How to Hide a TV

Having a TV is great, but sometimes a big TV can look a little jarring in a room. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can change things around in your home to hide your TV. Whether you’re mounting your TV on the wall or placing it on top of furniture, you can easily make it so that your TV doesn’t stand out as much in any room of your home.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Covering Your TV

1
Hang sliding artwork next to the TV to cover it. Install sliding closet tracks directly above where the TV is situated on the wall. Then, install 2 pieces of artwork on either side of the TV so that they slide together to completely cover it.^{[1]XResearch source}
- For best results, go with a pair of paintings that look equally good when they’re separated as when they’re put together. For example, an image of a landscape can typically be represented just as well as 1 painting or as 2.
Tip: If you have a large enough piece of artwork, you could also opt to install just one. However, the overall decor tends to look better when you have two matching paintings next to the TV.
2
Install a pull-down map over the TV. This is an especially good method for anyone who’s not as experienced with DIY projects, since it’s a relatively simple installation process. All you have to do is attach the spring roller to the wall directly above the TV.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Maps are among the most popular forms of pull-down art. However, feel free to go with another item (e.g., a pull-down piece of art) if it aligns more with your interests!
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3
Place your TV in a large armoire or cabinet with doors. This is also a good way to create an interesting contrast in your home decor, if you have an antique or vintage armoire. Note that your piece of furniture will have to have a hole cut in the back of it to accommodate your TV’s cords.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Depending on the cabinet, you may also be able to swap out the doors if need be in order to fit your TV. For example, doors that open straight outward can sometimes be replaced with doors that open accordion-style.
4
Go with a media cabinet if you have other electronic items to hide. A media cabinet will be specially designed for fitting TVs, DVD players, and video game consoles, as well as their various electrical cords. Make sure the cabinet you go with has doors on the front so you can hide your TV whenever you’re not using it.^{[4]XResearch source}
- You can typically buy this kind of cabinet at most furniture stores.
- Note that the paneling in back of the cabinet will need to have a hole you can slide the electrical cords through.
5
Place sliding or folding barn doors over the TV. You can go with small cabinet doors to cover a TV nook or large sliding doors to cover the entire wall. This is an especially good option if you want to create a rustic farmhouse theme in your TV room.^{[5]XResearch source}
- For best results, make sure the barn doors match the paint of the surrounding wall. Otherwise, they may make your TV stand out even more.
6
Invest in a bed with a pop-up TV if you normally watch TV in bed. This type of bed will include storage space and a pop-up mechanism in the footboard so you can watch TV while lying down. A bed frame with a pop-up TV space tends to be pretty expensive, though, so you should probably only go with this method if you also need a new bed altogether.^{[6]XResearch source}
- You can generally expect to pay more than $1000 when buying this type of bed.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Blending Your TV with the Wall

1
Put up a dark or patterned wallpaper directly behind the TV. Your TV will stand out much less against a black or dark brown wallpaper in the background. Similarly, a patterned wallpaper will make the distinction between the wall and the TV a lot less jarring.^{[7]XResearch source}
- For best results, go with a completely black wallpaper or a patterned wallpaper with very dark colors.
2
Paint the wall behind the TV black to make it less noticeable. A black TV will seem to blend in with a black accent wall behind it, especially when it’s turned off. For best results, add some white framed artwork around the TV to further distract attention away from it and create a stronger color contrast.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Note that this method will only be effective if the trim of your TV is also black.
3
Hang framed pictures around your TV to make it blend in to the wall. create a gallery wall with multiple pieces of art that will make your entire wall, including your TV, look like part of a museum exhibit. For best results, go with pictures that are about the same size or larger than your TV.^{[9]XResearch source}
- If you only hang small pictures, your TV will probably still stand out on your wall.
- This won’t actually hide your TV, but it will make it seem like just another part of your wall decor.
4
Invest in a TV that turns into wall art when it’s not being used. There are some digital TVs that will display a static piece of art when you’re not actively watching them. This type of TV will work best if you mount it on your wall alongside actual pieces of art.^{[10]XResearch source}
- This type of TV can be a bit pricey, so you should only go with this method if you want to invest a lot in the art decor of your home.
- A good example of this type of TV is Samsung’s “The Frame,” which costs somewhere between $1400 and $2500.
Tip: If the price for this kind of TV is a bit high, you can also opt for a TV with intricately designed trimming that makes it look like a piece of art in and of itself.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Distracting Attention from Your TV

1
Keep the TV on top of a dark-colored piece of furniture. This won’t necessarily hide your TV, but it will make it seem more like a part of your furniture. This is an especially good method if all the furniture in the room is the same color.^{[11]XResearch source}
- For example, instead of putting your TV on a bright yellow dresser (where it will stand out more), keep it on top of a black or dark brown shelf.
2
Place an oversized piece of art directly next to the TV. A large piece of art will naturally call attention to itself, which will pull eyes away from the TV. For best results, go with a particularly eye-catching piece of art that is larger than the TV.^{[12]XResearch source}
- For example, a piece of abstract art or pop art would probably do a very good job of catching the viewer’s eye.
- The downside, though, is the painting will also distract people when the TV is turned on!
3
Use shelves and picture frames to create lines around your TV. Having straight, vertical lines (e.g., tall picture frames) next to the TV will pull the eye upwards and away from it. At the same time, using shelves to create horizontal lines will make the lines on the TV seem less noticeable by comparison.^{[13]XResearch source}
- A good way to accomplish this is to place your TV on a large shelf in the middle of a free-standing bookshelf.
- You can also create these lines by placing your TV next to a bookshelf and surrounding it with long picture frames.
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