Need to vent...kind of long

On the first floor of our house, putting in an AC is a challenge. The windows in the living room and dining rooms are casement windows. The kitchen doesn't have any windows because it is one big room with the dining room and there is a giant sliding door. We have an AC in the office/den/formerly known as garage but that is on the opposite side of the house, and it takes a lot (especially on a day like today) to cool the first floor with that.

So DH said that we need a split system...where the main unit sits outside, and there is a 3 inch hole in the wall, and then the vent piece inside. It is in my living room, because the best wall to put that on is the north wall where there are no windows, and we really don't ever go to that part of the yard, so it wouldn't be an 'ear sore' outside (or an eye sore for that matter either). Plus, it wouldn't fit in the dining room walls on that side of the house because of the fireplace.

I was really concerned about it being this huge white industrial looking piece on my living room wall. No matter how many times we had the conversation, DH assured me it would be fine. He thought I was more concerned about the 3 inch hole in the wall. I could care less about that. It is easily patched if ever we change our mind. Our walls are a brown which I never would have even thought to look at, but the people we bought the house from did....and I love it.

Well now I have this huge white industrial looking piece in the middle of my brown wall. I hate it. Fortunately the trim in our house is white, so it at least matches in with that somewhat. But it is horrible. When you walk into my living room it is right there in front of you. I feel like it has made the artwork on our walls all off. We have a huge print that we got from Ikea in the center of the wall it is on. Now I feel like the whole balance of it is off. And the piece disappears because it isn't the brightest thing on that wall anymore.

When I talked to DH on the phone (he hasn't seen it yet because a friend did the install for us while we were at work), he was like you know what, I didn't even think about what it would look like inside. I just thought you were upset about a hole in the wall.

I might as well have been talking to the damn wall all that time. He didn't even think about what it would look like on the inside. He also thought I was concerned about what it would look like on the outside. I don't care about that! I can go an entire month without even looking at that part of the yard!

I'm so upset about it, but I don't even know what to do. It was $$$ and my parents gave us the money for it so we didn't have to wait until next year when we'd be able to afford it. But I'm so miserable. It has totally messed with the feel of my living room. It's my effing living room. Why didn't DH even think about what it would LOOK LIKE???

It would be one thing if this was something like a window AC that was only around for the 2-3 months a year that we use it. But this is now going to be there constantly.

I'm sure with time I won't notice it and I'll laugh at how upset I am right now. But right now I'm really pizzed at DH for not thinking, and kind of hurt that he didn't even listen to my side of the argument (that we've been having for months mind you) and had no idea what part of it I was concerned with.

If you made it this far, you deserve a trophy. Thanks for listening to my craziness.

Re: Need to vent...kind of long

Is there some way u can put something around it so u dont notice it as much? like some type of shelving, that u can put things on the other shelves and make it less obvious?

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How about painting your wall to a lighter color?

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I'm not sure exactly what they look like but I *think* I know someone with a similar system.

Could you put a bench or something around it so it could still blow out the bottom but would be concealed?

Or I agree with painting the walls a lighter color... That would help too.

I'm sorry. I have definitely been in your shoes (when DH had our patio built right up against our central air unit.)

Re: Need to vent...kind of long

Honestly you will not even notice it after a while.

And the alternative is to sweat during these hot days. I would take an ugly ac over having none.

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Vent away. I know it's not perfect but there doesn't seem to be any choice.

I agree with painting the wall a lighter color.

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My mom has an ugly ac unit in her kitchen. I made her a very pretty fabric covered box (fabric matches her curtains) that she can use to cover the unit in the months she doesn't use it....

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I totally understand what you are saying. We have AC units in our living room and bedrooms but they are in the walls (not windows) but DH and I have been discussing installing this type of unit.

I have been thinking about it and I just couldn't see any spot in my living room that it could be put without looking like an eye sore. We may just put it in our basement and leave the rest of the house as is (or just basement and bedrooms).

Im sure as much as you hate it now, over time it will blend in with the living room and you wont notice it. Maybe you can even find a way make it less noticable.

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I'm thinking that if it's just a plastic shell, you can paint it any color you want. The white outer casing wouldn't be affected by spray paint, and they have special plastic paint. If you really want to get fancy, you could color-match the existing walls, and have a custom mixed spray paint, so the vent would blend in almost perfectly.

Re: Need to vent...kind of long

I had an ac put in my wall in my last home. I hated the way it looked for a week or so but got used to it very quickly! Once it's hooked up you will feel better about it. We put in the wall because I didn't want to give up any light from our windows

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I am about to have a mini split system put into my den and I have the same exact concerns as you. I HATED the idea. However, I hired a custom cabinet maker who is going to make a built-in unit for me around the AC. It is the most gorgeous piece of cabinetry you have ever seen! Now I am so happy I got the mini split system instead of the wall AC. Contact me if you want his info, he is very creative, he can help you!

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Re: Need to vent...kind of long