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Thursday, November 8, 2018

Renovation Diary: Obsessed With "Hidden" Outlets

 
I woke up early with the nagging worry that we probably forgot to put outlets back on the living room side of the wall that we’d torn down then put back up again. Sure, I made myself try to sleep (or at least rest) until 5am, then I gave up, got up, and started brewing the morning coffee. I took mine through the zip wall to take a look at the work that had been done yesterday in the light of day. I was so relieved. Not only had Aleks remembered to put back the outlet, he’d given me an extra one exactly where my reading lamp will go. Bless him. A good contractor who is forward-thinking is worth his fee.

In the kitchen though, I noticed an outlet where I definitely do not want one — on the sink run, right in the middle of where the marble backsplash will go on. I took a second cup of coffee into the bedroom, sat down at my temporary desk, and wrote Aleks a quick email about the electrical outlet, the IKEA delivery due today, and a few other items that I’d noticed before leaving for work.

I realize that I may seem a bit obsessed about the outlets, but it's because I chose to make the marble backsplash the focal point of this kitchen design and I don't want anything to detract from it. The rest of the kitchen is very plain — white shaker cabinets, white quartz countertops, white finger pulls that disappear, all appliances hidden behind panels. The backsplash simply has to shine. The solution: Plug mold.


These strips of outlets and USB ports attaches to the underside of the cabinetry.

It's probably not a solution you want if you have small appliances that you keep out on the counters — who wants to look at dangling wires — but if, like me, you like your countertops clutter-free, it's genius!

In other news, something that I didn't mention to anyone just yet, but it's on my radar: I’m a bit worried that the sink is going to be oddly positioned vis a vis the beginning portion of wall that went back up. I’ll have to confer with Aleks about possibly placing the faucet deliberately off-center to the right. As the drain is off-center to the right, this may not look all that bad.

All was quiet today. No texts or emails. I imagine the guys are busy with plaster and skim-coating, and that I may be hit with the strong smell of primer when I get home. I ran into my neighbor in the elevator and warned her about how strong primer can smell. She said no worries, and she thanked me for the Starbucks gift card that I had sent around to my neighbors. It pays to be thoughtful. ;-)

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3 comments:

  1. This is exactly the type of outlets I want in my kitchen. Every worker keeps saying how difficult etc it is. Do you have any details on the specific product used as well as any install info?

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    1. Hi Riley, this is the brand we used, though I picked the model that had two outlets and two USB ports for recharging tablets and phones. Was it difficult? Well, we'd done a gut reno and all the outlets and lights and switches were new, so I don't think it was any more difficult than a regular outlet. Or, say, undercabinet lighting. Maybe if you are updating an existing kitchen and trying to retrofit them it would be "extra" work.

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    2. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Legrand-Wiremold-Plugmold-3-ft-6-Outlet-Hardwire-Power-Strip-with-Tamper-Resistant-Receptacles-White-PMTR2W306/204771730

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