Switch Plates for Tile Backsplashes {with trimmed edge}

Updating your home is a fun way to personalize your living space. Adding a tile backsplash to a wet bar, installing board and batten to your walls, or upgrading your kitchen with marble counter tops are all popular ways to make your living space your own.

One issue that DIY homeowners often run into when doing projects like these, however, is that the newly installed tile or wainscot materials can leave little space for your light switch or outlet cover.

When Your Switch Plate Won't Fit

Here, an existing light switch and outlet were tiled around after granite was added to a wet bar countertop:

We've outline the area that the cover plate takes up around these electrical devices. As you can see, the trim around the tile eats into the space where the outlet cover needs to rest.

Note: There is some wiggle room with switches and outlets. Loosen the screws mounting the device into the electrical box and push as far as you can in the direction you need the devices to shift. Sometimes, that's all it takes to get a cover plate to fit into a tight spot.

In the situation shown here, shifting the devices as far to the right as possible wasn't enough.

But a 2nd solution is very simple - a cover plate with all of the openings shifted in one direction.

The {trimmed} left edge of this narrow plate allows it to fit:

Narrow Switch Plates Fit Tricky Tight Spaces

In some cases, you'll need a cover plate that has a single edge that is "trimmed" or narrower than a standard plate (as shown above). Other times, you may need an outlet cover that is narrow all around.

Find a variety of hard to find narrow cover plates at Kyle Switch Plates - where we specialize in switch plate solutions for DIY homeowners.

Narrow & Short Switch Plates for Board & Batten Panelling

Like most Pinterest users, I find it impossible to scroll through the pins upon pins and not start visualizing my "new" house. That butcher block kitchen table I hate - I could paint it! That rusting over-the-toilet storage contraption could be replaced by floating wood shelves. We could cut a hole in the wall and create additional storage underneath our staircase! Sound familiar?

My latest and greatest revelation was that our kitchen wall needed board and batten. My husband was totally up to the task after getting a new saw for Christmas, so by New Years we'd turned this:

...into this:

Hmmm. We had initially had some disagreements on the height and style of board and batten to go with. I had gotten my way. And now I was hating it. I'm picturing farm animals grazing on the other side of this hideous fence that has become my kitchen wall. Ugh! Is it too late to change my mind?!?

Back to Pinterest to see what I've done wrong. OK, this can be salvaged. We just need to add some decorative trim pieces along each edge and a cap to the top. A day later we're comparing samples and once again we are not reaching an agreement on what looks best. Since I've steered us wrong thus far, I let him win. After all, his favorite was my second choice ;)

There's just one problem with this new plan - we had positioned the boards with just enough room for the switch plate and outlet cover. Adding trim would prevent the covers from going back on. Here you can see a comparison (on the left, we had not yet added the trim next to the outlet):

I had my husband notch out the very bottom of the trim so that a cover could slide underneath. This worked for the light switch as you can see here (we hadn't bought the new white plate yet so we used our old decorative one in the meantime). Since he only notched the bottom of the trim, you can't see it unless you bend down and look upward.

For the outlet, we loosened the screws on the device to push it as far right in the electrical box as we could get it. (They are made to be slightly adjustable side-to-side.) Then, we added a narrow switch plate that was just wide enough to cover the right side of the hole we had cut out of the board. My husband notched the trim to fit the left side of the plate. And, problem solved:

I've noticed people come up with many creative solutions for adding board and batten around light switches and outlets. Some people choose to create a gap in the trim piece or extend the size of the boards to incorporate the devices. I wanted a seamless look which is why I carefully planned out the spacing of my boards. But, everything was thrown off when we added the extra decorative pieces. 

Whether your project has taken an unexpected turn like mine, or you didn't realize how much space your wallplates would take up around your switches (a common mistake!), you can use narrow cover plates to complete your board and batten.

I decided to paint our new metal switch plates so they would match the board and batten perfectly. Here's a nice tutorial for painting switch plates.

If you run into similar problems when installing board and batten, cabinets or even a kitchen backsplash or island, you can buy narrow switch plates which aren't as wide as standard ones, or you can buy short switch plates which aren't as tall as standard ones. 

In the end, we love our new board and batten kitchen wall. 

Of course, once this was complete I had to paint the kitchen table and door. Which leads into my next project - staining those chair legs black.

Narrow Switch Plates for Tight Spaces

If you've nearly completed your kitchen, bathroom or other remodel project and you're just now discovering your switch plate covers won't fit in their new space, you're not alone. We get calls almost daily from people who carefully planned out the placement of their outlets and switches, but forgot to consider the space the wall plates take up around those devices.

That's right - the number 1 mistake people make when remodeling their home is failure to consider the space a switch plate takes up around their switches, outlets and other electrical devices.

Sometimes it's a corner the plates run into, other times it's a window frame, mantle or cabinet. Your first thought may be that you need to rip out your freshly laid tile or sheetrock, or create a new location for the switches. Or, you may head to the hardware store to find some narrow switch plates. That trip will probably lead to a google search, which may have landed you here.

Although hard to find, thin or narrow wall plates do exist and Kyle Switch Plates stocks a variety of sizes in various finishes to help you complete your home's project. Find narrow toggle, Decora rocker, duplex outlet, phone, cable jack covers and more.

The number 1 question customers ask is, "Do you carry narrow electrical boxes?".

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a narrow electrical box.

Some people use a standard electrical box to mount their devices, and then slightly cover the box's edges with tile or whatever they're installing in this tricky space. Then, they use the skinny face plate to fit where they need it to. However, this may not be up to code and is something we don't recommend until you've checked with an electrician in your area.

If you need a narrow switch plate for another purpose, such as on top of a desk or fireplace mantle, Kyle Switch Plates has the perfect plates for you.

Shop narrow switch plates and outlet covers.