We've posted about ideas of how to hide your AC unit and recently shared this hilarious ugly heater solution. But we think AT reader Alex might have trumped them all with his stunning DIY solution for the eyesore unit that once marred the interior decor of his loft.
"I have this really ugly "motel" style AC unit that did not fit with the rest of my loft and created an unusable and unsightly area. The problem was that I rent so I had to leave the ac unit untouched, and of course, usable.
The solution I came up with was this. I found a pallet full of laminate flooring in the as is section of Ikea for $14.00 a box. I bought two boxes in case I messed up some cuts and glued them to two plywood panels cut to the size of the unit. I mad an "L" shape and attached the panels to the wall with brackets thus leaving the AC unit untouched. I then trimmed all the edges with aluminum strips from Home Depot..."
"Next problem was how to finish off the top where there would still be air flow into the room. I finally arrived at what you see here. I found some cabinet legs in the ikea as is section for 8 dollars and bought a white table top from there as well at full price (around 30 dollars). I cut the table top down width ways and attached the legs. That piece rests on top of the panels allowing air flow and access to the controls."
"The grass on top is fake from michaels crafts and cost around 5 bucks a square. Anyway, I still have a few more things to do like lighting and painting a graphic of one of my photos but so far I am happy not to have to look at that ugly AC unit again. The space is finally usable and I think, attractive. Anyway, wanted to share this with your readers because I am sure that I am not the only one with this type of problem."
wow! fantastic!
view mimiz's profile
WOW!!! OMG. Love it! Gorgeous. Duly noted and I"m sure I'll steal your idea someday. This is great!
view amiencc's profile
So Awesome!
view modernguy's profile
Well done!
view Yokie's profile
Simply Brilliant
view bepsf's profile
Looks great; very clever!
view Sydney's profile
brilliant. absolutely brilliant!
view bettyboop's profile
ingenious
view elinka189's profile
the apartment is super beautiful too.
view *heather leaf*'s profile
holy smokes. that is fantastic. gold stars A
view Seaside's profile
That is gorgeous! Wonderful job!!!
view Kimber's profile
what an elegant solution...
view maude's profile
closing the italics tag
view RedShoes's profile
Excellent job!!!
:o)
view Kouklah's profile
i love this!
view enlovei7's profile
Pretty cool.
view tamaracks's profile
WOW!!!! Fantastic!!!
view emily!'s profile
That is amazing and so creative! Very nicely done.
view Tabitha (From Single to Married)'s profile
Well done, beautiful.
view avianmission's profile
Wow, you actually made it beautiful!
view jacasi's profile
Wow!!! A DIY project that looks nothing like a DIY project! That baby's all custom... Well done!
view LilyC's profile
great job with the A/C unit. Are you for hire?
Love the apartment and the lamp! Where is that from?
view DeClutterYou's profile
um...WOW!
view MoxyThunder's profile
Fantastic---you should go into business!
view poptart's profile
DAMN!!!!
That looks so amazing. Great work!!
view bathysphere's profile
WOW! That looks unbelievable. And the rest of your place is gorgeous as well.
And the air flow isn't restricted at all? It still cools off your place? I have one of these and I am afraid it wouldn't cool the room off as well as it should if I were to do something like this.
view atlantadesigner's profile
that's thinking! very creative!
view dM's profile
Bravo! Superbly well done, Alex.
view wig3000's profile
well done....m
view meso's profile
Looks great. Let's have an apartment tour please.
view caw261's profile
Aaargh! Enough with the italics...
Aaaanyways:
Well done, I wish I was as handy!
view Lilli K.'s profile
bravo! i love this! maybe i'll do something like this for my radiator :-)
view Pablo Rosario's profile
Great space.
Wonder if I can turn the italics off?
Did that work?
view sunspot42's profile
Great job!!!
view Zohreh's profile
This is amazing!!! Great job and very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
view louberrypie's profile
bottom line it is appealing to the eye
view farfalla1's profile
very clever and beautifully done!!
i am wondering what your "day" job is?
view sassydo's profile
i can only add one more WOW! :-D
view maike's profile
i definitely was not expecting what i saw when i scrolled down, amazing! what a perfect spot and idea for this necessary but unattractive piece of your home.
view universal mod's profile
Bravo!
view catmorgan94's profile
That looks like a lovely and functional piece of furniture (almost like a bar). You must be so pleased with yourself. I would be. ;-)
view TaniaTingel's profile
That was great! and im so glad you included a shot of the whole room. your place is so pretty ;)
view Bobbycat5's profile
Wow, that's one of the best projects I've ever seen! Great job! I love it.
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
Great work!
view Michael Dumas's profile
that looks AWESOME.
view sugarblush's profile
I hate to be redundant, but: fantastic!
You should market that.
view Jaze's profile
Incredible. It looks amazing, and you had great luck at the "as is" section. The IKEA in Burbank usually has a busted dresser and a bunch of empty palettes.
view mangabanga's profile
Congrats on coming up with a economical and stylish solution. You did a great job. I am expecting to see a home tour soon....hint hint ;)
view DawnMarie04's profile
genius. thank you for sharing.
view alexmax's profile
totally digging this!
view little flower's profile
holy. crap. that's awesome!
view jenniejenjen's profile
very nice!
view Quince's profile
so what do you do for a living or hobby that armed you with the vision and know how to do this???
view kimg924's profile
Brilliant! Kudos and thanks for sharing!!!
view VikingP77's profile
that is just amazing. Any chance you want to come down to San Diego and do the same thing to our AC? Brilliant!
view sdblondie's profile
I am in LOVE! I all of a sudden am jealous and wish I didn't have central air for a second so that I could do what you did (how weird of me) It looks fantastic and fits it with the surroundings perfectly!!
view Christina @ 2230H's profile
bravo
spot on
view Philip_Littell's profile
Awesome job! Looks fantastic!!!
view Julia at Living Luxely's profile
Wow what a great solution. Boy that door, ceiling and cabinetry look familiar. Are you in any of the SB Loft Buildings in Downtown LA by any chance.
view Kennard's profile
wow im really impressed at your ingenuity! well done!
view Sumhope's profile
fabulous! best I've seen on AT - seriously.
view brenjay's profile
Amazing... what a creative and beautiful solution! I also vote for a house tour!
view FlyGirlLAX's profile
Incredible! Beautiful job! Best transformation I've seen in ages.
view L1bby's profile
Thanks everyone for the positive comments on my ac unit coverup.
Some of you had some questions so I wanted to briefly answer them here. If anyone wants more specifics on this or some of the other things I have done in my loft, feel free to contact me at alman_1970@yahoo.com.
To the question of what I do for a living: I work professionally as a photographer here in LA but use my loft projects as another creative outlet. The loft is located in the "SB lofts" on the corner of sixth and spring. Lastly, I had never really thought of doing this type of thing for hire since it just a hobby but if someone is interested maybe we could work something out.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the positive responses and glad I could contribute to this community.
alex
view laalex's profile
Amazing! So clever, so beautiful!
view bohemianbeauty7's profile
This is SO AWESOME that it makes me want an ugly air conditioner just so I can do this. GREAT JOB!
view scarlethue's profile
Echo: this really is awesome. It hits all the high notes; it looks great, it's an inexpensive solution, and it remains functional.
view Eric D M 's profile
haha
I agree with scarlethue, I want an ugly ac too!
view La loca's profile
looks great! I would love to see what you've done with the rest of the place.
view gavollman's profile
Genius.
view blackbird's profile
Yeah! What they said.... Double and in spades!
Like scarlethue and La Loca, it makes me wish I had an ugly AC unit to hide too.
view quiltmaster's profile
fantastic transformation!
view design milk's profile
Love love love...
view Maroha's profile
VERY cool!!! I'm just not sure all of us would have the vision or ability to pull that off so well :-). I'm very impressed, from photo 1 I wouldn't expect that such an attractive solution was possible!
view kittykatz's profile
perfect! a cover-up that looks nothing like a cover-up! problem solving with design at its very best...cheers!
view coloraddict's profile
i can't believe what i'm seeing. brilliant. inspirational. i wish my mind worked liked this! i don't think i could have seen past the initial problem.
well done!
view Pistachio's profile
I didn't think the "after" was going to be so awesome!
Well done!
view gordon's profile
Wow - you rock. This looks great!
view sagekitten85's profile
10/10.
view upstatecb's profile
AT readers never fail to amaze me! :)
view witchbaby's profile