When decorating a room, it’s important that all elements in the space coordinate properly. Of course, that doesn’t mean everything has to perfectly match; that would make it bland. However, certain elements are better off blended into the background by matching their color to surrounding décor. Should light switch and outlet cover plates match your walls to help them fade into the backdrop? Or should you let them stand out? Keep reading to get tips.
A Matter of Taste
Here’s the thing about design “rules”: There really are no rules. True, there may be trends you can follow and tips on how to pull off a certain look, but ultimately, design choices like these are entirely up to you. If you feel like the color of your wall plates makes them stick out too much, then replace those covers with something that blends with your paint color. Or, you can go in the opposite direction and choose something that stands out against your paint and coordinates with the rest of your décor. The choice is yours!
Options for Blending Your Plate Covers
If you do want to blend those wall plates into the walls, it’s important to know that it’s very difficult to get a perfect match. Odds are, you won’t find the exact shade you need to match your paint color already applied to a wall plate. To achieve a perfect match, it’s a better idea to paint or wallpaper that plate cover yourself.
To do this, look for wall plate covers that are advertised as being paintable or are designed to be covered with wallpaper. This will help ensure proper adhesion to the plate. If using paint, try to use the same can that you used to paint your walls; different batches of the same color can have slight color variations. If you’re using wallpaper, make sure to align the pattern in the wallpaper precisely with the paper already on the walls; otherwise, that wall plate will still stick out like a sore thumb.
Options for Making Wall Plates Stand Out
If getting that perfect match seems like more work than you want, or if you simply want to take your décor in another direction, you could upgrade your wall plates so that they stand out instead of blending in. The thing about cookie-cutter, white-plastic plate covers is that they’re noncommittal—they don’t really stand out or blend in, and ultimately, that makes them boring.
If you really want your plates to stand out, upgrade to a higher-quality material, like wood, metal, or ceramic. Choose a color that coordinates with your décor (or, if choosing metal, a material that matches other metal accents in the room). Of course, if your walls are already a vibrant color, white may still be a perfectly good color option, but it’s still a good idea to go with higher-quality material to make those wall plates really stand out.
Whether you’re looking for paintable wall plates, plates you can apply wallpaper to, or just a higher-quality option that will stand out in a room, you can find what you need at Wallplate Warehouse. We offer hundreds of different types of wall plates décor online, so be sure to check out our store!
