might also consider a
cordless rechargeable table lamp, a
wireless monitor,
even a
wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. The more visual cords you can eliminate, the better your work
environment will feel.
Where To Place Your Desk In A Home Office?
The most important consideration in a home office is placement of your desk. This will have the biggest impact on where and how you hide your wires.
Do you like to have your desk against a wall, perhaps beneath a window so
you have a view outside? Then hiding your computer cords is easy: just
place your desk on the same wall as an electrical outlet. Your cords won't
have to travel a long distance to plug in. Additionally, the cords aren't
visible and distracting to you when you're sitting at the desk. When
you're not at your desk, your desk chair will likely hide them from
view.
If you have a lot of items to plug in, you might consider this idea. This
was my
desk in our previous basement. We mounted a small shelf underneath the desk to hold the modem and
power bar. A round hole was cut into the top of the desk and a
desk grommet cover
was put in place to feed the wires to the shelf underneath. It was a neat
and easy solution, and because the shelf was narrow, it didn't impede me
sitting in the chair. Here's a similar under-desk solution if you don't want to go the DIY route.
When we built this
DIY IKEA L-shaped desk for two
in our previous home, it made good use of the limited space, but really
made me feel uneasy when I worked at the window, with my back to the door!
It's all about personal preference. Position your desk in a spot that
makes you feel most productive.
Hiding computer wires in a home office becomes a bit more difficult when
you decide to float your desk in the middle of the room. That is the current situation I have in my office and it was my
preference for a few reasons.
Firstly, my home office isn't a large room and having a desk centred in
the space allowed for traffic flow and access to the closet and storage
cabinets in the room. Secondly, I prefer to work facing a door rather than
having my back to it.
Hiding Power Cords
If you have computer cords, sometimes you don't want to or can't hide them
completely. You might just want a solution that makes your cords less
obvious or less of a tripping hazard on the floor. Here's a few products
to consider:
- this rubber cord cover is designed to sit over your cables or wires. It holds the wires in place and makes them less of a tripping hazard. It can be attached to smooth flooring or on carpets.
- this product claims to be the thinnest extension power cord in the world. It has great reviews and customers have successfully used it to power items like electric reclining sofas sitting in the middle of a room
- this lay flat electrical power cord comes in multiple lengths and colours. It has two plugs, ideal for bringing power to an area with several items that need power
- this cord protector sleeve is designed to hold multiple cords. It's flexible and durable and comes in various lengths and colours
My current desk faces a white wall with just a few pieces of art that
won't distract me. It has a soft rug underfoot, a comfortable desk chair,
and a window with window coverings that allow me to let the light shine in
or diffuse it when needed.
I wanted a solution that would keep my computer cords hidden as much as
possible. I wanted the cords accessible yet not visible. Let me show you
what I've done to keep hidden computer cords on my desk!
How To Hide Computer Cords On A Desk In The Middle Of The Room
Here's the items I used to hide my computer wires:
- Wall mount power bar with USB and three outlets (here's an updated version including a USB-C outlet)
- Clear cable clips
- Clear zip ties
- Velcro One Wrap roll
I decided to mount
a power bar on
the side of the desk furthest from the door. I did this for a few
reasons:
- No power bar would be visible entering the room or when seated at the desk
- The power bar would be easily accessible
- This set up would accommodate both 'fixed' items like the desk lamp that would be plugged once and not moved, and 'movable' items like my laptop that could be plugged and unplugged easily
I determined that at most I would need three plugs (lamp, laptop +
spare) plus a usb port for charging my phone.
This power bar
had great reviews, multiple outlets, was able to be wall/desk mounted.
It also had a 15' long extension cord which would ensure it could
reach the nearest outlet.
I could have kept this power bar more hidden and mounted it under the
desk in the free area behind my desk drawers. This would have it
difficult though to plug and unplug things. I would have to crawl
under the desk to do so. In this instance, mounting the power bar on
the side of the desk was best for accessibility.
The extension cord was attached under the lip of the desk with
screw mounted cable clips. Down the leg, I used
clear zip ties
to keep the cord nice and taut. The cord was white and blended into my
desk, but if it were a different colour, I would have painted the cord
the same as my desk. You can see that the cord is barely noticeable
when looking into the room.
