DIY: How to Hide a Thermostat

Normally thermostats aren't a big concern, in our apartment the thermostat was awkwardly placed off center to the middle of the wall. To top it off, it's crooked. We only have a gas heater, no air conditioning, which means we only use the heat a few months out of the year. The rest of the year we have a crooked off white thermostat in the middle of the couch distracting from any art. Originally I had hung this poster from Ikea off center of the couch because I couldn't hang it over the thermostat.

Eventually I was tired of the table lamp shining directly onto the picture creating a weird shadow above our couch. I'm also very a little OCD about things being centered, and this picture wasn't centered on anything at all. I've always loved frame walls because they're fun, creative, and a great way to take a bunch of random art and make it look like a single display. I moved the Ikea poster into the dining room and centered it low above the table to connect the two. I decided to do a frame wall over the couch, but there was one ugly crooked problem:

I suppose with the sun shining bright in this picture it isn't so obvious, but trust me it was hideous to look at! I bought a box from with a nice hollow back, spray painted it gray to match the other frames, and just like that I had a cover for the thermostat!

Sure, the frame is much thicker than I had originally wanted but it is actually kind of fun to have a thick frame and a bunch of skinny ones. I also like that it forced me to move the adorable hamster picture over, which perfectly centered the frame wall above the couch and it really connects the two. The best part about the frame wall is it's just random art. Our faces and our friends and families faces are all over the apartment, it's fun to have a wall with a bunch of random stuff for a change. The majority of the art isn't for sure, I just needed stuff to fill the frames for now. I am sure that I want to stick with the gray and yellow theme.

Eventually I'm going to add a hinge to the frame and the little block of wood it's hanging from so the frame can be opened like a door, but that's a new project for another day!