my house is getting smarter than me, and it's kinda weird

I hear you on the pain of patching up plaster - been there, done that, still finding dust in weird places. I’m all for hiding wires when I can, but honestly, my wallet usually has the final say. Surface raceways aren’t pretty, but they’re way cheaper and a lot less hassle than opening up 70-year-old walls (which, in my house, basically means unleashing a cloud of mystery dust and regret).

I’ve tried wood trim too - looks decent if you take your time with paint or stain. Fabric cord covers are hit or miss for me... they just seem to collect pet hair like magnets. The conduit-behind-baseboard trick is probably my favorite compromise. Lets me swap stuff out later without another round of drywall surgery.

If I ever win the lottery, maybe I’ll go full in-wall with everything. Until then, it’s lots of creative hiding and hoping nobody looks too closely behind the TV cabinet.

Honestly, I’m right there with you on the “creative hiding” front. My place isn’t quite 70 years old, but the walls are stubborn enough that I get what you mean about “unleashing a cloud of mystery dust and regret.” That stuff gets everywhere - last time I patched a hole, I was still finding white powder in my shoes a week later.

A few thoughts from my own rookie attempts:

- Surface raceways: Not pretty, but they do the job. I tried painting mine to match the wall and it helped a bit, but yeah, you can still tell. At least it’s not a total eyesore.
- Wood trim: I wanted to like this more than I did. My cuts weren’t perfect, so it ended up looking a little wonky. Maybe with more patience (or better tools) it’d work out.
- Fabric cord covers:

“they just seem to collect pet hair like magnets.”

I get the temptation to go full in-wall, but honestly, unless you’re already gutting the room, it just feels like way too much hassle for most setups. Plus, tech changes so fast - what if you want to run something new in a year or two? At least with surface options or baseboard tricks, you’re not locked in.

Anyway, you’re not alone in hoping nobody peeks behind the TV. I’ve got a whole tangle back there that I just pretend doesn’t exist. Maybe one day I’ll get it all sorted... or maybe I’ll just keep shoving it further out of sight. Either way, sounds like you’re making smart choices for your sanity and your wallet.

You’re honestly handling it better than most. People get way too obsessed with hiding every wire or making it look like the cover of a magazine, but at the end of the day, your sanity and budget matter more. If it works and doesn’t look like a total disaster, that’s a win in my book.

I hear you on the in-wall temptation - been there myself. The idea sounds so clean until you’re halfway through and realize you need to run another cable next year because, surprise, tech never stops changing. I went partial raceway/behind-the-baseboard last year and yeah, it’s not invisible, but I can swap stuff out without ripping into plaster again (which is a nightmare if your walls are as stubborn as mine). A little imperfection beats drywall dust in your lungs every time.

One thing that helped me: I just stopped apologizing for cables behind the TV. If anyone’s judging, they can come help untangle them next time. You’re making practical choices - don’t let Pinterest guilt get to you.

Honestly, I think you nailed it - there’s a point where “perfect” just isn’t worth the headache, especially in an older place. I used to obsess over hiding every wire, but after fishing a cable through 90-year-old lath and plaster (never again), I’m all about function first. If it’s tidy and doesn’t trip anyone, that’s good enough. Pinterest homes aren’t lived in anyway. Tech changes way too fast for permanent solutions most of the time.

Totally get that - after wrestling with just one ethernet cable in my 1950s place, I’m way less picky about hiding stuff. I keep thinking, is it even worth drilling more holes for tech that’ll be outdated in a year? Anyone tried those stick-on cable covers? Do they actually look okay or just kinda... sad?

Anyone tried those stick-on cable covers? Do they actually look okay or just kinda... sad?

Haha, “just kinda... sad” is pretty spot on sometimes. Had a client who swore by them for her rental - honestly, in white against white walls, they almost disappeared. But if you’ve got textured plaster or off-white paint, they can stand out more than you’d like. I’ve seen people paint them to match and it helps, but it’s never as seamless as you hope. Still, way less commitment than drilling holes you’ll regret when WiFi 9 is a thing next year.

Honestly, I kinda like the stick-on covers - at least compared to a mess of cables everywhere. I used the skinny ones in my living room and, yeah, they’re not invisible, but after a week I stopped noticing them. Maybe my standards are just low? Drilling into plaster is way scarier to me than a little plastic strip on the wall.

Drilling into plaster is way scarier to me than a little plastic strip on the wall.

- Stick-on covers are fine, especially if you’re not planning to stay forever. Easy to rip off when you move or change your mind.
- Plaster’s a pain - one wrong move and you’ve got a crater. I’ve patched enough holes to know it’s not worth it unless you’re running something permanent.
- Cable mess is worse, honestly. At least the covers keep things tidy.

Curious - are you running everything smart through WiFi, or did you go for hardwired stuff? I’m always torn between convenience and reliability...

I hear you on the plaster - one slip and suddenly you’re learning how to patch holes the hard way. I’ve seen stick-on covers save a lot of headaches, especially in rentals. As for smart stuff, I lean WiFi for most things (less mess, more flexibility), but honestly, hardwired is tempting when you want things rock solid. The cable spaghetti is real though... sometimes it feels like the cables are taking over before the smart tech does.

The cable spaghetti is real though... sometimes it feels like the cables are taking over before the smart tech does.

Man, you’re not kidding about cable spaghetti. Pulled open a wall once to run ethernet and found a rat’s nest of coax, old phone lines, and who-knows-what. Took longer to untangle that than to actually install anything new. Hardwired is bulletproof, sure, but every time I crawl through the attic with a spool of Cat6, I start to envy folks who just slap in a WiFi plug and call it a day. Still, nothing beats that feeling when you hit a switch and it just works - no lag, no dropouts. Worth the drywall dust... most of the time.

nothing beats that feeling when you hit a switch and it just works - no lag, no dropouts.

