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How To Hide Router and Modem Cords With A Mid-Century Side Table

Cords, electronic devices, and cable boxes are a huge eyesore, right? If you’re looking for a simple way how to hide modem and router cords, this one is for you. Here’s how to hide wires with a mid-century side table.

I’m going to show you how to hide modem and router cords because there is nothing more hideous than a huge pile of wires in a beautifully decorated room.

You spend all of your time and energy getting the room just right, but your cable plugs into a specific location. Nothing ruins a living room or home office more than an internet router box and a bunch of cords.

Table of Contents

You’re probably here because you are looking for a simple way to hide your wires from your modem and wi-fi router. Because I mean…just look at this mess.

A mess of cords from an internet router, modem, power cords, and more, sitting on the floor and plugged into the wall. Learn how to hide modem and router cords with practical decor.

This post is part of my fun monthly challenge for thrift store upcycles. I got the base for my fun mid-century table at the thrift store. You’ll be shocked how I upcycled it to solve a major problem in a non traditional way – how to hide wifi router and modem wires!

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This how to hide router cords tutorial contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.

Here’s my solution for how to hide modem and router wires

I needed a solution because I couldn’t have a mess in my beautiful new marble & gold themed office. 

If you are stuck trying to figure out how to hide hideous electrical wires, I have a super simple and adorable DIY solution for how to hide router cords.

Learn hide modem and router cords with practical decor! Here's how to make modem and router cords disappear.

How to Hide Modem and Router Cords with Upcycled Furniture

You’ll never guess what I upcycled from the thrift store to make this mid-century side table. Here it is…

This mid-century modern style box is actually a thrifted old school air purifier that I upcycled into a convenient storage solution to hide modem and router cords.

You’re still probably confused, right?! What the heck is that!? 

Well, I had no idea either. I just knew it was a perfect size and even better it had that front panel with small holes for good ventilation, which is a necessity if you’re going to be creating your own table as a solution to the how to hide modem and router dilemma.

I thrifted this mid-century Space-Gard high efficiency air cleaner, which turned out to be the perfect vessel to hide modem and router cords in my office space.
A look at the back of the vintage air cleaner box - an old school air purifier that I upcycled into a storage box to modem and router cords in my office.

Turns out it is a really old-school air cleaner and was a great option. I’m guessing that’s kind of like a modern-day air purifier with a small fan. Regardless of what it was, it was a great place with open air to hide the modem and router.

I knew this would be a great way to hide our wireless router and cable modem without affecting signal strength because the wi-fi signal had ways to get out of the box with the front and back open. 

Supplies needed for this modem and router cord storage box

Using sandpaper to sand off the finish on the upcycled wooden modem and router storage box.

Step 1. Lightly sand.

Since I knew I was going to paint this with spray paint, I gave it a quick and very light sand with a fine 220 grit sandpaper. The router cover was easy to sand and this is the best way to give the paint something to “grab” onto.

Blue painters tape surrounds the front grate of the air purifier box, which will act as a modem and router storage box once completed.

Step 2. Tape off and spray paint the front.

Next, I used painter’s tape to tape off the edges of the front around the panel. I followed up by giving the front panel a few coats of gold spray paint. Remove the tape when finished.

I used this white spray paint primer to spray the rest of the modem and router storage box, after applying painters tape where I don't want to paint.

Step 3. Tape off the front and spray the rest of the box.

Since my office was marble, white, gold, and mint green – I wanted to keep the box with a simple white and gold theme.

I chose white spray paint for the main color. We did about 4 coats after covering the front panel with plastic and tape.

The white modem and router storage box sits upside-down on the floor so we can attach the black metal hairpin legs.

Step 4. Add legs.

This is where it really started coming together. I had been itching to do a DIY with hairpin legs because I just LOVE them.

I knew they would fit in perfectly in my modern office. We added the four hairpin legs to the bottom corners of the table.

I repurposed this metal grate to make a shelf for the modem and router storage box. To create the shelf, I needed a hammer and nails.
A look inside the modem and router storage box once we've added the shelf, using the metal grate that came with the air purifier box.

Step 5. Add a wire grate as a shelf.

Once I got to this point, I started trying to fit everything back into the little box. And I was really struggling to make it all fit.

Then I remembered that little wire grate that I removed when I was deconstructing everything. Ah ah! We need a shelf! Even better, a shelf that allows the air to circulate in the box so it doesn’t build up too much heat. 

We attached the shelf by resting it on some nails on all four corners of the box.

A look inside the empty modem and router storage box where we attach a power strip to the top of the box. This will allow easy access to plug in the modem, router, and any other cords we store in the box.

Step 6. Secure power strip.

We added the power strip up into the top corner of the box and kept the power cable completely separate. Generally, it’s a good idea to try to leave as much space as possible around the wifi modem to help the wifi signal stay as strong as possible.

Putting the power strip in the right place here helped a lot.

Our modem and router storage box in action! Here, we have put the modem and router in the box, and Logan is connecting the electronics to the wall.

Step 7. Add your gear.

Luckily I have my designated “IT Manager” to do this part for me, hehe. I started getting lost with all the cords. He stepped in and got it all plugged in the right way. We rolled up and made sure each internet cable got to its ethernet port without crossing other wires to organize later. 

