honestly i feel that we should embrace the technology we have even with the many styles that we have to choose in our homes but most of them we should just use clean and similar switch and outlet covers and celebrate their beauty.

in my home i have vanilla covers through out the house, they blend well with the vanilla on the crown moulding ..at my MIL's house when we redid it we used oak plates, to coordinate with the oak there..

if you have a lot of stainless steel you might match all your plates in stainless..

but as for painted or wallpaperd..that is so 80's..i think i would just not go dramatic and keep them simnple..and allow them to be part of the normal technology of the place

They just UL approved an outlet that literally sticks through the wall with no plate at all. (bocci.ca)

Of course this must be planned right from the framing

They also sell clear glass plates that can be back painted or papered to disappear. If I am called in during the design construction phase, I try to hide them or align them, and I am not anti-outlet or switch,,,I use a Lot of them.

I actually prefer to use either the standard plate or paint them or paper them --nothing ornamental.

palimpsest, do you know where I cam buy clear glass plates?

The website is Arnev. Not only do they sell clear glass they sell tons of other styles in all sorts of configurations.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clear Switch Plates

bocci is a great idea but how are the holes finished, as in dry wall, for example?

I believe it comes with plates that are spackled in on the edges. There is a special tool for disconnecting the outlet component from the outside without disturbing the wall surface.

I am sure that it is quite a bit more labor intensive and all the components are much more expensive than the standard Leviton, Lutron, et al. but Minimalism always is. No trim means very low tolerances and no inconsistencies.

There are recessed can apertures that are also rimless and spackled in. They are about ten times the price as an off the rack Halo recess at HD or Lowes. There are a couple shaped as slits or "tears" in the plane of the drywall that are about 100X the price of Halo (thousands for one fixture). Its out there if someone wants it, but at a high premium.

Be careful buying glass switch cover plates. I bought a bunch of mirror ones and found they are flat on the back - not recessed. They did not fit tight against the wall and looked horrible. I have them stashed in the basement somewhere waiting to be hauled to Goodwill.

You are correct about that. They will not work if the junction box or components are not Below the surface of the finished wall. Luckily I was able to use them where I wanted because the wall was flat and the boxes did not protrude...but it is something to consider before ordering.

Rather than mirror ones I tend to use chrome plated because of this.

I used some Lutron colored electrical receptacles (the actual electrical part with the prong holes) in a bookcase where the outlets had to disappear against the painted back wall. My camera's on the fritz, but they're fabulous and come in a zillion colors + switchplates to match. They come in both regular and GFCI versions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Colors of Lutron

palimpsest

I was so excited to see glass until I read through the posts. I guess the glass plates will not work well on a kitchen tile back splash..?? I have not found anything to blend with a tan/goldish subway tumbled marble .. any suggestions ?? Thanks!
Ree

I was excited to see that lutron makes so many colors, until I saw the prices. I would like to know if I should use white or ivory switches and outlets. I can wire them myself. White looks clean and contemporary to me, but ivory blends with the paint colors in some rooms, but not all. Does it look incongruous to change colors from room to room? Are the decorative covers in poor taste? Anyone have advice for budget minded decorators?

reeree

I have found that the Best place to use them is backsplashes because usually the finished splash is relatively flat and the junction box is below the surface. I have had problems with regular drywall where the edges of the box or part of the receptacle stands proud of the drywall a bit.

I tend to like the plain white or ivory inexpensive ones -- sometimes I will get the textured metal ones and paint them to match. Not so much for switches near the door, but for outlets I don't want standing out.

I don't like to emphasize receptacles with highly decorative plates but that is just a matter of personal taste. Kyle Designs has some really interesting ones in a lot of configurations.

I'm replacing all the switches, plates and outlet covers in my new house, probably in the next two weeks. We're converting the toggle switches to rockers as well since we're changing the switches out anyway. I'll tell you my preference- matching all white plates and covers through the whole house.

I agree with ronbre, there is no point in trying to disguise them with wallpaper or paint or anything (although that super expensive in the drywall system sounds cool) because they are what they are and I embrace fully the elecricity in my home. But I have a modern style home. Maybe if you live in a period decorated Victorian or cottage or something it could work. I *personally* think anything else ends up looking cutesy or dated, but that's my own preference. Some people can pull off the wallpapered look, but like I said, it depends on the house. When an outlet or switch is in a bathroom mirror or kitchen backsplash or cabinet that's different, but just the everyday fixutres on the wall? In my opinion it should be consistent through the whole house, just like trim.

Reeree, do you already have your backsplash in place? If not, you could look into having plugmold installed so the outlets would be hidden under the cabinets.

I really wish I would have had that done in our new build. Between the outlets and switches, there are 15 of them, which is totally ridiculous, as we also have outlets on the island. Feast or famine. I remember bemoaning their lack, in older homes I've had.

With the economy the was it is and having so much 'wall acne', I'm afraid my backsplash is going to be relegated to the bottom of my 'wish list'. I've taken to hanging small art and mirrors to cover some of them.

Artlover -- I got my Lutron colored receptacles on eBay for not too much, perhaps you could take a gander there for the right color?

