DIY Designer Wall Plates and Light Switch Covers

Most wall plates and light switch covers lack personality and flair. Yet it’s so easy to turn them into something special with very simple materials- paper and Mod Podge. See how you can make your own designer wall plates and light switch covers in less than 5 minutes!

If you love these patterns I made for the wall plates and light switch covers , you can download the printable designs at the end!

apieceofrainbow7-1w
make designer switchplates | A Piece of Rainbow

( Some of the helpful resources are affiliate links. Full disclosure here. )

Another great example of how much magic paper can do: 5 Minute designer cabinet or door knobs with free printable designs!

*Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

Anthropologie worthy DIY cabinet or door knobs that look like hand painted designer ceramic knobs! Download beautiful designs to make your own set easily! - A Piece of Rainbow

Let’s get to work and transform our boring looking wall plates and light switch covers !

apieceofrainbow7-5w

Materials and tools to make designer outlet covers: 

( Some of the helpful resources are affiliate links. Full disclosure here. )

First choose designs and patterns you love and print them onto the card stock.

apieceofrainbow7-6w

For the single light switch covers, the print size should be about 5″x3.25″, and for the double wall plates, print size is 5″x5″. You can use Photoshop or Gimp to arrange and print them.

apieceofrainbow7-7w

Next cut the pieces to size, trace the openings onto the paper, and cut those out. Brush Mod Podge onto the flat surface of the plates, and lay the patterned paper on top, make sure the openings match and edges align  nicely.

apieceofrainbow7-9w

The next step takes a little more patience, but it’s quite easy. Make a small diagonal cut at each of the 4 corners, gently curl and fold the paper following the contour of the plates, trim a bit where there’s too much excess paper. Brush Mod Podge on the inside to attach the paper to the wall plates and light switch covers .

TIP: rubber bands make it easy to hold the shape during the gluing process!

apieceofrainbow7-9bw
apieceofrainbow7-4w

The final step is to coat the surface of these wall plates and light switch covers with 2 coats of Mod Podge or acrylic gel, so they become more water resistant, and in the future easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Explore the possibilities and have fun! Now you don’t have to make a trip to Anthropologie in order to have beautiful wall plates and light switch covers ! apieceofrainbow7-3wDIY: Make Designer Switch Plates - A Piece Of Rainbow

Download printable designs  here! 

You will love your designer wall plates and light switch covers! They are so easy yet offer such big impact!

If you love image transfer, check out these lovely wooden crates made from pallet wood, and an easy way to transfer images onto wood!

print on fabric & DIY burlap art scroll | A Piece Of Rainbow

Another easy and beautiful home decor project you may enjoy- 2-minute Mason Jar Oil Lamp with a magic wick!

Make gorgeous oil lamp from mason jars and glass bottles. Safer than candles, it takes only 2 minutes to make using vegetable oils and water! - A Piece Of Rainbow Blog

Happy creating and see you in a few days!

85 Comments

  1. Hey, I really liked your content related to DIY Designer Wall Plates and Light Switch Covers. You give a new idea about Materials and tools to make designer outlet covers to make home décor more attractive.

  2. We just transformed our outlet covers following your tutorial. They look very beautiful and stylish. Thank you!

  3. Hi, unfortunately I can’t seem to be able to download the printables for the switch plates. I keep getting redirected to sign up for the newsletter, which I have done.

  4. I cant wait to do this, though I was hoping your downloadable templates were on white backgrounds so I could save some ink & pick different colors!
    Amazing idea though
    thanks

    • Amy you could take a picture of a design even from the download before printing & use your editing options in the photo program to remove the color and then you can choose your own colors as you wish, after printing.

  5. Tried to download the paper circles for the knobs . The links dont work. Would really like to try this if possible can you tell me what I am doing wrong ? or can you send me an active link please.

    • hi heather, maybe try email the post to a friend? it is being downloaded as of today. i am also creating a subscriber page this month with all the downloads. you will be able to get a password to the page in a few weeks!

  6. I’ve always hated the look of plain switch covers. I’ve painted designs on them and covered them with contact but this is do much better.

  7. Hi I love your blog How can i subscribe by email? I love the knobs and the swithchplates but I can not find the free printables of any of those. Can you please send to me Thank you

    • hi cristina,
      did you find the yellow download button? after entering your email, the pdfs will be emailed, and then you will be subscribed too! =)

  8. Hi Ananda,

    Thanks you for sharing this tutorial! What a fabulous idea!

    I recently featured your work on andalltheglory.com, “17 Easy DIY Ideas for Spring,” with a link to your tutorial. I hope this is okay!

    Thank you again for sharing!

  9. Thank you so much for the idea, it’s a great one!! Can’t wait to get started on mine. Appreciate it!!!

    Happy Crafting…..

  10. Beautiful designs. Great idea to make something beautiful from boring switch plates. Thanks for the instructions.

  11. I’ve done this using wall paper and sections of border, but like your ideas that give me more options. Thanks

  12. How do I open a zip file? I tried opening it in numerous different programs with no luck. Would me being on my iPad instead of a lap top affect it in anyway? I just love those designs! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

  13. Hi, just joined Pinterest and this blogpage was suggested as something I would like. And Pinterest was right! Cool project, thanks for sharing the printables will have a go at this one. 🙂

  14. I absolutely love them, I don’t think we have modge podge in Italy do You think I can use another kind of glue? Thanks

  15. Just finished retiling the counters and back splash in the kitchen. What a grand solution to my ugly switch plate problem. I have everything I need. I’m saying hello to a wonderful no $$$ project.

  16. How cute are these! i love the flowers. Now i can choose my favorite patterns and make one. Thank you!

  17. Amanda, these look just darling! I have a BIG QUESTION. Every time I’ve tried to decoupage anything I’ve printed on my inkjet printer, the ink has smudged, sometimes a lot. I’ve never been able to make it work well enough to end up with a usable product. How do you keep your printing from running and smudging? I would LOVE to have the answer to this! Thank you!

    • Thank you Susan! I let the ink dry for 5minutes, and use modpodge, no water added. It never smudged at all. Hope that helps!

  18. Hello Ananda! I did not know these were called « switch patches », so I’ve learnt something new beside discovering a fun and creative way to upgrade the dull ones we see around. Lovely idea!

  19. These are genius! My mind is going a mile a minute – photos, quotes, saying (turn out your lights would be a good one for my son:) My daughters would love to do this too!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend