A Super Simple Way to Disguise a Window Air Conditioner in the Off Season

published Oct 23, 2017
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(Image credit: Alexis Buryk)

While they’re absolute LIFE SAVERS in the summer months (or, if you live in the South like me, 11 months out of the year), A/C window units are pretty much hideous. But, cooler temperatures bring the opportunity to hide or disguise that window A/C during the winter, and it’s a small tweak that will dramatically upgrade a room’s look.

Can you spot the A/C in this photo? (Image credit: Alexis Buryk)

An Easy and Elegant Option → Prop art in front of it!

The A/C window unit hiding idea in Alex Fitzgerald’s small West Village apartment is so simple that it hardly can be categorized as a tip — it’s a no-brainer when you see how easily it covers the A/C. A simple canvas piece that’s a little larger than the unit leans up against it when not in use. No holes, no drills, basically the smallest amount of effort.

(Image credit: Alexis Buryk)

In Alex’s apartment, he’s lucky to have the radiator act as a shelf for the canvas to rest on. But if you don’t have a convenient surface already underneath your window unit, see if there’s an opportunity to move an existing console table, bookshelf, etc. under your window unit to give you a surface to set art on.