Printers, shredders, cables, and the like are an instant home decor buzz kill. Luckily, you can transform your home office area with some creative DIY home decor ideas. We’ll start with the main (and most visible) home decor pitfall – the printer. The 4 steps below will show you how to hide a printer using a cardboard box and a couple of rag rugs. You probably have most of the materials for this DIY printer hideaway at home, but in case you are missing something, here are the links for the stuff I used.
1. Find a cardboard box
The first thing you’ll need is a cardboard box that fits your printer. The original printer box will be perfect. If you no longer have it, find a cheap cardboard box with similar dimensions.
2. Make holes for the plug and the paper
Measure the paper slit, the printing slit, and the slit for the plug. Then, place the printer in the box and use a marker to draw these measurements.
Use a utility knife to make the slits. Start by making a small cut and then expand it if necessary.
Finally, make a cut 1/2″ below the top of the box. The cut should cover 3 of its 4 sides.
3. Tape the box
Make sure that the slits are large enough to accommodate the paper and the plug. Then, tape the box.
4. Glue the rag rugs
Use hot glue to glue the rag rugs (i.e., rugs from fabric strips) on the printer box. You will need to cut the rugs to fit the box, which will cause them to unravel a bit. Glue the fabric strips to the box and to each other to stop the unraveling.
Next, make a loop from twine or manila rope and glue it on the front side of the box. Glue a small fabric strip above the loop’s ends to hide the glue marks. To give the DIY printer storage a more finished look, glue fabric strips around the edges of the box. I also added a large button for decoration.
Below is the final result of my how to hide a printer experiment. This DIY idea is a great solution to a messy office area that clashes with the rest of your home decor.
For more related DIY home decor projects, check out these simple storage DIY tricks.
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