So you just got your hands on a custom LED sign or neon sign, congratulations! It looks incredible. But then you hang it up, plug it in, and suddenly there's a power cord dangling down the wall like an afterthought. Sound familiar?
Whether you've ordered a custom neon sign for your home bar, a personalized LED sign for your business, or custom neon letters for a wedding backdrop, the installation is only half the battle. The other half is making it look like it belongs, and that means hiding those wires.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the most popular methods for hiding sign wires, and tackle the part most guides skip: what to do about the power supply.
Why Hiding Your Wires Actually Matters
Before we get into the how, let's talk about the why. A neon sign or LED sign is a statement piece. It draws the eye. But nothing kills the vibe faster than a visible power cord running down your wall to a nearby outlet. Hiding the wires transforms your sign from "decoration" to "design feature." It's the difference between a sign that looks installed and one that looks placed.
This applies whether you're setting up neon bar signs in a restaurant, a neon logo sign in a retail space, or custom neon letters above a bed in a bedroom.
The Real Challenge: The Power Supply
Most guides about hiding neon sign or LED sign wires focus entirely on the cord running from the sign to the wall. But there's a second problem that's harder to solve: the power supply itself.
LED signs and LED neon signs don't run directly off wall power. They need a power supply (sometimes called a driver or transformer) that converts your standard 120V AC power down to the low voltage the sign actually runs on — typically 12V or 24V DC. This power supply is usually a rectangular brick, anywhere from the size of a deck of cards to a small shoebox depending on the sign's size and wattage.
Unlike a power adapter that might tuck neatly behind a TV, a neon or LED sign power supply often needs to be:
- Mounted somewhere accessible (in case it ever needs to be replaced)
- Kept in a ventilated spot — they generate some heat
- Close enough to the sign for the low-voltage output cable to reach
This is what makes the install genuinely tricky. You can hide the cord easily enough, but if the power supply is just sitting on a shelf or mounted to the wall in plain sight, it undermines the whole clean look you're going for.
Here are your realistic options for dealing with it.
Mount It Inside a Cabinet or Enclosure Nearby
For bar setups, retail spaces, or anywhere with nearby cabinetry, mounting the power supply inside a cabinet with a small hole for the output cable is a clean solution. The cord exits the cabinet, runs to the sign, and the power supply stays completely out of sight.
Use a Recessed Wall Enclosure
A surface-mounted electrical enclosure (like a small access panel) can be installed in the wall near the sign to house the power supply. These are standard in commercial signage installs. The enclosure has a flush door that blends into the wall, and the power supply sits inside with ventilation slots. It looks intentional rather than like an afterthought.
Hardwire It into a Junction Box (The Cleanest Option)
For smaller power supplies, the cleanest solution of all is to hardwire the power supply inside a deep junction box set into the wall — completely behind the drywall. The low-voltage output cable is the only thing that exits through a small hole to your sign. More on exactly how this works in Option 4 below.
Option 1: Run the Cord Along the Wall with a Cable Raceway
The easiest and most renter-friendly option is a cable raceway — a plastic channel that snaps onto the wall and conceals your cord inside it. They're paintable, cheap, and you can find them at any hardware store.
How to do it:
- Measure the distance from your sign's power adapter down to the nearest outlet.
- Cut the raceway to length and stick it to the wall using the adhesive backing (or small screws for a more secure hold).
- Lay the cord inside, snap the cover shut, and paint it to match your wall.
Best for: Renters, temporary setups, or situations where running wire through the wall isn't practical.
Downside: It's better than a hanging cord, but it's still visible up close — and it doesn't solve the power supply problem. The brick still needs to live somewhere. For a truly seamless look, you'll want to go a step further.
Option 2: Tuck the Cord Behind Baseboards and Crown Moulding
If your sign is near the floor or ceiling, you can often tuck the power cord behind existing baseboards or crown moulding. Carefully pry the moulding away from the wall slightly, tuck the cord behind it, and press it back into place.
This works surprisingly well and requires no tools beyond a pry bar or putty knife. Just make sure the cord isn't pinched tightly — you don't want to damage the insulation.
Option 3: Mount Your Sign on a Faux Grass Wall
This is one of the most popular installation setups right now, and it happens to be one of the best solutions for hiding both the wires and the power supply at the same time.
A faux grass wall (also called a moss wall or boxwood hedge panel wall) is a decorative backdrop made from artificial greenery panels that attach flat to the wall. They're widely used in bars, restaurants, event spaces, and home studios as a photo-friendly backdrop — and a neon sign or LED sign mounted on one looks absolutely stunning.
The genius of this setup from a wiring standpoint is the depth. The panels sit a few inches off the wall, creating a natural cavity behind the greenery where cords, cables, and even your power supply can be completely hidden from view.
How to do it:
- Install your faux grass panels across the wall section where your sign will hang. Most panels attach with adhesive strips, staples, or small nails — no major construction needed.
