In the last couple of apartments we’ve had, we’ve suffered —albeit, mildly in the scheme of things— the ubiquitous, ugly, boxy generic doorbell that most building’s management installs. We never really stopped to think how we could make it more pleasing to look at. Designer Laura Handler, who has a brilliant talent for fixing the irritating visual details of everyday life, figured it out.
Using black-and-white stripe Duck tape (available here), she devised a harlequin pattern to cover the homely doorbell box, carefully slicing out the necessary peep and sound holes with a utility knife.
We have never known Duck tape to be so chic.
We’ve discovered that there is an endless array of Duck tape patterns, including this cool pop-art design…
Duck brand has also come up with Express Decor Home Accents: extra-wide patterned tapes for more ambitious projects.
These duck tape fixes reminds of our set decorator’s tricks for interior disguises using foam core…cheap, easy, pleasing to the eye.
Several years ago during an apartment-wide repainting project, I stripped all the old paint off the door re-priming and repainting it, including the doorbell box, with a warm silver metallic paint. Opposite the windows approximately 30 feet away, it offers a shimmer to the foyer and lends a sculptural quality to the doorbell box.
Stripping pain off the door is a labor of love. Good for you for doing it and enjoying it all this time. Well-worth it once done!