We used zip ties to neatly secure all the modem and router cords in the back of the storage box.

Step 8. Organize the cords with zip ties.

The best part of this solution for how to hide modem and router cords is the pretty organized cables that you end up with.

Maybe you’re not Type-A like me, but that organized circle of cords makes my heart flutter.

Two stacked images showing how to hide modem and router cords with decorative furniture. The top photos shows a mess of modems, routers, and power cords. The bottom image shows a white box on black hairpin legs that's hiding the internet modem and router.

I love my little mid-century side table, my perfect solution for how to hide wires. My marble and gold office is able to stay clean and pretty without the hideous mess of the electrical cords and blinking lights. I really like the way the wireless network is hidden in plain sight.

Do you have a bunch of electrical wires in your house that needs hiding? Whatever type of contraption you come up with (heck, maybe you can find an old school air cleaner too!?) just remember to make sure your solution on how to hide cords has plenty of air circulation for the hot air. I’d love to see what you dream up!

FAQs about hiding your modem and router

How do I hide my router and modem?

There are several different ways to hide your modem and router. You can find some sort of box that can be upcycled, like we did with this thrifted air cleaner with hair pin legs. Here are some other alternative ideas for hiding your router/modem:
– Put it in a basket, crate or metal box (be sure there’s no top/lid)
– Conceal it by putting a frame or artwork in front of it
– Get a faux stack of books, like this
– Put it inside of your media cabinet or entertainment center
– Use cane on the front of your cabinet doors and put it inside (kind of like we did on this cane nightstand)

Can you cover a modem or router?

The most important thing when you are trying to figure out how to hide your modem and router in your house is to make sure there is plenty of airflow in and around where you choose. You want to make sure that the heat can escape, the wires and cables have a place to come out, and ensure that the wifi signal is not blocked.

Can you put a modem or router in a cabinet?

You may need to play around with this in your house with your specific connection, but in general, is not recommended to put a modem or router inside of a cabinet. You may be able to get around this if the door to your cabinet has holes (like the cane webbing I mentioned above) and it has good airflow to keep it cool. Anything that blocks the signal could slow down your connection, which is definitely not something you want, right?

Where is the best place to put a router and modem in your house?

You want to make sure that your router and modem are in a central location of your home. The wi-fi signal will go out from the router in all directions, so the rooms closer to the router will generally have a better connection.

How do you hide router and modem wires in your house??

Let me know in the comments !!

How To Hide Wires With A Mid-Century Side Table

How To Hide Wires With A Mid-Century Side Table

Yield: 1
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $15

Cords are a huge eye sore, right? If you’re looking for a simple way to hide wires, this one’s for you. Here’s how to hide wires with a mid-century side table.

Materials

Tools

Instructions

  1. Lightly sand.
  2. Tape off and spray paint front.
  3. Tape off front and spray the rest of the box.
  4. Add legs.
  5. Add wire grate as a shelf.
  6. Secure power strip.
  7. Add your gear.
  8. Organize the cords with zip tiles.
© Chelsea @ Making Manzanita
Project Type: Furniture / Category: DIY
Categories DIY Interiors Organizing and Cleaning
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41 thoughts on “How To Hide Router and Modem Cords With A Mid-Century Side Table”

  3. Messy electrical cords are one of my worst pet peeves! You guys did a great job hiding them. Super upcycle for that air filter box! xo Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home

    Reply

    1. Thanks friend!! If you could find (or make) any type of wooden box, you could always find a cool metal grate for the front and it would look really similar to this! Just make sure you have ventilation if you’re going to be covering up your internet boxes 🙂

      Reply

      1. Great thought! I wonder if it cuts down on the router signal at all? If it were used to house a cable box could the remote “see” through the metal grate?

        Reply

        1. We haven’t had any issues with our router signal, but it is important to note that the antennas on our router box are exposed out the back of the box and NOT blocked inside of the box. That probably makes a big difference. I’m not sure about a remote working for a cable box, it would probably depend on the angle at which you were sitting.

          Reply

  5. Came here from HomeTalk to check finished project and I must say it looks amazing! I’m currently dreaming about Mid Century Modern style living room and it would be a nice addition. Pinning it right now!

    Reply

  9. Your office looks so nice without those cords. UGH I hate them. I love what you did with this box. and it is perfect for your router. I love in that last finished photo the green lights of the router. They look a little bit like glowing eyeballs! LOL! You are very creative and and up-cycle genius.

    Reply

  12. I hate cords too! I love love love those hairpin legs, and the MCM vibe of the whole thing – such a great flip!!!

    Reply

  16. Wow, you sure were able to fit a lot of stuff in there. I hate looking at all the tech stuff too, so I love your new hidden storage idea.

    Reply

  18. I definitely plan to try this. I’m concerned about covering the router antennas though–did you notice any change in your wireless strength after putting it inside the box?

    Reply

  20. I don’t have the patience to DIY this but would love to buy this exact thing! Do you sell them? LOL!

    Reply

  21. What a sweet concept! Wow! For me, this is really helpful and timely information. As a result, I set out in quest of the ideal linen storage solution. I’m really excited to show you what I came up with! What a fantastic idea to make use of the space and fill it with something lovely! Good luck with your blog!

    Reply

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