Big ugly air conditioner.

[DipDipDive]

So, I'm obsessive about decorating our apartment. Our combo living room/dining room/kitchen is pretty damn adorable and all done on a budget. I love it, but there's an air conditioner built into the middle of the wall in a majorly noticeable spot right between 2 big windows. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door and I hate it. I'm normally really good at coming up with clever solutions to hide unsightly features in a space, but I can't seem to find a way to cover up that ugly f'ing thing.

I haven't committed to any of the ideas I've had because I'm not sure any of them would look so good. I bought a really cool old beat up frame that's pretty big and was planning on filling it with a cute vintage fabric and hanging it from the ceiling with chain in front of the air conditioner. The problem is the weight of the frame could damage the ceiling and it wouldn't solve the issue of the view of the unit from the sides. It probably sticks out of the wall a good 8 inches or so, goddamnit. :mad:

Anyways, any ideas? Keep in mind I want the cover-up to look stylish and still allow the air to pass through when the unit is on in the summertime.

Wow, what a vaginal topic of conversation... :o

[Freebasser]

Remove the offending wall. You will have a wonderful 24/7 panorama of your neighbourhood, and the flow of air will be improved tenfold.

[DipDipDive]

It's load-bearing. Like my butt.

[Dorothy Wood]

hmm, maybe you could run curtains across the whole thing so it looks like an entire bank of windows? you could just tie it back when you need to use the unit. I mean, you'd lose 8 inches of depth...so maybe that would be too much.

a/c units are craptastic!

[ET]

Put your Precious Moments collection on top of the unit, gaylord.

All I can think of is Bedazzling it or using some Puff Paint to make some totally fierce patterns around the unit itself. Or maybe try one of these. (http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/5592/v03/image.terrysvillage.com/tvimg/95_1472.jpg) I'm not helping am I? :(

[DipDipDive]

No. :( Besides, my Precious Moments collection is in my bedroom and I like them where they are.

I was thinking about doing the curtain thing and hanging these twinkle lights (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60131994) or something like them in front of it.

Feck. I hate not having ideas for this kind of thing.

[jabumbo]

box fans are the wave of the future

[taquitos]

put a pedestal under it

[Lyman Zerga]

paint it pink and call it daddy

[abcdefz]

What about some sort of a folding screen or something that you could then move out of the way when the unit is on? Kind of a hassle, but...

Another thing you could do is maybe just drape it and put a plant or vase or sculpture on top or something. Then just fold the drape back
when the unit is on.

[abcdefz]

n/a

[MC Moot]

I live in an old heritage building and there was alot of exposed water piping in the place,my girl who's an interior designer did wonders by draping really light fabrics over them and then making these trick rope like sashes for them and such...I suggest something similar,hit a fabric store...(y)

[abcdefz]

The nice thing with a project like that is you can save money using remnants and stuff instead of cutting straight from the bolt.

[RobMoney$]

My sister has something similar at her house.
Her husband built a custom box. He made a frame out of 2X4's and drywalled it. It's about 8" deep, and around 5' X 3'.
It kind of just fits right on the front of the AC unit.
She painted it the same color as the wall.
It also helps with keeping the place warm in the winter.

[afronaut]

Paint it. Make it look like a smiling robot. So when people first come in, they are greeted by a happy smiling robot guy.