The other day I was working in the office when Sherry swept in and grabbed some paper from the printer. I didn’t think much of it until a few minutes later when I walked into the kitchen and saw this—Sherry beaming and batting her eyelashes next to two large succulent photographs she’d been coveting from West Elm.
They’d gone on sale, so she took advantage of the discount. They’re more than we usually spend on art, but they’re nearly 30 inches square and came with substantial glass frames, so the price made sense. We’ve been trying to collect more large-scale pieces over time—aside from the yard-sale painted canvas Sherry DIYed and the bike prints I framed, we don’t have much. These framed succulent photos add an easy, professional counterpoint to our cheaper, homemade pieces.
Fast forward a week, and that large, empty wall in the kitchen finally has art on it. From the other side of the room, the glare is reduced and the prints read much better.
Here’s the short version of the story: new art, happy couple, kitchen wall transformed. The long version starts with what the wall looked like before—anchored by an old non-working intercom in faux woodgrain with a few dials. I’d grown fond of its quirkiness, but it was time to remove it.
It only took a few loose screws to detach the unit. We hoped for a small patchable hole and a couple of wires, but revealed instead a larger cluster of cables and connectors. For a moment I wondered if I’d uncovered something more dramatic, but once the power was off I carefully unhooked two power cords and the bundle of connectors that likely ran to other non-functioning intercoms around the house.
Since this wall is on the demolition list for when we open the kitchen to the living room, we opted for a temporary, safe fix rather than calling an electrician immediately. The intercom shared a breaker with a rarely used wet-bar light, so we capped and taped the power wires and left the breaker off. My plan is to pick up a flat metal plate to screw over the opening for a cleaner temporary cover. It’s not permanent, but it’s tidy enough until the remodel.
Nearby there was an unused phone jack. After researching, I found the common advice: phone wires are generally safe unless the line is in use or ringing, and you can disconnect and tuck them away. I was cautious but managed to detach the four pairs from the jack without a shock, then capped the matching colored wires with wire nuts and pushed them back into the box. I tested our still-working phone before replacing the cover.
We didn’t patch the drywall around either opening. Because the wall will come down during the remodel, we decided not to spend time or money on permanent repairs now. Instead, we installed a painted blank cover plate over the phone jack and are concealing the larger intercom hole behind the left succulent print. When I grab that metal cover for the radio opening, it should look more finished while remaining reversible for the electrician or contractor later.
I do feel a little guilty about not fully repairing the holes, but it seems wasteful to pay a pro or do careful drywall work only to tear it out later. For now, we’re enjoying the new view and the immediate improvement the artwork brings to the space.
We chose to center the art over the table and chandelier rather than dead-center on the wall. We tried both options, and aligning the prints with the table and light felt much more balanced visually.
Can you guess which print is Clara’s favorite? It’s the purple one on the left. They add color without being overly busy, which is helpful because we’re likely to add window treatments later that will introduce pattern and more color. Since this wall is temporary, the prints are versatile and will work in many rooms—above a buffet in the dining room, over a desk in the office, and so on.
Sherry may have a succulent problem—these prints don’t even include the terrarium she just made. Seeing the photos makes me impatient to tackle other projects, like updating the counters and the trash compactor, finishing the nursery, and eventually taking on the Ardex concrete tutorials and the floors. Until then, hiding things behind a frame works pretty well.