Totally get that. I’ve tried mesh WiFi, but honestly, nothing matches a solid wired connection. Curious - do you bother labeling your cables? I always think I will, but then halfway through I just want to be done.

Labeling cables always sounds like a great idea in theory, but I’ll admit, I rarely finish the job. I start out with the best intentions - little bits of masking tape and a Sharpie - but by the time I’m crawling behind 120-year-old baseboards, I just want to get it over with. Still, every time I have to trace a mystery cable through my basement (which is basically a spider convention), I regret not sticking with it.

Wired connections are king, especially in these old houses where WiFi signals seem to vanish behind every plaster wall. Mesh helps, but nothing beats plugging straight in. If you ever do decide to label, I’ve found pre-printed tags or even colored zip ties make it less of a chore. Not perfect, but better than nothing when you’re staring at a tangle of identical blue cables months later.

Honestly, I get where you’re coming from - labeling is one of those things that seems so simple until you’re wedged behind a radiator with dust bunnies and ancient wiring. But trust me, it pays off down the line. I used to skip it too, thinking I’d “remember” which cable was which. Spoiler: I never did. Colored zip ties are a lifesaver, though. Not perfect, but at least you can tell blue from green in the dark crawlspace. If you ever do a full rewire, investing in a label maker is totally worth it... even if it feels overkill at first.

Colored zip ties are a lifesaver, though. Not perfect, but at least you can tell blue from green in the dark crawlspace.

Man, I hear you on the zip ties. I used to just scribble on masking tape with a Sharpie and slap it on wires, thinking that’d be enough. Fast forward a couple years and half the tape’s fallen off or turned into this sticky mess that collects every dust particle in the house. At least with zip ties, you’ve got a fighting chance.

I’ll admit, I dragged my feet on the label maker thing. Thought it was just another gadget I’d use once and forget about. But after crawling under my house for the third time trying to figure out which wire went to the living room switch (and accidentally killing power to the fridge in the process), I caved. Now everything’s labeled, and future-me is way less grumpy.

The weirdest part is when your house starts “talking back” with all these smart gadgets and you’re still fumbling around with wires from 1982. Makes me wonder who’s really in charge sometimes...

I’ve run into that same sticky tape mess more times than I care to admit. It’s always the stuff you did in a hurry that comes back to haunt you, right? Colored zip ties are a step up, but once you get into the label maker game, it’s hard to go back. I used to think those things were just for office folks or maybe the super-organized types, but after the third time I had to trace a wire by trial and error, I was sold. It’s not glamorous, but it saves a ton of headaches.

One thing I started doing on bigger projects is this: whenever I’m running new lines or adding smart switches, I take a quick photo of the setup and print it out with notes. Tape that inside the panel or junction box. That way, even if the labels fade or fall off (which happens eventually), you’ve still got a cheat sheet. Might sound overkill, but future-you will thank past-you.

The whole smart home thing does feel like it’s getting away from me sometimes, though. You get one voice assistant, then suddenly there’s an app for every lightbulb and thermostat. I still trust a good old-fashioned breaker panel more than any app. Ever had one of those moments where your “smart” system glitches and you have to crawl around unplugging things just to reset it? Makes me wonder if we’re making things easier or just trading one set of problems for another.

Curious - when you’re updating old wiring for new gadgets, do you try to future-proof as much as possible, or just patch what’s needed? I’ve seen folks go both ways. Sometimes it feels like you could spend forever chasing that “one last upgrade.”

Man, I feel this. Every time I try to “future-proof” something, it ends up costing twice as much and I still miss something obvious. Last time I ran new wiring for a smart thermostat, I thought I was being clever by adding an extra wire “just in case.” Fast forward a year and now the new gadget needs a totally different setup anyway. At this point, I mostly patch what’s needed and call it good. If my house wants to be smarter than me, it can pay its own electric bill...

If my house wants to be smarter than me, it can pay its own electric bill...

That gave me a good laugh. Honestly, future-proofing is one of those things that sounds great in theory, but tech moves so fast it’s almost impossible to keep up. I usually tell folks: focus on what you need now, and make sure there’s some wiggle room for upgrades, but don’t go overboard chasing every “just in case.” Curious - did you run into any surprises with other smart devices, like switches or doorbells? Those seem to change standards every year too.

I’ve definitely run into compatibility headaches, especially with smart switches. One brand’s “works with everything” claim turned out to mean “works with everything from 2021.” Had to swap out a few when I upgraded my hub. Doorbells are even trickier - some need specific wiring or voltage, which I didn’t realize until after the fact. If you’re on a budget, double-checking those specs before buying saves a lot of hassle later.

The “works with everything” labels get me every time. I bought a set of dimmer switches thinking I was set, but turns out my house wiring is just old enough to be a pain - no neutral wire where I needed it. Had to return the whole batch and start over. At this point, I’m double-checking specs and even peeking at the breaker box before I buy anything… Learned that lesson the hard way. Smart doorbells are still on my “maybe later” list, just to avoid another wiring rabbit hole.

At this point, I’m double-checking specs and even peeking at the breaker box before I buy anything… Learned that lesson the hard way.

Been there. I tried swapping out a light switch for a smart one and ended up staring at a mess of wires that looked nothing like the YouTube tutorials. My tip: take a photo of your wiring before you touch anything - saved me when I had to put it all back. And yeah, those “works with everything” stickers are way too optimistic. I’m holding off on the doorbell too... not ready for another round of “what does this wire do?”