Outlet Covers with Offset Openings for Tight Spaces

Problem: There's not enough room for an outlet cover.

Causes: Board and batten, wainscoting, tile, cabinetry, paneling, granite countertop, backsplash, trim, door jamb, mirror, etc.

Solution: Narrow cover plates for electrical receptacles.

When updating your living space, you may run into this common problem:
outlet cover won't go back on due to lack of space around the electrical box.

Here's a prime example:

This backsplash has a bullnose tile trim, which is blocking the cover from going back on the switch and outlet.

A cover that used to fit just fine, no longer works after this wet bar's renovation.

Narrow switch plates are the perfect solution. Depending on your needs, Kyle Switch Plates carries 2 types of narrow covers:

• "narrow" covers that aren't as wide overall as standard ones
• "half narrow" covers with offset openings (cutouts closer to one side of plate to allow room for obstructions on one edge)

Shop all narrow covers here.

In the tile example shown above, a half narrow switch & outlet cover is all the homeowner needed (same overall plate size, but with offset or shifted openings for the devices).

Here's another example in which there's not enough clearance for an outlet cover. The board and batten accent wall shown below has a batten beam that's partially obstructing one edge of the electrical box.*

The homeowner chose a narrow outlet cover for the single duplex outlet.
But a half narrow duplex plate would have worked also.

*Obstructing an electrical box may be a code violation - be sure to heck your local electrical codes.

Find the right narrow cover plate here.

Need covers with less trim on top or bottom edge instead?

Shop short wall plates to find the solution if materials are blocking the top or bottom edge of your device cover.

Solutions for Oddly Spaced Electrical Switches

You may have a light switch and outlet that are close together, but mounted in separate electrical boxes, making the spacing between them odd.

Learn how to cover oddly spaced electrical devices below.

Visit our site for more switch plate problems & solutions. 

Problem #1: Adjacent Electrical Boxes

Solution A:

If your devices are in separate boxes that butt up against one another, you'll find that the spacing between them is odd.

A standard multi-gang cover plate won't be spaced properly to cover devices mounted like this:

And two separate single cover plates will be too wide to sit this close together.

Sometimes, desperate homeowners will cut a side off of two (or more) plastic switch plates to make a custom piecemeal cover. But the results are often quite unattractive.

A better solution is to pair together two narrow cover plates.

Solution B:

Another solution for the example shown above is to update the duplex outlet to a block outlet, and get a cover with widely spaced rocker openings.

Swapping out a duplex outlet for a modern block outlet is simple.

This cover plate's 2 rocker cutouts are spaced farther apart than on a standard double cover. The perfect solution for side by side electrical boxes with two switches or a switch and electrical plug socket.

Solution C:

You may have the same issue, but with multi-gang boxes. We have plates that are narrow on a single side to fix this problem:

Problem #2: Electrical Boxes in Close Proximity

It can look a little odd to have a bunch of single cover plates in close proximity with a small wall gap between them, like this:

You can order switch plates that have a section with no device opening.

You'll see that updating duplex outlets to block style outlets (shown above) not only gives you a modern look, but also gives you more options when selecting cover plates.

Problem #3: Electrical Boxes In Tight Spots

You can order an assortment of narrow, half narrow and other unique switch plates to fit within constraints such as door jambs that sit too close to your electrical devices.

For example, this homeowner was forced to cut the edges off several plastic switch plates to fit this tight spot next to the door:

A better solution is to get a plate that's trimmed on one edge. Cutout options for narrower plates are limited, so the devices will need to be updated as follows:

• swap out the 2 rotary dimmers with rocker dimmers
• update the toggle switch to a modern rocker switch
• trade the horizontal toggles for a stacked rocker switch

A much cleaner look, don't you think?

Take careful measurements to determine what will work in your situation. At Kyle Switch Plates, we want you to find the solution that makes you happy. You can always order a variety of our specialized covers, then return the ones that don't work out.

Note: Device Position is NOT Fixed

An important thing to note is that your devices can be moved by simply loosening the 2 screws that mount them into the electrical box, pushing them toward the left or right, then tightening the screws to hold them back into the position you need them in.

This is a great way to get devices further from a door jamb, cabinet or other structure that sits too close to your device for a cover plate to fit.

Buying the Correct Outlet Cover for Your Receptacle

The cover plate that is most commonly ordered incorrectly is the outlet cover.

