How to hide the cord for a light-up frame or LED neon sign

To hide the cord for a light-up frame, start with where the frame hangs, because a short, straight run is the simplest to conceal. From there, furniture and a paintable cord cover handle most walls. For a completely bare wall, an in-wall power kit puts an outlet behind the frame using parts made to go inside the wall. Or skip the cord with a battery-powered frame.

One rule applies to every method: never feed a regular power cord or extension cord into the wall cavity. The reasons are below. The same approaches work for LED neon signs, lit mirrors and picture lights.

How to hide the cord for a light-up frame: methods compared

Start with placement

Placement is free and often solves the whole problem.

• Hang the frame over the outlet. A cord that drops straight down is the shortest, straightest run to hide. If you can choose the wall, choose the one with an outlet below the spot.
• Let furniture do the work. A console, sideboard, desk or headboard hides the lower part of the run. Let the cord hang behind it with some slack, not pinned under a leg or pressed against the wall. Furniture resting on a cord can crush its insulation and create a fire or shock hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s home electrical safety checklist.
• Lean instead of hang. A frame standing on a shelf or picture ledge sends its cord back and down behind the shelf, out of view.
• Plan for the adapter. Many light-up frames, including every plug-in Lumi Frames, use an external power adapter. Plug it in at the outlet rather than leaving it hanging halfway up the wall, and don’t shut it in a closed drawer or wrap its cord tightly. The CPSC checklist notes that tightly wrapped cords trap heat and that equipment needs room to “breathe.”
• Decide where the controls live. The Lumi Frames Neon has an in-line control box as well as app and voice control, so the box can sit behind furniture while you run the frame from your phone or a voice assistant.

How to install a paintable cord cover

A cord cover (also sold as a cord raceway) is a slim channel that holds the cord on the surface of the wall. Painted to match, it is hard to spot from across a room.

1. Measure the run from the point where the cord leaves the frame down to the outlet. One straight vertical run looks cleanest; every corner piece adds bulk.
2. Cut the cover to length with a fine-tooth saw or the cutter supplied with it.
3. Dry-fit it against the wall to check that it lines up with both the cord exit and the outlet.
4. Clean the wall with a damp cloth and let it dry fully. Adhesive will not hold on dust.
5. Fix the base. Adhesive tape is fine on smooth painted drywall. On brick, plaster or heavy texture, use screws and the right anchors.
6. Lay the cord in and snap the lid shut. Keep the adapter outside the cover, at the outlet.
7. Paint the cover with leftover wall paint. Don’t paint or caulk the lid shut: you should be able to open it to check the cord.

A cover hides a short plug-in cord; it does not turn an extension cord into permanent wiring: the CPSC advises having new outlets installed where they are needed rather than using extension cords on a permanent basis.

Why ordinary cords can’t go inside walls

In the US, the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) limits where flexible cords, the kind on lamps, appliances and extension cords, may be used. NFPA guidance, quoted in a Home Ventilating Institute fact sheet on the code, explains that section 400.12 prohibits using flexible cords as a substitute for a building’s fixed wiring or where they are concealed behind walls, floors or ceilings. The section’s list of uses that are not permitted also includes running cords through holes in walls, attaching them to building surfaces and installing them in raceways, except where the code allows otherwise.

So treat a surface cord cover as a tidy-up for a short plug-in cord, not as wiring: keep the run short and the lid openable. For a permanent bare wall, use an in-wall kit or have an electrician add an outlet.

The reasoning behind the rules is practical. A cord inside a wall cannot be inspected, and it can be pinched against framing or pierced by a nail or screw without anyone knowing. Wikipedia’s extension cord article describes how damaged wires inside a cord can lead to arcing or a short circuit that ignites nearby materials. In the open, that damage is visible; inside a wall, it is not.

Two related points:

• Low voltage is not a loophole. Many frames have a low-voltage cable between the adapter and the frame, but that cable is not sold for use inside a wall. Don’t feed it through the wall; if you want low-voltage wiring concealed, ask an electrician or low-voltage installer.
• Outside the US, local rules apply. Lumi Frames ships worldwide, and wiring codes vary by country. A local electrician can tell you what is allowed where you live.

In-wall power kits and recessed outlets

An in-wall power kit is the way to get a bare wall without an ordinary cord inside it. A typical kit has two plates: a recessed outlet that sits behind the frame, and a power inlet low on the wall near an existing outlet, joined by cable made for use inside the wall. A short power cord connects the low inlet to your existing outlet, so nothing is spliced into the house wiring. PowerBridge, for example, says its single-outlet kit needs no connection to the home’s wiring and describes its in-wall wire as UL listed and code compliant. Those are the maker’s claims, so check the listing marks on any kit you buy.

1. Find a clear stud bay. Both openings must sit in the same space between two studs, free of pipes, existing cables and horizontal blocking. A stud finder with wire detection helps, and the kit’s instructions give the wall depth it needs.
2. Mark the upper opening inside the frame’s footprint and below its hanging hardware, so the frame covers the plate and the plug sits in the recess. If the frame has a clear or empty center panel, place the plate behind the art or the frame’s border, where it won’t show.
3. Mark the lower opening near the existing outlet, level with it.
4. Cut, fish and fit the openings, cable and plates exactly as the kit’s instructions describe.
5. Plug in. Connect the lower inlet to the existing outlet with the supplied cord, then plug the frame’s adapter into the recessed outlet.

Use a complete, safety-listed kit designed for this job, never a homemade assembly of cords and boxes. If you are remodeling, an electrician can instead fit a new recessed outlet behind the frame, wired from the house circuit. A recessed box matters for slim frames: a standard plug can push a frame off the wall, and the Lumi Frames Neon, for example, is only about 1.25 in deep.

Going cordless: rechargeable frames and USB-C power banks

The cleanest cord is no cord.

• Rechargeable frames. The Lumi Frames Edge has a built-in battery that charges over USB-C and lasts up to about 10 hours at half brightness. Its timer switches it off six hours after it comes on each evening, so a charge lasts more days than it would if the frame stayed on.
• Battery picture lights. A good fit for paintings; see illuminated frame vs picture light.
• USB-C power banks. A frame that runs from a 5 V USB supply can run from a power bank hidden behind a leaning frame or on a shelf. Check three things first:
  1. Output. A USB-C port supplies 5 V at anything from 500 mA up to 3 A, according to Wikipedia’s USB-C article. The bank’s port should match or beat the current rating of the frame’s own adapter.
  2. Auto shut-off. Wikipedia’s power bank article notes that a bank may power down automatically when the load stays below a model-specific threshold, which a dimmed frame can trigger.
  3. Real capacity. The advertised mAh is often the capacity of the internal 3.7 V cells. The same article works out that at 5 V output that is about 74 percent in theory, and converter losses take more, so expect less run time than the label suggests.

Want to know what a plug-in frame costs to run instead? Try the LED energy cost calculator.

LED neon signs and neon frames

LED neon pieces are often hung high as a statement, which makes the cord more visible. Plan the outlet first: an in-wall kit behind the sign, or a painted cover straight down to a sideboard, are the tidiest options. For how neon frames differ from signs, see what a neon frame is, and for placement ideas, light-up wall art ideas. If you are still planning the lighting itself, our guide on how to light up a picture frame covers the DIY options.