How To: Hate Ugly-Looking Power Strips? Make This Sleek DIY Power Outlet Box for Your Desktop

One of the biggest downsides to having so many gadgets is that you never seem to have enough outlets to power them all. Most of us have a power strip or two to solve this problem, but Instructables user dlewisa wanted something a little nicer looking, so he built this DIY desktop power outlet.

For the housing, dlewisa put together a small wooden box using a nail gun and wood glue. He used a sander to round off the corners, then filled in the gaps with wood filler and painted it. You could also use stain instead for a different look.

For safety reasons, he chose to use an electrical box inside the wooden housing, with the wire clamp coming out the back. After wiring the duplex receptacle, he put all the electrical components in the housing and added a few screws to keep everything in place. Then, all that was left to do was screw on the cover and test it.

If you want to make it even more useful, you can also add a few USB ports so you can charge your phone or tablet, too. For the full step-by-step process along with details on the wiring, check out dlewisa's tutorial.