The 2 most common types of outlets are:

Duplex:
Duplex outlets have two distinctive features:

• Two oval plugs
• Open screw hole in center (for attaching cover plate)

Shop Duplex Outlet Covers

Block / GFCI:
Block outlets (often GFCI with the test/reset buttons in the center) are different from duplex receptacles:

• Rectangular in shape
• No center screw hole

Shop Block Outlet Covers

You May Have Both

It's not uncommon for a home to have mixed outlets throughout - one room might have duplex outlets, while another room has block style receptacles. We've even seen homes where the two styles are present in a single room.

Save yourself the extra trip to the store (or extra shipping fees) - carefully assess each outlet you are purchasing new covers for. The easiest way to do this is to look for a center screw openings on the outlet itself.

More Outlet Types

The amperage (15A vs 20A) does not effect which type of cover your receptacle requires.

For outlets behind a TV or large piece of furniture, you can get outlets that come with cover plates and are recessed into the wall.

Shop Recessed Outlets & Covers

If you have round outlets or large amp ones (30A, 50A or 60A), you'll need another plate entirely.

Shop Round Outlet Covers

For electrical outlets installed in floors, cover plates are not sold separately, so you'll need to replace the floor box unit entirely to get a new cover.

Shop Floor Outlets

Stainless Steel vs Nickel Plates - The Difference

Choosing coordinating granite, tile and paint colors is tricky. In fact, much tricker than I thought when I recently updated my builder-grade kitchen. Costly mistakes were made. *Sigh*

Finding the right updated light switches & cover plates is an unexpected part of most remodel projects. And it's something most homeowners only think of as an afterthought.

Getting a perfect match to your marble, tile, wallpaper or paint isn't likely. But there are lots of finishes to choose from, so with a little bit of effort, you can find switches, outlets and covers that blend with your fresh new color palette.

One of the most popular finishes for kitchens is stainless steel. Many customers want to coordinate with stainless steel fridges, ovens and other kitchen appliances.

We always recommend our residential grade stainless steel faceplates for rooms in which you're trying to match appliances with a satin stainless finish.

Stainless switch & outlet covers are neutral, and don't pull toward any particular color like nickel plates do. Here you can see that nickel switchplates have a yellow tone in comparison to stainless steel:

Note that you can't get actual light switches in stainless, but you can use white, gray, black, red or ivory switches with stainless plates.

A customer emailed us this week to share a picture of her white electrical devices with an oversized stainless steel plate on white mosaic tile:

Pretty fabulous, huh?

Shop stainless steel switch plates in every size and get $6.95 flat-rate shipping. And please send us pictures when you have them installed! 

We'd love to see how our plates have improved your living space.

Basketball Switch Plates for Man Caves & Sports Fans

I can't sit down in a bar or restaurant without first analyzing which seat has the best view of the TV screen. Then I choose the opposite side. That's because my husband is well on his way to winning his office March Madness basketball bracket and every game matters so much.

It's fun when you're passionate about something, isn't it? It's even more fun when you can work that passion into your home decor.

My husband is one of those guys who has a man cave. I personally thought the spare bedroom would be more useful as a guest room should we ever have visitors. But, he really wanted that man cave and insisted I keep my decorating touch OUT of it. (Ha!)

He was definitely surprised when I agreed black walls would look great and even helped him paint it. I think he was even more surprised when he liked some of my suggestions for the room. (Like I said before about keeping out - ha!)

One of his favorites was when I brought home this black outlet cover from Kyle Switch Plates with red basketball design to reflect his love of the Bulls. (Yes, in our house we not only cheer on college ball, we follow the NBA too. And by "we" I mean "he".)

And, I haven't told him yet but for his birthday he's getting a matching automatic sports night light to go in this outlet. With those dark black walls it's hard to see in there at night! Although I have to admit it does look cool.

Yah I know, I know. I'm supposed to keep my decorative touch out of there. But, once again, I think he'll be surprised. In a good way. :)

Get Your Home Prepared for Holiday Guests

Are you hosting your family for Thanksgiving or having a Christmas holiday party with friends? This is the time to get your home guest-ready. Many people love having family and friends over during the holiday season and it's a fun time to show off any renovations or work you've done to your home since last year.

Do you have a tricky switch plate that needs to be replaced but you weren't able to find it at your local hardware store? We get a lot of calls this time of year from people who have waited last minute to fix this problem.

Many times you don't even realize you have an odd switch plate until a trip to the Home Depot. You'd be surprised how many configurations they don't carry. And, the more switches you have in the same plate, the more tricky it can be to find the right match. It gets even trickier if you want a specialty finish like stainless steel or oil rubbed bronze.

