How could I place a cabinet in front of the thermostat?

DO NOT HIDE OR COVER YOUR THERMOSTAT...... IT WILL AFFECT THE THE TEMPERATURE IN THE WHOLE HOUSE.....

IN most centrally heated homes, regardless of the type of fuel used and regardless of whether the system uses hot air, hot water or steam, the ''brain'' that controls the system and tells it when to send up heat and when to shut itself off is the thermostat that is mounted in the living quarters of the house. Yet, important as this little control is to the efficiency of the heating system and to the comfort of everyone inside the house, it normally gets little or no attention unless and until it stops working. A home heating thermostat can sense the temperature of the air only in its immediate vicinity, so it must be located where the air temperature it can sense is reasonably representative of the temperatures in other parts of the home or apartment. That is why occupants must be very careful to avoid positioning appliances or other objects that could affect the readings near the thermostat. Generally speaking, thermostats should be placed about four to five feet up from the floor in a room with ceilings of average height, and slightly higher in rooms that have taller ceilings. They should always be mounted on an inside wall - a wall that has a heated area on the other side - and they should be at least 16 inches away from any corner where this wall joins an outside wall. Even more important than the inside wall location is making certain that the thermostat is not positioned where an open window or door can allow cold drafts to blow on it, even occasionally. Every time the thermostat feels that cold draft, it calls for more heat throughout the whole house (or throughout that one heating zone if the house has more than one thermostat), even though the rest of the house may be quite comfortable. The opposite problem occurs when a source of heat is too close to the thermostat - for example, a large lamp or television set. The heat given off by these appliances ''fools'' the thermostat into thinking that the house is warmer than it is, so it does not call for heat, even though the other rooms may be quite chilly. In addition to locating the thermostat properly, it is also important to make certain that air can flow freely and easily past and around it. It should never be obstructed by curtains or drapes, and should never be behind a large piece of bulky furniture or enclosed inside a cabinet or set of bookshelves.

Furniture should not be placed in front of, below, or right next to a thermostat as the natural air flow will be disrupted. The thermostat is where air temperature is monitored, and when the set point is not met, the heating/cooling system runs until the set point is met again. Obstructing the natural air flow at the thermostat can create a dead air space in which the temperature may vary greatly from the rest of the house and affecting the occupants' comfort.

Agreed, make sure not to completely obstruct the airflow.

Honestly I think it is obvious that you should not block the thermostat

Here is a fairly simple way that might work in your situation. As everyone has noted you don't want to block airflow, but that having been said I have seen small boxes placed over the outside of thermostats that have locks on them to prevent people adjusting the thermostat. Why couldn't you take the same concept and build a small box? (Or maybe a deep picture frame or shadow box) to go around the thermostat, but include on the sides, top and bottom an open mesh that would allow air flow? It might be difficult to design from an aesthetics point of view, but depending on your situation and creativity might be an option.

Not for anything, but has anyone thought of moving the thermostate?????

Honeywell sells a "remote controlled" thermostat. It's pricey but works great! Best investment we ever made.

I am with moving it. Sometimes there is enough wire in the walls to extend it over or splice in wiring and move it to the outside of the cabinet

Hang it just like a picture frame or a shadow box.

There is such a thing as a thermostat remote sensor that you can place anywhere. And you can get a thermostat that you can control from your phone. Moving the thermostat sounds like a good idea but you would have to tear into your wall. Would the other side of the wall be an option? Just depends on how important it is to you to put that cabinet there.

Can you take the back off the cabinet to make it open shelves? Or at least for the section where the thermostat is? Might impede air flow a bit, but not the same as totally covering the thermostat