The lamp had a lot of excess cord so this is how I stored it. I've
stapled a piece of
Velcro One Wrap to the underside of the desk. If you're not familiar with
One Wrap, it is
amazing! You can also use
Velcro cable ties which works similarly.
Velcro One Wrap is basically an
all-in-one hook and loop tape. The tape is self gripping and holds very tightly. I use it
everywhere: to keep my headphone cord wrapped up when not in use, to
keep blankets and rugs rolled up, to hold a phone to a tripod. It is
reusable, can be cut to any size, and one roll will last you for
years.
I keep one additional piece of
Velcro One Wrap hanging off the extension cord. I use it to hold my laptop cord when
I'm working at the desk. If I decide to move to another room, it's
easy enough to just unplug the computer cord, take it with me, and go.
Hiding Wires Under A Rug
This might the most controversial part of how I hid wires under my
desk. I physically cut a slit into
my new rug to
allow the extension cord to run beneath it.
You might think that's a terrible decision but I really did not want
to have a cord that I would have to see and possibly be tripping over
all the time. The rug also wasn't that expensive and it had a pattern
which could help disguise any possible damage. Now that it's in, it is
barely noticeable.
If you desire more protection around the cord (and don't mind it being
visible under the carpet), you could consider encasing it in a
silicone cord protector. In my case, my cord under the rug was in a very low traffic area.
It's not near my rolling office chair, I rarely need to access the
printer and cabinets on that side of the room, and I am conscious not
to directly step on top of the cord itself so I wasn't worried about
it being under the rug.
Before you attempt a solution like this, you'll need to know exactly
where your desk is going to sit in the room. To minimize damage to the
rug, I put duct tape on the underside of the rug before I cut the
slit. This was to minimize any separating of the carpet fibres or
backing. The slit is only visible when you look for it and I haven't
noticed any additional fraying or loss of fibres where it's been
cut.
Note that you have to cut a big enough slit to allow the rather large
plug head to fit through. This cut was about 3" long. I cut it in the
direction towards the outlet, and not beyond the desk leg. The desk
sits right beside the cut so that it holds the carpet down and
prevents any pulling or shifting.
Where does the extension cord lead? It goes beneath my storage cabinet
and to the plug on the wall behind me. I used to have my printer on
the counter but I preferred it tucked away. To accommodate this, I had
to cut a hole into the back of the cabinet so the wall outlet would be
accessible.
The cabinet backing is thin particleboard so cutting it wasn't
difficult. Now I can easily plug and unplug the printer and extension
cord if needed.
Hiding computer cables when your desk sits in the middle of the room
is challenging but doable. This method does require slight damage to
my furnishings but to me, the benefit of having a relatively cord-free
home office is worth it.
Cord and Cable Management Products
While this setup worked for hiding power cords on a desk in the middle
of the room, there are lots of ingenious cord, power, and cable
organizer products out there. Here's a few that might work in other
home office layouts:
- best for keeping cables together yet accessible: This VELCRO brand cable sleeve is easy to mount anywhere and can keep cords bundled together neatly
- best for charging multiple devices: This flat plug power strip features 6 AC outlets and 4 USB ports
- best damage-free hooks: These clear cable hooks are easy to install and mount to almost any surface
- best for keeping kids and pets safe: A cable management organizer box is great for hiding power bars and keeping them away from kids and pets
- best for hiding a single cable: This cable concealer raceway can be mounted along walls, around corners, and is paintable
- best for heavy duty holding / alternative to screws: Use this heavy duty hook and loop strip to mount your power bars to metal desk legs
- best for keeping smaller power cords and cable ties organized (plus, great reusable alternative to zip ties!): You'll find a million uses for these Velcro One Wrap reusable straps
Do you struggle with your power cords? How have you kept them
manageable?
Visit
my Amazon Shop
to see these cord and cable management products.
FIND YOUR NEXT PROJECT
Ready for more home office & organizing inspiration? Check out these projects:
 DIY Desk Makeover |
 Home Office Decor |
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