Handmade Decor: The Hidden Thermostat

I showed you my TV wall last week along with my solution for making the television disappear: The Great TV Cover-up.  Before we even placed the TV on the wall, though, there was another eyesore to deal with.  Who put that thing there and why? There are so many more appropriate places for the thermostat. How about the stairway wall right across from here or maybe one of the hallways or almost anywhere else? Ray and I did discuss cutting holes in the wall and dragging the thermostat closer to the edge of the wall to make it a little less noticeable, but late one evening, inspiration struck!

We have this little box that is designed to hang on the wall and hold your keys. I didn’t take a picture of the inside, but inside there were little knobs mounted to a solid back. I enlisted Ray’s help to remove the back while I headed down to my sewing studio.
First, I removed the glass and the print from the box, then I took a few minutes to paint the box red. While the paint was drying, I dug through my stash and pulled out a pile of red and white fabrics. In no time at all, I had pieced together a wonky house block, just the right size for the frame on the front of the box. (How is it that sewing something so small, can result in a mess this big?)What do you think? Oh, how I love re-purposing something old into something beautiful with purpose! With the back removed, I simply placed a few screws right above the thermostat for the top of the box to sit on, and the door allows us to access the thermostat whenever necessary.Here’s one more look at our TV wall with the television and the thermostat hidden away. (Next week, I’ll share a little about the framed embroidery pieces above the television!)