Otherwise, I have these throughout my house:

So for the electrical outlets, I went for black receptacles with a similar antique bronze plate cover, which seems to work very nicely with all different colors in every room. I do recommend staying consistent throughout, except perhaps in the kitchen. And the black receptacles look pretty sharp with metal switchplates.

I like the Masque outlet plates from TayMac, which can be painted so that they disappear into the wall color. It completely hides the entire outlet - the plate is thin enough that you can plug right through it, so there's no "smiley faces" to contend with like you get with painting regular outlet covers. Especially with a wall color that's something other than white or beige, I find it quite obtrusive to have these white/ivory/beige things stuck all over the walls.

Here's my previous house, see if you can find the light switches and outlets in the picture:
{{!gwi}}

We went with rocker switches as well and changed out the plugs to the flush ones too. Here is a pic of the switchplates we used throughout the whole house.

Only room that doesn't have them is DS's room, his are stainless.

Almost panicked as we were almost done and Lowes discontinued them! Had to run to 3 Lowes to buy up what we needed.

I love them, and figure I will probably be updating my parents to rockers soon. Much easier for them to use.

Laura

palimpsest
fantastic! I really did not want to see outlet plates on the tile. I am going to order them now for sure. I asked the tile people if they made plates in tumbled marble to match the tile and they didn't .. I think that would be a great idea, I really don't know why they don't make them ..everyone does have outlets on the back splash... Thanks so much, I appreciate it!
Ree

parma42
wow..15 of them, thats a lot! It must be huge! Hang in there, you will get it done..I waited a while before we had ours done. We don't have a new build.. our house is 122 years old. The previous owner wall papered everthing right down to the counter top,, it was a huge job just getting it all off, it took me a long time to want to tackle it...lol
so yes, our back splash has been installed. I also have antique bronze tile inserts..so to throw outlet plates in-between them would of looked pretty bad.( to me anyway) I think the glass is a great idea and I am so happy I read this post :)
Ree

Yes a couple coats of paint on the back surface of the plates in a color that blends with the stone will be nice.

I recommend trying them on while the are still clear to make sure they work the way you want them to and then paint them if you like the way they fit.

I wonder if anyone has gone for the transparent look so you can see the wiring?

We redid ours throughout the whole house and went for all white. We went with programmable dimmers everywhere and they work great as well as conserve electricity.

I do think with new technology you can try to hide outlets in unobstructive cabinets which is what we did as well. We have outlets in our message center cabinet below reached through a grommit in the granite, outlets in our office wall cabinets as well as outlets in our bathroom hutch for the Sonicare. In our island I was able to get a switch plate in cherry that matched the cabinets. For kitchens you can use plugmold and then not have outlets in the backsplash.

the only thing I would paint using the glass plates are the metal parts of the outlet. ( where they get screwed in)With the glass I will be able to see the tile, so I wouldn't think to paint the glass...I guess I should order just one first and see how it goes. I do really like the idea of them .. :)

Ree

I'm always harping on this, but I think that the little bright white bumps stick out like pimples. I don't understand why anyone agonizes over the right paint, only to have the perfect wall dotted with these things. And don't get me started on hot air registers.

If the outlet is near the floor, and is covered by furniture, I don't think it's as big a deal. But the white light switch cover always draws my eye, esp. right by a door. If you've got a great piece of art on the wall, why distract the viewer with a $1.19 light switch?

I use stainless where it makes sense, like in my kitchen, but I use the Masque ones linked to by Johnmari. It's a grace note, and it's worth it to me.

There are actually some beautiful switches I've seen in European magazines. A little metal toggle with a glass plate that is painted or papered to disappear.

The Outlets on the other hand are all the size of dryer outlets.

palimpsest they sound nice! It's the little things that mean alot :)

reeree_natural, They do make covers in marble, granite, hewn clay, tumbled stone and Corian. You can find them at art shows. They are done by hand of course and will cost a pretty penny though.

Maybe you could find a close match with one of these?

{{!gwi}} {{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Maybe try out something that does not look so common like these narrow 3" x 7" skinny ones:

Below is a link to a myriad of marble and stone covers that I could not get to copy:

Here is a link that might be useful: Switch Plate Covers

dilly_dally omg! you are the best! Thank you so much, I never seen these. You are a tremendous help!! I am embarrassed to even tell you how long it's been that I have not put plates om my tile.. I bought a few different ones, put them on, took them right off.. this is just perfect. I am so excited!!

thanks again!
Ree

I'm glad this thread came up. I'm painting my kitchen this weekend and we don't have a backsplash yet. I got outlet happy when we built and there's way more than needed above the counters. I do believe I will be buying what Johnmarie posted! Thanks!

When I was trying to decide on a backsplash, I wrote Columbia Gorge and asked for an estimate for switchplate covers. I cannot find their response now, but IIRC, they were quite reasonable for their ready-made plates.

Here is a link that might be useful: Columbia Gorge Stoneworks

That's the same one I linked to in my post.

Check out the stone/marble magnetic covers that don't have ugly screws to hold them in place. Tiny details like that really do make a big difference in the overall look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Magnetic Cover Plates