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How To Make a Book Cover Disguise For Your Wireless Router

Gregory Han
Gregory Han
A Los Angeles native, Gregory’s interests fall upon the relationship between design, nature, and technology. His resume includes art director, toy designer, and design writer. Co-author of Poketo's "Creative Spaces: People, Homes, and Studios to Inspire", you can find him regularly at Design Milk and the New York Times Wirecutter. Gregory lives with his wife Emily and their two cats—Eames and Eero—in Mt. Washington, California, curiously investigating the entomological and mycological.
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published May 29, 2012
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My philosophy about technology in the home is akin to a strict private school headmaster’s opinion about children: technology should neither be seen nor heard until required/requested. Even though Apple’s Airport router is fairly benign aesthetically, I prefer to keep the wireless router tucked inside a floating shelf, next to other blinking light culprits like the cable modem and home security system, a trio of otherwise mismatched clutter if left out all together. But what if you have to keep a device out in the open? That’s what Ana Maria faced with her eyesore device until she devised a brilliant solution…

Ana Maria Muñoz of blog, Anumu, and The Pond Market shares her tale:

In order to receive wi-fi signal throughout the rest of the flat, our router must be placed in a prominent location of the living room. This diva signal initially left us with an eyesore of an ugly, blinking light box and I hated it. I did everything I could to camouflage it by setting picture frames and flower-filled vases in front of it.

One day, after I had complained enough about it, Joe had the brilliant idea to cover it with a book. Heellooo….yes, so obvious and so perfect! A few days later he came home with a vintage book he bought for 50p (cents) and got to work with his trusty blade. It took less than a minute to cut the pages out and bend the spine to widen the overall fit. Once the cover was placed over the router I saw the true brilliance of Joe’s idea – simple, practical, and effective.

Sadly, Ana Maria sacrificed a book I would have personally would have preferred spared. “California Gardens”, with many personal notes, paper clippings and quotations from its previous owner…such a lovely book sacrificed to see another life as a disguise for a mundane, but necessary bit of tech. Nevertheless, the project is an admirable and ingenious solution easy to emulate, regardless of the tome chosen.

Full details and photos at Re-style Your Wireless Internet Router

Images: Ana Maria Muñoz

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