WAR: Moldings versus electrical outlet and switches

You have just finished reading my post about the beautiful decorative boxes in my living room? Perhaps you should read this as well.

Before starting boxes of your own you need to consider one more thing: the outlets location, which I did not do (as I started on the wall free of them). Big mistake. My goal was to have the same height from the ceiling to the top of the box, and the bottom of the box to the floor. I also measured a distance that I liked, from the corner of the wall to the side of the box and copied the same distance between the boxes of each wall. What can possibly go wrong? My first wall looked fantastic.

On to the wall with the window: Always the same height top and bottom but a narrower version. And there is an outlet but I measured perfectly since it just lands bellow the molding for the box on the left of the window.

As for the one on the right side of the wall I have again an outlet and a switch to manage.

The outlet no problem but for the switch, I had to use a little bit of imagination.

Four boxes down, four to go. This is fun and my project is going like a breeze. But my happiness is cut short.

I must’ve measured wrong cause the outlet falls exactly where the molding needs to be!! But my measurements are ok. IT’S THE OUTLET !!!!!! Too close to the side of the box to go around. Argh….. What do I do? Let’s put that one on hold. I might have the brain later. So the other box on that wall is perfect.

The last wall at last. Two outlets and a switch. The switch looks perfect. No juggling for that one since it’s outside the box.

The first outlet on that wall was not installed at the same height as well. Almost didn’t have the room to install the cover.

And the other outlet, lucky it didn’t fall in the box because I would’ve been forced to use my imagination there too.

Now with the one I’d put aside. I even called my dad on that one but at the end it came out ok.

So the moral of the story: take into consideration your electrical outlets and switches.

As for my outlets, they are all hidden behind furnitures. But if yours are visible I suggest that you measure each of them first and making sure that they are either inside or outside your boxes. That being said, if your contractor was meticulous you won’t have to worry about that.