'The life hack we all need!' – conceal TV remotes in plain sight with this Instagram hack
Say goodbye to your eyesore of a TV remote ruining the look of a styled coffee table


TV remotes. They're a necessary pairing if you've got a TV in your living room or bedroom alike. However, we can all admit that they're not the cutest visual aids in a room. And when you do hide them, alas comes the problem of the remote going MIA. At this point, you're spending more time locating it than sitting back on your sofa relaxing.
While you can always shove them into the drawer of a console or coffee table, it's always handy to have them within arm's reach – but how can you achieve that without it looking like an eyesore?
This Instagram hack shows how you can turn an old book into a stylish and practical TV remote storage box, and we have to say, it's kind of genius.
DIY book TV remote storage
DIY and home decor digital creator, Jen Rothbury (@crack_the_shutters) took to Instagram to share what she dubbed as 'her new favourite life hack' to her 240,000 followers.
In the caption she writes, 'Surely I'm not the only person constantly searching behind the cushions for the TV remotes or getting annoyed at their ugliness on a styled coffee table?! Well, welcome to the coffee table book TV remote storage!'
All you need for this easy DIY project is an old book, a pen, a ruler, and a box cutter.
A post shared by Jen Rothbury (@crack_the_shutters)
A photo posted by on
Demonstrating the hack, Jen places her TV remotes on the inside cover of the book and uses a pen and ruler to draw around her remotes. She then uses a box cutter to cut out the middle of the pages until it is deep enough to house her remotes.
Once she's done cutting through the necessary pages, she places her remotes inside and once she's closed the book, you wouldn't be none the wiser that there were ugly remotes occupying the space. It's that simple.
Before any book lovers come at us for this, we're not saying you should go ahead and start defacing all of your favourite books. But, if you've got some lying in storage that would otherwise never see the light or spot one when shopping second-hand, we think this is a brilliant beginner's upcycling project to give an old throwaway item a second lease of life.
Some comments on the Instagram hack read, 'This is the life hack we all need! Love this Jen! Everything needs its place, so much easier that way,' with another reading, 'Genius! Absolutely love this.'
We understand this might not be everybody's cup of tea (given that the idea of cutting up a book could make you feel some type of way), but if you can bear to part ways with an old copy, your coffee table is guaranteed an equally gorgeous but functional upgrade.
Consider the days of faffing around trying to find the TV remote behind you.
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Jullia Joson is Ideal Home’s Junior Writer. She’s always loved all things homes and interiors, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Nottingham in 2022. Previously, she was an Intern Editor for ArchDaily. Now focused on news stories, Jullia can be found down the TikTok and Pinterest rabbit hole scrolling through any new and upcoming trends, hacks, and home inspiration.
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