Keep Switches Straight with Wall Plate Labels

I have lived in my house for 8 years. So you'd think I'd have the switches down by now. As embarrassing as it is to admit, there are a couple light switches that still trip me up.

If you have any wall plates with multiple switches in your home, chances are, there are times you hit the wrong one.

Take the guesswork out of turning on the lights with professionally engraved light switch labels.

Labeling your light switches makes it easier for you to hit the right one (on the first try), and it makes it easier for house guests, too.

At Kyle Switch Plates, we sell two types of labels for switch plates:

• adhesive ones that can be customized
• sets of tags that go under the screw

Both types can be positioned above our below a switch, dimmer or outlet.

Custom Adhesive Labels for Light Switches

Engraved metal tags are available in silver or gold, and can be customized to say whatever you'd like. The short switch labels can have up to 22 characters, and the long light switch tags can fit 26 characters.

They come with a strong adhesive on the back - simply peel off the lining and stick right to your plastic or metal cover plate.

Pre-Made ID Labels for Wall Plates

The pre-made label sets come with a variety of words to identify your switches. Some examples are porch, kitchen, fan, patio, den, deck, chandelier.

Our label sets come in silver, brass, copper and gold.

NEW: Light, Vent & Heat Labels

NuTone light, heat and vent switches in a bathroom can also now be labeled with attractive tags in silver, gold or brass.

Perfect for home renovations in which you'd like to update or replace old despard style light, vent and heat switches or covers.

Learn more about replacing NuTone light vent and heat switches & covers here.

Shop Quality Metal Wall Plates Made in the USA.

Replacing a Nu-Tone Light Vent & Heat Switch Cover

If your bathroom has Nu-Tone switches for controlling the light, vent and heat, you may have trouble finding replacement covers when you renovate the room.

The first thing you need to know is that the shape of the light, vent and heat control switches are one type of "despard" switch.

Find links to replacement parts below:

Nu-Tone Switches

To replace these old Nu-Tone switches, you need to get Pass & Seymour 15A ACD1 switches (which comes in white, ivory and brown).

Mounting Straps

Since these switches are mounted in metal straps, if you don't have the old hardware, you'll need a new despard switch mounting strap to install the replacement ACD1 light, vent and heat switches.

Despard Switch Cover Plates

The correct replacement cover is this 3 Despard Switch Cover Plate (available in over 10 finishes).

Light, Vent, Heat Switch Labels

The new covers don't have "LIGHT", "VENT", and "HEAT" imprinted on them.

But you can order separate Nu-Tone switch labels that can be affixed to the side of the switches. They come with a strong adhesive so they can easily be added to one side of your new cover.

Don't neglect your old switches and covers when updating a bathroom. You'll love the fresh look.

Easy Fix When Your Switches Don't Line Up with the Cover Plate

After painting all the interior walls in my home, I decided to get update my light switches and cover plates from plain white to elegant ivory and oil rubbed bronze.

My husband is the son of an electrician, so I knew swapping out the light switches would be a breeze. (For him, anyway).

What I didn't expect was, that after all the new switches were screwed firmly into their electrical boxes, they didn't line up with the cutouts in my gorgeous new cover plates.

What?!

Did we get defective switch plates???

No, turns out...

When your switches don't line up with the cover plate, there's an easy fix:

First, I have to let you in on a little secret: The devices themselves are meant to have some "play" in them, so you can adjust them left to right and up/down to match up perfectly with the cover.

See how the screw hole (highlighted in orange in the image below) is an oval shape? It's bigger than the screw that mounts the switch to the electrical box.

All you have to do is loosen the screw a little bit and push the switch (or outlet) in the direction you need it to go in order for the cover plate to line up.

See?

Once it's in the proper position, just screw it back in tight and you're good to go!

After we made some minor adjustments to this switch shown here (and some others throughout the living room), everything lined up perfectly.

You may need to adjust all of the devices in your electrical box to get a multi-gang plate to line up with each switch.

So simple!

Side note: My husband didn't think we needed to go to all this effort to replace the electrical devices and covers, but now that they're in, he loves them!

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: Always shut off the power to the device(s) before making adjustments to positioning.

Shop Kyle Switch Plates for new electrical devices and quality cover plates. An online superstore for high-end and hard-to-find electrical components - find solutions you won't get at your local hardware store.

New Specialty Light Switch Finishes Give High-End Look

Often when you put the money into high-end switch plates, you want light switches & outlets that match.

Until recently, fancy switchplates (like Venetian bronze and antique brass) had to be paired with plainer switches (like brown and ivory).

But now, electrical switches & receptacles are being offered with a new designer look in 3 stunning finishes:

Dark Bronze:

Lighter than brown with a warm red tone, newly manufactured dark bronze electrical switches add elegance to these already magnificent bronze wall plates:

Antique Brass:

New antique brass switches & outlets are a beautiful deep gold which looks fabulous with a variety of covers, including antique brass shown here:

Nickel Silver:

If you're into the gray wall trend mixed with dark brown wood floors that's recently taken homes by storm, you might have elegant walls stenciled with metallic silver paint mixed with a matte gray.

If so, you'll love these new nickel light switches with dark bronze covers: