Easily Replace Switch Plates with This Handy Checklist

Remodeling Guide for Replacing Switch Plates & Outlet Covers in Your Home

Remodeling is so much fun, isn't it? Well, the actual process isn't but the results sure are! I could look at remodel before-and-afters on Pinterest for days. I just love seeing how others transform their living spaces whether it's painting their kitchen cabinets, adding a kitchen island, or doing a full-on makeover to a kitchen, bathroom or living room. It's so inspiring to see other peoples' creativity.

The thing about transforming a room - new paint colors, new stainless steel appliances, newly tiled backsplashes - is that a new color palette often creates an unexpected need. Just when you think you've reached the final step in your remodel - putting the switch plates and outlet covers back up - you realize there's one more thing you must do to add the finishing touch - replace those cheap, white plastic faceplates.

Easy enough, you think. But then you head to the local hardware store and find out that they don't carry every size and configuration you need in the gorgeous new finish you've chosen. Frustrating, I know. So you go online, find what you need, pay the stupid shipping fee, wait a week for your new plates to arrive and then (and only then) come to the painful realization that you forgot a plate. And somehow ended up with an extra one you don't need. Ugh!

That's why we've put together this handy, comprehensive switch plate checklist that we highly, highly, highly (can't say highly enough!) recommend (demand?) you download before you step foot in the hardware store or start your online search for your dream switch plates.

Please, please do yourself a huge favor and print this comprehensive switch plate order checklist right now.

Be sure you also think about whether your new switch plates will look OK with your old switch and outlets - you may want to replace those devices as well to make things cohesive.

At Kyle Switch Plates, we understand how difficult it can be to find every plate you need in the finish you desire. That's why we carry a lot of standard and hard-to-find switch plates in up to 18 gorgeous finishes (you may not be able to resist the oil rubbed bronze or antique brass, although the stainless steel will coordinate perfectly with your new kitchen appliances). Click to shop switch plates by finish and see what we're talking about! We also carry light switches, dimmer and outlets in a variety of finishes to go with your new cover plates.

Extra Tips for Replacing Your Cover Plates:

Walk through your room and make note of each switch plate you come across in the top of the checklist. Then, start tallying how many of each you need. To be sure you're completely thorough, add a small piece of painter's tape to each old plate as you add it to the list. Then, once you're done, walk back through the room and double (rather, triple!) check that you haven't missed any plates.

Switch plates can be flipped upside down. If you see a switch plate that has an outlet on the right and a switch on the left, but you need the opposite configuration (outlet on left/switch on right), you can flip the plate upside down and it will still fit (so long as it's a standard switch plate).

When you can't find the configuration you need, you can create a custom plate  - learn how to create any configuration switch plate using inserts.

Most DIY home owners don't know the correct terminology for the different types of switch plate openings. Visit our Switch Plate 101 post to learn the correct terms for various cover plates.

You may need to replace your devices to match your new switch plates. If so, be sure you correctly identify which type of switches and outlets you have. If you're not sure whether you need a single-pole, 3-way or 4-way light switch, or if your outlet is 15-amp, 20-amp or GFI, read our Switch Plate 101 post.

Shop Kyle Switch Plates to order your new switch plates, outlet covers and matching devices from a single store. You're quality, metal faceplates will be shipped out in 1 to 2 business days with our convenient flat-rate shipping. They'll arrive in a protective box in perfect condition so you can finally invite your friends and family over to reveal your newly remodeled home.

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.

Top Kitchen Trends of 2014

If you're looking to remodel your kitchen or just want ideas for creating a few trendy updates, Pinterest is where it's at. Thousands of images link to blogs and blogs focused on clever ways to organize your kitchen, update your cabinets and create the kitchen of your dreams.

Just search "kitchen" and scroll endlessly down the page for some Pin-speration. Or, save yourself some time and check out the top pins we've compiled below. Each one links back to Pinterest so you can easily repin to one of your boards.

Top 10 Trends Sweeping Kitchens Across America in 2014.

1. Clever Use of Space

One of my biggest complains about my house is that there's not enough kitchen storage. Efficient use of the space I do have is essential, and I always re-pin the clever organization tips I find.

2. Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard paint is taking over the home, and it seems like the kitchen is where it makes its debut. People use chalkboards to create shopping lists, menus, calendars and fun phrases. People love to paint a narrow wall, cupboard cabinets or add a framed chalkboard to a wall or countertop.

3. Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Everyone is sick of their original wood cabinets and have taken on the tedious task of sanding and painting. The results are beautiful but the work - not to mention the mess - looks pretty daunting.

4. Open Shelving

This could never work with the clutter that hides behind my kitchen cabinets, but many people are opting to bare everything with opening shelving.

5. Kitchen Command Centers

If you have kids, keeping track of their schedules and keeping the mounting paper work that finds its way into your home under control isn't easy. Moms across America are creating kitchen Command Centers to stay organized.

6. Clear Canisters

Another trend that looks awesome is ditching the store packaging your food comes in and storing snacks in matching clear canisters. This really creates a uniform look in your pantry and makes it easier to see what you actually have.

7. Labels

Along with those matching clear canisters comes batches and batches of labels. This is where the chalkboard trend comes in again also.

8. Glass Tile

Mini glass tile backsplashes are big this year as well. They're a great way to work in color and take the eye off your appliances, which many people are now storing out of sight.

9. Updated Hardware

Along with a new tile backsplash has come the need for trendier hardware to match the sleek new look. New faucets, cabinet pulls and switch plates are adding finishing touches to remodeled kitchens.

10. Pantry Baskets

Drawers can make it so difficult to see what you have, which can lead to fruit rotting and other goods going bad before you consume them. Wire panty baskets make it easier to see what you've got so you use in it time.

Now that you know what the top kitchen styling trends are for 2014, which ones will you adopt?


#kitchen #kitchenremodel #kitchenstyling #homedecor #hometrends #switchplates #2014trends

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

How to Update Your Living Room with the Gray Trend of 2014

This year it's all about gray walls and neutral colored home decor - often with a pop of canary yellow, Tiffany blue (are we hinting for something?) or navy blue in key places to add personality. And people can't get enough of the Chevron print either. The best part is, Pinterest is full of inspiration and blogs abound with ways to DIY piece by piece.

 

Even if you can't afford to buy all new furniture and living room decor, there are still some ways you can update your home with this trend. The great thing is that gray is so neutral, you can work in one of your current colors - orange, yellow, blue, green, etc. - so pick your favorite existing color and take away the others.

Easy Steps for Updating Your Decor:

1. Paint your walls gray.

OK, this might not be the easiest step - but it will make the most dramatic difference. Anytime you paint your walls a new color, it completely changes the feel of the room. If you've ever moved into a house with white walls and added color, you know what I'm talking about.

Tip: They key thing to remember is that the way a paint sample looks in the store will most likely be nothing like what it actually looks like painted on your walls. Trust me, I've learned this the hard way. Take a variety of paint samples home, tape to your walls and look at them throughout the day as the lighting changes. Narrow it down to your top 3 and buy small samples of those colors in the eggshell finish. Then, paint medium sized squares of those 3 colors on the same wall and after it dries, compare the colors in various lighting conditions to be sure you've found a color you love.

Pro tip: To keep the focus on the decor and not the outlets and light switches, replace your old devices and cover plates with some contemporary gray switches and outlets and matching gray switch plates (see image above - doesn't that look great?).

2. Decide on your accent color.

Yellow, turquoise and even lime green are very popular right now - but steer clear of them if they're not "you."  You can go for something entirely new or select one of your current colors and keep it. The great thing about accent colors are that there aren't a lot of pieces with them in the room, so if you get sick of them down the road, it will be easy an inexpensive to switch them out.

Tip: Pop into Home Goods for inexpensive updates or spray paint a lamp or candlestick that you already own.

3. Choose a main accent color piece:

It could be a wall; it could be a couch. Do what works for you. If it's in your budget and you're not likely to get sick of your accent color, go bold and add it to your couch. If that's too much, work in an accent chair. Or, if you have a wall that can act as an accent wall, paint it that color. It's not necessary to have a large accenting piece, so if you're unsure about that, skip and go with smaller pieces that aren't such a big commitment. Love how this room has pops of color in just the right spots:

4. Add accenting pieces.

If you already have a neutral couch, try switching out the accent pillows (like in the image above) to work in both your brighter accent color and some gray magic.  A neutral ivory shag or lightly patterned gray rug will also transform things quite nicely.

5. Never underestimate the power of curtains.

Finish the look with some white and gray striped window treatments (paneled curtains are inexpensive and very "in" right now - see the black and white ones in the kitchen below) - just be sure they have wide horizontal stripes if straight and narrow if Chevron.

Tip: Hang your curtain rod as high as possible (like in the kitchen image above) to create the illusion of higher ceilings.

Note that you don't have to do all the steps above - often times you'll already have pieces that work and simply choosing 1 or 2 steps can quickly create an entirely new look and feel in your room.


#homedecor #trendyhome #gray #graylivingroom #grayswitchplates #kyleswitchplates #graywalls #homemakeover