There are, of course, alternatives to actually putting in a cable to connect an AP to a router:
1. Powerline networking. Uses power lines in walls to create a "hard-wired" connection equivalent.
2. MoCA. Uses the TV coax cables in the walls to create a "hard-wired" connection.
You can find information on both of the above on the internet, along with hardware that you can get to use one or both of these *smile*.
I have my DIR-655 connected as an AP to my main router using MoCA, and I'm getting about 85Mb/s throughput. Not a Gb/s, but plenty of throughput for video streaming, and a normal internet connection. Works great for me. I'm also using it to provide an internet connection in a bedroom that was formerly just accessible via wireless, but that's another story *smile*. Works great there, too.