Oak Switchplate Covers

Alison Blakely asked:


Do you want to know what the latest trend is to hit the home interior market? I’ll give you a few hints. This item is used every day by each member of your family, in every room in your home. The majority of your houseguests usually won’t even notice it, unless of course, it’s something out of the ordinary. You can purchase new ones with prices starting at about $.25, but they can cost much more than that. They can be square in shape, oval, round, or can mimic just about anything. They can be shaped like a dog, flower, UFO, or just about anything else. Give up? It’s a switch plate!

Long gone are the days of plain white rectangles and brass American Eagles in your grandmother’s living room, as switch plates are gaining some serious ground in the realm of home decorating. Not only are these creative doo-dads adding a splash of spice and color to a drab room, but also quickly becoming the focal point and/or muse for the room’s décor. In other words, instead of adding the finishing touch to your newly redecorated to renovated room with a fancy, new switch plate, it can actually be your starting point- and you build the rest of the room around it!

After you’ve chosen your switch plate, you can easily match the colors and/or patterns to the wall paint and trim, window treatments and area rugs, creating a room that flows from corner to corner, beginning and ending with your new switch plate. Anyone who has ever attempted to match accent pieces to paint on a wall is fully aware that it’s nearly an impossible task. Your paint color of choice needs to come from one of your accent pieces in the room, whether it be a pillow, wall border, stencil or switch plate. Keep in mind that an entire switch plate can fit nicely into a purse to easily carry from store to store in search of perfectly matching accents!

Finally, the right switch plate can easily double as a central “work of art” or “masterpiece” on your wall. For generations, switch plates were “hidden” on a wall and weren’t supposed to be seen. Plain white walls are now being seen adorned with a single Fleur de Lis design on a switch plate, with matching candle sconces and wrought iron lamps and chandeliers to create a theme within the light aspects of a room. Solid, antique brass switch plates on the burgundy painted walls of a dining room, with eggshell white crown molding and chair rails, with complimenting table centerpiece and light fixtures pull your room together and complete the look. It’s time to finish your beginning touches…with switch plates!

Jesse Akre asked:


Are you sick of walking into each one of your friend’s homes only to see that every last one of them looks exactly like your own home? If that is you, then you are probably looking for a way for your space to stand out from the rest in a good way and putting some decorative switch plate options throughout your space is a fantastic way to do it.

When it comes to this lovely fixture, you might not know it, but there are actually a lot of decorative switch plate options to choose from. First off, they come in many different shapes and sizes from those that have the usual rectangle shape to others that are circle, abstract, and others that can have really unique shapes with ones that look like wine bottles, horses, even UFOs and sports equipment like basketballs and baseballs. Along with their many shapes, they are also made from a wide variety of substances. You can get ones made out of plastic that come in all sorts of colors, others that are made out of leather and are sewn together in many eye-catching designs, and you can even get ones made out of stone like marble and granite. There are ones made from metal, wood, acrylic, porcelain, and ceramic too. For a stress free way to check out all the choices, resist the temptation to hop in your car and head down to your local hardware store. The thing to do instead, is to just turn on your family computer and do some online shopping. You can compare all the products without leaving your home and probably will find exactly what you want for the best prices around.

Probably the best thing about all of these options, is that you can effortlessly find ones to match current motif that you have going on in the different rooms of your home, which makes it easy to give your space some character. For example, maybe you have plain cream colored ones in your living room right now that kind of clash with your wood trim. Well, if you want to spruce your space up a bit, then a nice option would be to get ones that are also crafted out of wood with the same finish as your wood trim, which would provide a nice accent to that trim. Or, maybe you have some plain white ones in your bathroom space that match your white walls. To add a little pizzazz to that bathroom, than a nice choice would be some made out of ceramic that have an eye-catching design painted right on them. Like, one that features a fun bathtub and rubber ducky scene or another one that has flowers or others patterns on it.

So, if you are looking to have your home stand out from everyone else’s, then turn to the many decorative switch plate selections that are available. Make sure to get some today for an easy way to add some character to your space.

Jesse Akre asked:


Do you know what switch plates are? If you’re scratching your head, don’t worry because most people have seen them, it’s that they just don’t know what they are actually called.

So, here is a description. Switch plates are those coverings that are over your light switches or outlets that are on the wall. Now you know what they are, right? Without them, the electrical wires of those light switches and outlets would be exposed, creating a huge safety hazard because anyone could just grab or touch those wires and give themselves one heck of a shock.

As you can see, switch plates are pretty important fixtures and there are actually quite a few different options to choose from. They come for all sized light switches, including those of the single variety and others that have two, even three, four or five switches. This also holds true for the ones that you can purchase for outlets as well since there are duplex outlets, single options for larger plug ins, and ones for both light switches and outlets.

The options with switch plates don’t stop there either because believe it or not, there are a wide variety of decorative options to choose from as well since they can be crafted from so many different materials. For example, you can get one that is crafted out of brass that has an antique finish applied to it or you can get one that is made out of copper that has a polished finish. The choices don’t stop with just metal either because you can also get ones that are crafted out of ceramic that have decorative scenes painted right onto them. There are others that are crafted from wood and feature rich finishes like cherry, espresso, and oak.

