How can I disguise a hot water heater?

What about hiding it with some wooden panels? You can paint them to blend with the room or make it into a piece of art! Though if it's a gas hot water heater, I've heard it can be more of a hazard to cover.

I LOVE all of the suggestions in this slideshow, whatever your eyesore, whatever the size http://www.hometalk.com/diy/organize/storage-ideas/s-hide-your-home-s-eyesores-with-these-11-brilliant-ideas-22048554

Last house we had an electric water heater (30 gallon size) in the corner of the kitchen, which was open to the living room and dinning room. I got sick of seeing it everyday. I built a privacy screen around it using two metal screen doors. (Habitat for Humanity Store - $7.00 @) I removed the screening and painted the rest black. The lower portion I covered in salvaged cedar planks leftover from another project. Where the upper screen faced the living room I attached a hinged door also made of cedar. The side facing the rest of the kitchen was surfaced with metal pegboard and put to good use holding utensils. I attached a cleat to hinge the screens to the wall on either side, forming an "L" shape privacy screen. I could still access the water heater when needful by opening the screen door. 2 Magnetic latches kept it closed. It kept the water heater out of sight, but not out of sound. We could still hear it when it was heating water. It wasn't that loud so we got used to it.

I had a big, ugly gas water heater in the kitchen of my old house .... which also had cinderblock walls (inside the rooms as well as the structure of the house). One side was in a shallow corner. Nailing and attaching things was difficult. It was an imperfect solution but we got two bifold louvered doors from the recycle center (the kind of doors you put on closets) and put around them the heater and hooked them to each other with a screen door hook. If we'd had better skills, we would have nailed them together with some trim and perhaps attached the bottoms to a wider piece of wood for extra stability. We did paint them to match the kitchen. It was a solution that worked well for nearly ten years, and surprisingly stable.

Also, it was open at the top, not touching the hot parts, and the openness of louvers let it all breath so it was safe.

Get playful with it. Paint a scene on it. Paint it to match the decor of the room it's in. Kitchen - I can picture a farm silo or a lighthouse or an old milk can, a food item such as a can of soda or soup, a roll of paper towels, or just about anything. Bathroom - stack of toilet tissue, shampoo bottle.

Do it the easy way. A mustache and sunglasses should do the trick!

Louvered doors will work as a screen. They are quite affordable at Habitat.

My hot water tank is in my bathroom at the end of the tub stall. I hung a rod across the opening where the tank is and hung a pretty linen shower curtain on it that matches the one in the tub. Great fix and easy to get to the tank when needed!

Here is what I dI’d. I hung a curtain rod from the ceiling. Found Outhouse set at a thrift store. Added a few this and that’s from around the house To give a little something to look at besides what is behind the curtain.