- Before closing up the panels along the bottom or sides, run your sign's power cord behind the panels and down toward your nearest outlet or power source.
- Tuck the power supply behind the panels as well. The gap between the panels and the wall gives it a place to sit without being visible, and the slight airflow through the greenery helps with ventilation.
- Mount your LED sign or neon sign on the front face of the panels using the included hardware. The output cable from the power supply feeds straight through or under the panel edge to the sign.
- Conceal the final section of cord (from the bottom of the panels to the outlet) with a short cable raceway or tuck it behind a baseboard.
Best for: Bars, restaurants, event spaces, content creator setups, salons, and anyone who wants their sign installation to look like a styled shoot.
Bonus: The faux grass wall does double duty — it's a backdrop and a wire-hiding solution in one. Your sign will photograph dramatically better against the greenery than against a plain wall, which matters a lot if you're posting it on social media or using it for branding.
Option 4: Hardwire the Power Supply into a Junction Box (The Cleanest Look)
This is the gold standard. If you want your neon sign or LED sign to look completely built-in — like it's part of the architecture — hardwiring the power supply to a junction box hidden behind the drywall is the way to go. This solves both problems at once: no cord, no visible power supply.
How It Works
Most LED signs and neon signs (including LED neon signs) come with a plug-in power supply — a driver box that converts your standard 120V wall power down to the voltage the sign needs (often 12V or 24V DC). Instead of having that power supply sit on a shelf, dangle behind the sign, or get mounted to the wall where anyone can see it, you hardwire it directly inside the wall into a deep electrical junction box, with just the low-voltage output cable coming through a small hole to your sign.
From the front, you see nothing but the sign. No cord. No power supply. No outlet.
One important caveat: the power supply needs some airflow, so the junction box used needs to be appropriately sized and ideally a deep "old work" box that gives the unit room to breathe. Some installers use a dedicated recessed enclosure with small ventilation slots rather than a standard junction box for this reason. Your electrician can advise on the right enclosure for your specific power supply's wattage.
What's Involved
Here's the general process:
- A junction box is installed inside the wall at the location behind your sign. This box houses the electrical connection and is required by electrical code — you can never make a wire connection inside a wall without a proper enclosure.
- Your home's 120V wiring is run into the junction box. This is the step that almost always requires a licensed electrician (more on that below).
- The sign's power supply is hardwired inside the junction box — the line voltage goes in, the power supply converts it, and only the low-voltage output cable exits through a small hole in the drywall to connect to your sign.
- A blank wall plate covers the junction box access point, or in many clean installations, the junction box is positioned directly behind the sign so the sign itself covers it completely.
The result is a sign that appears to simply glow from the wall, completely cord-free and permanently installed.
Do You Need an Electrician?
Yes, in most cases — and it's worth it.
Running new 120V wiring from your electrical panel or tapping into an existing circuit is work that should be done by a licensed electrician in Canada and most of North America. This isn't about being overly cautious — it's about safety and code compliance. Improperly done electrical work inside walls is a fire hazard, and it can also cause issues with your home insurance if something goes wrong.
Here's what a licensed electrician will typically handle:
- Running a dedicated circuit (or tapping a nearby one) to the junction box location
- Making safe, code-compliant wire connections inside the box
- Ensuring the installation is properly grounded
- Pulling any required permits if needed
Once the electrician has the junction box wired and ready, connecting the actual sign adapter and output cable is usually straightforward — and something you or your sign installer can handle.
Pro tip: When you book an electrician, mention that you're installing a low-voltage sign and need a junction box roughed in at a specific wall location — and share the wattage of your sign's power supply so they can size the enclosure correctly. Most electricians can knock this out in an hour or two.
Which Method Is Right for Your Sign?
| Situation | Best Option |
|---|---|
| Renting, temporary install | Cable raceway |
| Bar, restaurant, content creator setup | Grass Wall |
| Permanent install, professional look | Hardwire to junction box |
| Business / commercial space | Hardwire to junction box (always) |
For neon bar signs, neon logo signs in retail, or any sign that's going to live in one place permanently, hardwiring is almost always the right call. It looks better, it's safer, and it adds real value to the space.
For home installs — bedroom signs, custom neon letters above a headboard, personalized LED signs in a home office — the through-wall cord method is usually the sweet spot between effort and results.
Final Thoughts
A neon sign or LED sign is an investment in your space. Taking the extra time (and sometimes the extra cost of an electrician) to properly hide both the wires and the power supply is what separates a sign that looks like decor from one that looks intentional and designed.
If you're based in Canada and shopping for a custom LED sign or neon sign, make sure you're buying from a shop that understands Canadian electrical standards — the adapter and driver specs matter when you're planning a hardwired install.
Have questions about how your specific sign is wired before you order? Reach out — we're happy to walk you through what a clean install looks like for your space.