Save yourself the stress and order your plates early from Kyle Switch Plates. That way, you won't have to pay a fortune to have it shipped overnight it last second (although that's something we can do if need be!).

Kyle Switch Plates' oil rubbed bronze switch plates are especially popular with the rustic look everyone has going on in their homes these days. Adding quality wall plates to your room is the best way to polish off Restoration Hardware decor in any home.

Shop Kyle Switch Plates for coordinating light switches, outlets, decorative dimmer knobs and beautiful cover plates made in the USA.

3 Convenient Yet Unconventional Places to Add an Electrical Outlet

You buy the perfect table and accessorize with great pieces including that trendy lamp you've been eyeing for months. The only glitch is that now you have to run a hideous cord about 6' down the wall to plug it in.

You're sipping coffee on your couch on a Saturday morning, happily pinning away when your laptop or tablet battery gets critically low. Of course the charging cable won't reach the nearest electrical outlet (why are these cords always so short?) which means you have to pull out an extension cord to continue your lazy morning. Annoying!

You decorate your fireplace mantle with a gorgeous lighted holiday garland only to be distracted for the next month by the ugly green cord stretched awkwardly across the wall.

Any of these sound familiar?

Some well-placed electrical outlets can really simplify things and leave you with the aesthetic appeal you're looking for. Floor box outlets with fancy covers and twist-on caps for when they're not in use are the perfect solution.

3 Places to Add a Floor Box Electrical Outlet in Your Home

1. Underneath your couch or table

I have an outlet directly underneath my couch along with some spare computer and phone chargers. They don't create an eye-sore but they're there when I need them. Another great place is underneath an accent table. Then, you can use a variety of techniques like this easy one to hide your lamp cord.

2. On your fireplace mantle

Add an outlet to the side or top of your mantle and it will change your world. It's great for lighted Thanksgiving or Christmas garlands but you'll most likely find it handy throughout the rest of the year as well.

3. On your headboard

Imagine the convenience of an outlet right there when you're lounging in bed. If you use your smart phone, reading tablet or laptop between the sheets, chances are you need a convenient place to plug in. In my bedroom, the nearest outlet powers my nightstand lamp, alarm clock and phone charger leaving no space for my bulky computer charger. Make using electronics in bed simple with a conveniently placed floor box electrical outlet installed right into your headboard.

Now you know - floor box electrical outlets aren't just for floors. You can add one virtually anywhere you need power. The icing on the cupcake is that they're available in attractive nickel and brass finishes and come with round caps to cover the ugly devices when they're not in use.

Shop floor mounted electrical outlets at Kyle Switch Plates to find the perfect power supply solution for your lifestyle.

Create Any Configuration Switch Plate with Inserts

Between duplex outlets, Decora rocker and toggle switches, dimmers and GFI receptacles, there are many different configurations of multi-gang switch plates. The most common call we get sounds a lot like this:

"I'm on your site and I've found a 3-gang plate with the openings I need, but they're not in the right order. Do you have a plate with [insert configuration here]?"

Because there are so many different combinations of configurations, the higher the gang the plate, the less options you may find. The simplest solution is to re-arrange the devices in your electrical box to match a switch plate that actually exists in the finish you need.

The next best solution is to use switch plate inserts to convert 1 opening to another. For example, see the left plate below? Suppose what you need is to switch the toggle and the Decora opening, but you can't find that switch plate.

What you can do, is order this plate instead and then convert the additional Decora opening to a toggle with an insert. We'll show you how below.

Here is a Decora-to-toggle insert that fits the extra Decora rocker opening and converts it to a toggle:

Here's an example of an actual ivory switch plate with a Decora filler and toggle switch:

So, once you pop the filler into the "wrong" plate, it becomes the "right" plate:

Inserts are easy to use and are a great way to create your own custom switch plate. Kyle Switch Plates carries a variety of switch plate inserts in white, ivory, gray, brown and black. They can be used to convert openings to blanks, or to convert Decora openings to toggles, cable and phone jacks and more. Click to shop combination switch plates and inserts for converting switch plates.

#switchplates #remodel #customswitchplates #kyleswitchplates #diy

Switch Plate 101

As a female, I know a lot about the Real Housewives, gel manicures, and how to route every errand trip so I "just happen" to pass a Starbucks. I also know how many calories are in the grande Mocha Cookie Crumble - and that it's worth it (hands down!). What I do not know a lot about is switchplates. You know - those plastic thingies that surround the light switches and outlets in your home? You really don't even notice them until you update your decor with fresh new paint and have to 1) remove them and 2) discover they stand out way more when the wall is not painted white.

