view from the bed
What to do about new wall A/C units that look awful?
by
Ann Huke
+12
we are building inlay apartment. the AC guy suggested hanging AC units that hang on wall with a frame to put a photo in. So we looked on line they looked good. He installed them yesterday and I hate them. Blew 4K for these ugly boxes on the wall. When you look into the bedroom all you see is what looks like the side a old medicine cabinet sticking out 6 inches. Same look from living room into the dinning room. On top of that when they run fins open out on the sides and the picture frame tilts out from the top at least another inch.... I"m so disappointed. He had told us to look on line before we bought and I did but they only showed the front view which looked like a normal picture. Looked great, so thought it was a great solution. It never mentioned or showed the side or how it opened when in operation.
view from where the bed will be. We were going to have a desk there but won't know.
Looking straight on from hall, this is how it looked in the pictures on line. looked like a normal picture no idea it was sticking out or was going to have tilted picture and wings open when it was on. We also had planned on having our dinning table, which is only space for it there, and if you put a chair under it the person sitting there could bump into it when they stand up from the chair. It sticks out 6 inches and more when the picture frame is tilted....
on wall in Dinning area looking from living room how it looks when its running, picture tilted and wings open. We figure its going to run a lot so will look strange all the time. L=
looking from living room to dinning area.
looking into bedroom from entrance
how it looks from inside the bedroom
This link has several ideas, it is mixed with some other situations, but has some ideas that might work here:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/g2651/ac-unit-cover-ideas/?slide=8
I don't think I would rip them out. I believe I would hang some greenery with some white Christmas lights, The greenery would be thick enough on the sides to mask the tilt when the unit runs. Just an idea. You could add anything to the greenery like flowers or .... anything. That would be a lot cheaper than starting over.
You could build the equivalent of radiator covers that we use in the northeast. They are made of wood and have decorative perforated metal sheets on the front and sometimes sides, to let the heat circulate. To take advantage of the space between the floor and unit, you could incorporate some bookshelves on the bottom.
Here's an example of a radiator cover: https://www.google.com/search?q=radiator+cover&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDnsnqy6fVAhWBgj4KHafkCjkQ_AUICigC&biw=375&bih=559#imgrc=fNBgF_x8l0l28M:
Here's one with bookshelves built in. You can basically reverse this, with the perforated part on top. https://www.google.com/search?q=radiator+cover+bookshelves&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#imgrc=6zbajPn0u6xy4M:
Good luck!
If the one you pictured, you said you were going to put your dining room table there and people would bump their heads....use a round table and arrange the chairs so they are not under the conditioner/heating unit. Do you have one of these in each room or just the one?
If you have them in each room....I would think you could put a desk or console table under/in front of them. In some cases, if the wall is long enough, hang two flat coordinating pieces...art or metal or something. Maybe a long low bench or something useful. I think as long as they keep your house warm or cool, they would be good.
those are all good suggestions except this is in a basement, an in-lay apartment we are moving into. It is very small. there is no room for funiture under them. the space is very small in the dinning area and we have a round table but it will still be in the way. hanging things beside them will not do anything to block the ugly box because you look at both units from the side. If they were on a wall that you looked directly at that would make them look better. they are in our bedroom and dinning area. they look horrible.
Okay, so take some long slow breaths and ask yourself can I afford to have them taken out or do I have to live with them? If you're financially able, do what makes you happy. If you can't, you'll have to learn to coexist with these things in your wall. I would try trios of 'floating' shelves situated around each piece and accented with whatever the room has in it. They won't take up floor space, the glass ones are all but invisible, they won't bother air flow -- and who knows, you might just like them. Above all, don't blame anyone. You can't go back. Only forward.
How unfortunate!!!! I was going to suggest painting the side the same colour as the frame so that it looks like a box frame, but I wonder if that will void your warranty,
I remember seeing one of those in a restaurant, but I don't remember the side showing like that. I see online that is the norm.
I hate stuff like that...We had a plastic wall system put in by a basement waterproofing company. They showed us pictures , and it looked clean (similar to what you see in a trailer) with a cap over the seams. When they came in, they left all our electrical wiring and outlet hanging over top...It was previously installed properly under OSB. All they had to do was cut out around the outlet! The installer told us that the sales people never mention that they don't cutout the plastic. Luckily we only put it in our laundry room.
Ok I had to think hard on this one, is there a cooling off period if your not satisfyed, maybe upgrade even if cost just a bit more? I totally agree that new (style) is not always eye friendly. Or work on the dinning and living room area being that guests don't normally roam those other rooms. Place console under the dinning room a/c and add mirror over but I know it's going to stick out or a large fake tree. But after all these helpful ideas from writers by the time you spent money on ways to camouflage that your not going to be happy with the results , these you mind as well be up front with the company installer and persuade them to switch them out. There should realize they have not been used and your still in the building mode yet. I hope they turns things around for you. Lovely place you have and enjoy decorating your new place.
Jan hit the nail on the head. Honestly, I think they are just fine, as I would be more concerned with function rather than form. Regardless of recommendation it is up to the consumer to thoroughly research specs for any item going into their reno. Contractors I work with will either do a mock up or install one and get written consent to install the rest when items such as this come into question. Granted it is your home and you deserve to have what makes you happy. If you decide on another system, discuss in detail with your contractor before purchasing so you do not have to go through this heartache yet again. And hop on your local neighborhood network (I am on Nextdoor), and sell your units - I guarantee they will go quick and chances are you will not be in the red too much. And don't forget, you are looking at this while still under construction. Once all your belongings are in, furniture in place, art on the walls, the units will not look out of place. Just do not fret so much that it clouds your common sense and rational judgment - everything can be fixed. Take a deep breath, go outside, get some fresh air, clear your head and forge on. You can handle this! 🤗
Naomie makes a lot of sense. The idea floating shelves also sounds good. They would also stick out, but would balance the bulk of the AC unit. It sounds, though, like you really want to get rid of them. If the contractor won't change them out, try the resale angle and start fresh. Good luck!