This IKEA Hack Hides an Ugly Electrical Panel

2 Materials
$41
2 Hours
Easy
I hated the electrical panel in my entryway. It was the first thing houseguests would see when they walked into my apartment. Yikes, right? So I tried hanging a framed print over it, but nothing in my home collection worked in that weird spot. I also tried covering it with contact paper, but it made my breaker box even more apparent. During a shopping trip to my local IKEA, inspiration struck. Here's how I concealed the big ugly in my entryway.
My electrical panel may be smaller than yours, but in my tiny apartment it stuck out like a freaking sore thumb.
The contact paper idea was a total misfire. See all the wrinkles ? Because of the rounded edges, I couldn't get the paper to lay flat. Also my husband thought the faux wood grain was super tacky.
If you ever been to IKEA or flipped through one of their catalogs, you know the Swedish retailer makes wall mounted cabinets in a bazillion different sizes. So I bought this one from the BRIMNES series to install over my electrical panel.
The IKEA cabinet was a little too deep for my purposes so I cut its depth in half. But here's the thing. Many IKEA items including my new cabinet have a Melamine coating, which is tricky to cut without damaging. You'll find tips for cutting the material without causing chipping or splintering in my original tutorial.


Removing an electrical panel's cover and also drilling around the area when an electrical panel is installed is not allowed in my building without permission from the board. Even then I must hire a licensed electrician to get the job done. I share how I got around those pesky rules in my original post using L brackets.
Ta-da! Behold my new electrical panel cabinet! I covered the glass door with window film (the self sticking stuff.)
Suggested materials:
  • Ikea Cabinet $39.99
  • L brackets: $2.00
Deirdre Sullivan
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Marybeth Masker Marybeth Masker on Apr 29, 2017

    I made a cover using material and hot glued the round magnets from shower curtain liners to the backside of doubled material.

  • Zanne Goldwire Zanne Goldwire on Apr 29, 2017

    I don't have a question but a comment...my box is in my living room of all places. I covered it over with a picture which I screwed it slightly higher being that it was a rectangular shape to center to eye level. No one knows the box is there.

  • Joan Stanley Joan Stanley on May 01, 2017

    Why didn't you just paint the cover white and copy the simple wallpaper pattern in black? I'm no artist but that would be simple.

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  • Daisy@TX Daisy@TX on Mar 17, 2020

    I covered our panel with a dry erase board and used it to leave messages and to hit down emergency numbers, etc.

    for an older fuse box a nice frame/cabinet was made and painted same color as the wall.

  • Daisy@TX Daisy@TX on Mar 17, 2020

    "Jot" down emergency numbers.

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