How can I disguise this eyesore of an air return vent?

Since this is an apartment, there is not much you can do about it. Builders are not interior designers, that's for sure. Without getting technically complicated, in the case of a multi family dwelling, they place all the "runs" for utilities in a central location for ease of install as well as future maintenance, which, in many cases, design has to suffer. Visit the apartment above and or below you and you will find they are all in the same place as yours. If the rest of your decor is attractive, no one will really care or notice. It will bother you more than anyone else because you live there and see it daily. Sorry I don't have a magic cure.

Hi,

Here are some Hometalk ideas: https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=air%20return%20vent%20cover.

Make a gallery wall around it with other art so that you don't notice it.

Hi Daya. If you can, paint it the color of the wall. There are so many fantastic decorative metal panels available online and in home stores, choose your favorite, add a frame, then cover that vent. It will still be able to pull in the necessary air. If you're feeling really creative, you could choose that entire area as a focal point by creating a vertical wood wall panel incorporating a fancy metal grate cover and some small shelves for artwork and knic knacs.😊

You can also try hanging a large frame/print over it. Depending on how much you need the air flow coming out of the vent, that could be a great removable, and customizable option for you (I've personally done it with outlets and switches on the wall before and it works great!)

Good luck!

Actually there is little you can do about this vent. It looks like a return vent and covering over it would impede the air flow. You could buy a decorative metal covering as long as it has holes in it to allow air flow.

I would build a frame with chicken wire

Hi Daya, here are few ideas you can try to hide or camouflage that aircon - https://hvac.ninja/articles/hide-outdoor-ac/