Disguising the Electronics

Electronics are useful but typically not very decorative. My speakers, modem, and router are black and thus not overly conspicuous on my black furniture. Nonetheless, I decided to make disguises for them. Even electronics like to play dress-up, right? ;)

To dress the subwoofer (Can I just say... I love that word! My dorky brain can't help but think of a subwoofer as a less dominant dog. In my house, Indigo is the woofer and Nook is the subwoofer. WOW, I am corny!)

Anyway, to make a disguise for the subwoofer, I used a black cardboard box...

And a photo frame from the dollar store.

I removed the back and the glass from the photo frame. Using acrylic craft paint, I painted the frame black and set it aside to dry. I centered the back on top of the box lid and traced around it with a pencil.

Following the pencil lines, I cut out the rectangle from the box lid.

I turned the lid over bottom side up. To cover the hole, I used a piece of black lace. I duct taped it into place. Duct tape isn't very classy, but it's MUCH easier than trying to glue lace.

I turned the lid back over so the top side was up.

I added the frame. It has little metal tabs which one would normally bend inward to hold the back in the frame. I bent them outward instead, and they worked perfectly to hold the frame in the opening.

Then I turned my attention to the box itself. The box was shallower than the subwoofer. This wasn't really a problem, though, as I didn't need to enclose the entire subwoofer. I simply cut a hole in the bottom of the box large enough for it fit through.

I slid the box over the subwoofer with the box's bottom toward the back and the top toward the front.

And placed the lid on the box.

The router generates some heat, so I did not want to enclose it in a cardboard box. Instead, I placed it in a magazine holder made of filigree metal.

I turned the holder backward so the tall "front" hides the router while the much shorter "back" allows the cords to exit. I used a second magazine holder for the modem.

For the speakers, I made covers that double as candle holders (details HERE). The disguises were complete!

After looking at the pictures... I think I'll shift things so the box is in the center with a magazine holder on either side. I like symmetry.

EDIT:
I made the change. Symmetry!