When we moved into Pheasant House, about 60% of the hallways and common spaces were covered in wallpaper. And I mean covered. Walls, yes, but also outlet covers, light switch plates, and vents. Very committed wallpaper situation.
We’ve been slowly peeling our way out of it, and once the foyer and quiet corner wallpaper came down, we were left staring at outlets and switches that looked… well, like they’d spent decades under wallpaper. Not cute.
Our walls are Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore, and we decided the cleanest solution was paintable outlet covers and light switch covers. Now I know what you’re thinking, especially if you ever lived in an old city apartment. “Painting the outlets looks terrible! And a fire hazard, no?” This is not the same thing. These are plates that are designed to be painted before install. They literally disappear into your wall. If you’re still skeptical…Spoiler: it worked, and it was easier than we expected.
What We Used:
– TayMac covers for outlets and light switches
– Snnalosse blank covers for old phone jacks we just wanted gone
– Purdy mini roller kit for application
– Leftover Pale Oak paint
– A small paintbrush for smoothing (more on that in a sec)
How It Went Pretty straightforward, honestly. We poured out some leftover Pale Oak, loaded up the mini roller, and got to work. Where we ran into trouble (classic rookie move) was controlling how much paint was on the roller. Too much and you get texture. We ended up using a small brush to smooth things out after rolling, which added time but got us to a finish we were happy with.
Seven covers total across two rooms. About three hours start to finish, including drying time.
Was It Worth It? Yes. Full stop. The covers just disappear into the wall now, which is exactly what we wanted. It’s one of those small changes that makes a room feel more intentional without anyone being able to put their finger on why.
If you’re dealing with mismatched or dated outlet covers, this is a low-stakes, low-cost place to start. Even with zero experience, I managed to pulled this one off.
Have you tried paintable outlet covers in your home? Drop a comment and let me know how it went!
Supplies for Paintable Outlet and Switch Cover Project
- Purdy Mini Roller Kit
- TayMac 4000W Paintable Single Toggle Light Wall Plate Cover, White, 1-Gang
- TayMac 4400W Paintable Double Toggle Light Switch Wall Plate Cover, White, 2-Gang
- TayMac 2000W MASQUE 2000 Mid-size White 1-Gang Decorator Grounded Duplex Wall Plate
- No Device Blank Wallplate,Standard Size 1-Gang