Some of the other materials switch plates can be crafted out of include plastic, slate, marble and granite, and even leather while some of the other finishes include decoupage designs, hand painted patterns, and even different tanned or colored options.

All of these material and finishing options create switch plates of a wide variety types of styles and design. For instance, the one mentioned earlier crafted from brass that had an antique finish would be one that features vintage styling while the one made from copper that is polished would be more on the traditional side. A few other options include art deco, themed, modern or contemporary, and even transitional when two different styles are combined.

The different switch plates that are available allow you to easily find something to match the current décor of any room throughout your home. It is important to go with something that matches, otherwise things will have an odd look about them and will leave people with the impression that you don’t know how to decorate. For a fast way to see all the choices and get the perfect ones for your home, just hit the Internet for some online shopping.

Switch plates, they’re important fixtures that make our home safe. Plus, they add a decorative element to it as well so the next time you buy yours, make sure to go with something that has an attractive appearance.

Alison Blakely asked:


Home interiors have most certainly come a long way from the days of yesteryear. Busy wallpaper has given way to boldly colored paint on walls; lime green shag carpeting has morphed into easy-care, laminate flooring that looks just like genuine hardwood; and switch plate covers have become a focal point on an interior wall instead of a piece of plastic or metal that was “hidden from the world” behind wallpaper or paint. In fact, decorative switch plate covers are taking the home fashion and décor industry by storm!

Whether you’re on a mission to jazz up a dreary room, in a mode to completely redecorate, or anything in between, switch plate covers are one of the easiest details to change, as the only tool necessary to install them is a screwdriver. Details are the deciding factor for the design of any room. Think for a minute about every accent in a particular room: the toss pillows on the love seat in the Mediterranean three-season room; the brightly colored scatter rugs to complete your daughter’s “hippy” bedroom; the hand-stenciled movie cameras on the valances of your home-theater family room. Now imagine each room with a coordinating decorative switch plate cover: an olive branch cover in the three-season room; fuscia and orange polka dots on the plate in your daughter’s room; and a drive-in theater atop the cover in your family room. The point is: don’t dismiss the details!

Decorative switch plate covers now come in as large of an assortment of colors, designs and themes as any other décor genre or artwork. One of the latest trends in choosing a particular theme for a room is to actually pick out the light switch plate cover first, and take it with you to your favorite paint store and match the colors perfectly instead of having to “guesstimate” afterwards to decide if the switch plate cover would coordinate. Matching any area rugs, toss pillows and window treatments to your new switch plate décor are also much easier to do before all room accents are in place.

If picking out a decorative switch plate cover is not your idea of an ideal focal point, be sure not to commit one of the biggest home fashion faux pas of this day and age: sticking with a plain white light switch plate cover! Maybe hearts tickle your fancy in a way that nothing else can. Why not try a light switch plate cover that has a subtle, inlet heart design that only the most critical eye can see? Or a bright red heart switch plate cover in a completely white room, with a fire engine red ultra-contemporary sofa? A splash of color in a world of white can light up a room like nothing else (except the light of the switch itself).

Jesse Akre asked:


It was not so long ago that light switch plates only came in white or beige plastic with one or two holes for switches. If you thought something else might be nice, too bad. White or beige light switch plates were the industry standard, and what you got. Pretty boring, huh?

Today, of course, modern lighting requires different light switches and the variety of looks in light switch plates expanded with along with the variety and functions of lights. Not only are there the traditional light switch plates you’re used to, but you can get paddle light switch plates, circular dimmer light switch plates and sliding dimmer light switch plates that will go with your various light switches so you can have more control and flexibility in the illumination options for your home.

When it comes down to it, light switch plates are an often overlooked and unexpected possibility for beauty in your home. Let’s face it, few people really pay any attention to their light switch plates until they crack and break or until they are so dirty they won’t clean anymore and have become an eyesore in the room.

But if you look around your room with a fresh pair of eyes, you’ll suddenly notice that their presence on walls affects the way you think about a room. Don’t believe that? Well then, see for yourself. A good way to test this is to buy a light switch plate that is totally out of character with your room and put it on your wall. Suddenly it’s like having the wrong painting or other décor in the room. It jumps out at you as being completely out of place. Now think of this at the other end of the spectrum. If you conduct a household hardware search and find light switch plates that match your room or style, it can be a major complement to your décor and make the room look more complete and impressive. Why do you think designers are now creating light switch plates? They have realized that the little details make a big difference.

Many people don’t mind buying beautiful antique doorknobs or cabinet pulls, but they don’t want to put out any cash into light switch plates. That’s ok. You don’t have to. While there are extremely fancy light switch plates on the market, you don’t have to shop on the high-end household hardware rack. Even if you want to stick with plastic, there are many colors and shapes you can get these days that can add contrast or complement your décor. For those with more discerning tastes, there is an endless selection, all the way up to customized pieces, you can choose from.

If you are thinking of redoing your lighting options in the room, no time is better to replace those light switch plates. Keep in mind what you are planning, as far as lighting options, and make sure to find a plate that can accommodate your needs, while still projecting your style.