DIY Wall Ledge – Living Room Update

Well it seems I’m on a kick to rid myself of nagging issues (like this shower hack) lately, so let’s keep it going today with another (relatively) quick fix. This issue actually holds the record for longest annoyance, as it dates back to when we first bought the house.

Why do contractors place unsightly items in the worst places? Take the glowing thermostat eyesore, for instance, right on the (obvious, in my opinion) focal wall in the living room.

I think at some point I had resigned myself to always being there, not even bothering to photoshop it out in pictures of the house. But, I’ve had enough!

I’ve seen people hide thermostats in a lot of ways, but covering it completely with a canvas or hinged piece of art really didn’t strike me as the best way. Ultimately, it’s really got to be mostly exposed so it can do its job. But I was convinced that there was something I could do to keep the eye from going directly to its neon beam of light.

I recently stumbled across some images on Pinterest that had a narrow ledge above the couch – many of them were DIY tutorials – and it seemed like this could be the best solution to my problem. If I placed the ledge in the right area, I could delicately lean something against the thermostat and pretend it wasn’t there for the most part.

This isn’t really a detailed tutorial, but there are tons out there (like THIS). It’s pretty self explanatory, but your basic ledge requires 3 pieces of wood: (2) 1x4s and (1) 1×2. The length is up to you! I decided to use a standard 6ft length, which would be long enough to reach the thermostat but not interfere with the lamps.

First I used some pre-stain conditioner – I really like to use this on cheap whitewood lumber.

I decided to use Minwax Jacobean stain, let it dry for about 12 hours, then assembled the pieces with wood glue and my brad nailer. You can also just use finish nails with a hammer and a nail punch to set them below the surface.

The shelf is screwed directly into the wall, into the studs. No need to mess around with hanging hardware!

The original window is still hanging on the original hooks, it just looks like it’s sitting on the ledge 🙂 I’m still working on the details of what I’d like to display up there, but I collected a few things from around the house to test my hidden thermostat idea.

Aw yeah, sweet victory! I also really underestimated the overall effect of filling up that wall…it really cozies up the space. Total cost was $12 and only about an hour of actual working time. Why didn’t I think of this 8 years ago??