Header image by Robert Jones
If you’ve ever stayed in an Airbnb or VRBO rental, you’ve likely spent several minutes figuring out the lights — which switch goes to which room or lighting source.
In homes with open floor plans, it’s not uncommon to see four or five switches to control three connecting rooms. In the past, we’d break out the masking tape and mark which switch worked for what, right?
Tom Cox and his son, Chris, have an alternative for this.
“I’ve been a home builder since 1999 and a carpenter before that, and I’ve always had an interest in mechanical things. It’s a rewarding process to put together a project with all of the trades involved,” Tom Cox said. “One of the silly little problems we’d encounter was when a customer has meticulously labeled all the switches, and one time, I was asked if there was any better method. To be quite honest, the answer was ‘no.’ Even the best labeling attempt looks a little goofy compared to this nice, new home you’ve built.”
Cox was convinced there must be a way to create a switch plate that included an identifier, and seven years ago, he started the tedious process of drawing, sketching and brainstorming.
“My son was exiting the service and getting married. He moved back to Indiana and wanted to work with me, so I thought, maybe now is the time,” Cox said. “We started with the patent attorney, then the engineering process and met with mold manufacturers. We were able to utilize resources right here in Indiana from design, engineering, mold production, testing and adjustments.”
Switch-Rite provides light switches with a label or plastic insert flush with the plate, identifying what room or device the switch operates.
Customers have the option of choosing inserts like “Living Room” and “Office,” but also “Fireplace,” “Ceiling Fan” and “Stairs.”
They even improved the classic light switch plate to solve more problems than just the labeling itself.
“When I would turn over a new home to the customer, I’d walk through it with a very detailed list of things, and you want to provide something that’s new and aesthetically pleasing,” Cox said. “We made these switch plates slightly deeper than what you normally find because a conventional plate is about 30/100 of an inch from meeting the wall. It used to drive me nuts. The solution to that was to caulk, but when we developed this, we also made sure we had plenty of room for our label and everything to fit properly.”
As of August 2024, the Switch-Rite product has been made available to homeowners, but they’re concentrating on new builders, hotels and rental companies too.
“Our main goal is to create awareness. I think a lot of people simply don’t realize this is available yet. It’s something that’s always intrigued me. If we turned this or moved this over a little, it would look so much nicer, so we’re just tweaking things to make it a little better,” Cox said.
Visit lightswitchlabels.com to order or for more information.