I shouldn't say I don't know a lot about wall plates - the truth is I didn't know a lot about them. But now I do, and it turns out they're not as complex as I thought! I've decided to decode them below, so if you don't know the difference between a "rocker" and a "toggle" you're in the right place.

Basic Switches: Toggle vs. Rocker

• Learn the Difference

The most common switches are "toggle switches" and "rocker switches" (sometimes called "Decora Rocker switches") and it's super easy to tell the difference. Toggle switches are small protruding switches that you flip up and down while Rockers are larger, flatter rectangular switches that you rock up or down. Toggle switch plates have a small rectangular opening and Rocker cover plates have a much larger rectangular opening, as pictured here:



• NOTE: How many switches are controlling a light? 

If you're updating your switches as well as your switch plates, you'll need to think about how many other switches control the same light (or ceiling fan) as the switch you're replacing. If a particular switch is the only switch for a certain light, you'll need a standard switch (known as a "singe-pole" switch). But if you have 2 separate switches (perhaps at opposite ends of a hallway) that control the same light, you'll need a 3-way switch. In other cases, you may have 3 separate switches controlling a single light, and you'll need a 4-way switch.

Outlets: Standard, Decora, and Safety Features

When you say "outlet" you may picture 2 plugs, but you also need to think about the overall shape of the device & whether it has those "reset" buttons in the center. The main things to consider when buying outlets: overall shape, capacity (15 amp vs 20 amp), GFI/GFCI (for outlets near water sources such as a kitchen or bathroom sink) and tamper resistant (for child safety - I, for one, stuck a key into the outlet when I was about 4 years old and it didn't feel so good!).

• Don't mistake the shape of your outlet.

Before ordering a replacement outlet cover plate, pay attention to whether your plate has 2 separate oval openings or a single rectangular decora style opening. Note that the decora plate is the same as the standard switchplate for a decora rocker switch (shown above).



• Amperage: Easily identify how many amps your outlet allows:

The term "amps" refers to the volume of current. Your outlet will be 15A or 20A. Look at your outlet to tell the difference - a 15A outlet has 2 straight slots and a 20A outlet has 1 straight and 1 "T" shaped slot, as shown here:

•  SAFETY FEATURES: Is the outlet required by law to be GFCI?

If you're replacing the actual device, note whether the outlet is currently a GFCI receptacle ("Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter" - also sometimes called GFI for "Ground Fault Interrupter") or whether it needs to be one. GFCI/GFI plugs prevent electrocution by cutting power to the outlet when a variation in electrical current is detected. Your kitchen, bathroom, hot tub, swimming pool areas, wet bar - anywhere near water - should have GFCI receptacles, which is an electrical code requirement. They can prevent death if an electrical appliance, such as a hair dryer, gets accidentally dropped in water. You can easily identify GFCI receptacles - they always have 2 buttons between the plugs (labeled "reset" and "test").

Another important safety feature for children is tamper resistance. When the outlet is not in use and nothing is plugged in, a tamper resistant outlet has little shutters that close off the openings (see image below). This prevents curious little children from getting a shock if they try to stick something into the outlet. The safety shutters only open when a plug is inserted causing both springs to be compressed at the same time.

 

Sizes: Important Terms to Understand

•  "Gang"

Switch plate width is know as "gang." A single-gang wall plate houses 1 switch or outlet, a wider double-gang plate houses 2 switches or outlets, a triple or 3-gang plate is wider and houses 3 devices and so on.

•  Regular, Narrow, Oversized, Jumbo - know the difference

Switch plate width and height varies depending on whether it's a standard plate, narrow, mid-size or oversized/extra large plate. Make note of any plates that don't match standard switch plate dimensions. Visit Switch Plate Sizes & Dimensions at Kyle Switch Plates for more info on sizing.

 

Combination Switch Plates

If you need a cover plate with more than 1 type of device, it's called a "combination plate." An example of a combo wall plate is a 3-gang plate with 2 toggle openings and 1 duplex outlet opening. Something to keep in mind is that switchplates can be rotated 180 degrees. If you see a cover plate that's "almost" what you need but the devices are in the "opposite" order, you can simply flip that plate over to fit your situation so keep that in mind when browsing combination plates.

 

Your #1 Switch Plate Source

Now that you're familiar with some important switch plate terminology and you know what specifically to look for when replacing your switch plates, you can easily find what you're looking for at www.kyleswitchplates.com.

Kyle Switch Plates is an online store that specializes in regular and specialty switch plates and electrical devices in regular and unusual colors and finishes.