Reader requests – what to do with a television

Posted on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 by KiM

I have gotten a few reader requests lately having to do with televisions and how to decorate around them and make them less of an eye-sore. There are all sorts of ideas below – hide it within built-in shelving, wallpaper the wall behind it (or paint it black), place it on top of a hot pink credenza as a distraction, hang art around it (like I did)…..and at the end of the post is an example of what NOT TO DO.


Lonny

Living Etc.

Style At Home

Homes & Gardens

Hus & Hem

William Abranowicz

Home & Decor

Folio

Amanda Nisbet

Apartment Therapy Mixr
Hus & Hem deko


amoroso | design

Bolig Magasinet

my living room

Apartment Therapy

SemelSnow

workshop/apd

And PULEASE for the love of gawd DO NOT DO THIS:

Lonny

early anonymous says:

No tv bashing….just saying why have 2 (or more) when 1 screen can do the job of both computer and movie screen. Put wheels on a desk….all the wires get hidden behind and it can be rolled from office to living room to bedroom. That's how we solved our small space solutions. Cheers from this happy condo dweller.

Julia says:

I believe I've stumbled on the perfect solution. My boyfriend and I are huge movie buffs and videogame enthusiasts and we decided to go with projector and screen over a regular television. The screen is mounted to a bookshelf and when it's retracted you can barely tell it's there. It's nice because we don't watch broadcast television and really only need the 'tv' for a couple hours a night for a movie or game so most of the time the room is completely normal and sans tv, and then for the movies we have a nice big 60" screen.

movelab says:

We have a TV room, I must say it is dedicated to the TV, but that is surrounded with beautiful muted and larger modern furniture and great art. We also offset the idiot box with stacks of gorgeous books that you can't help but pick up. Our second floor library has a tv set into the white glossy shelves. Again, the books surrounding the TV help to take the focus off of this thing. There is such a thing as balance. I live with a sports fiend, so the TV is a given. I also put my foot down on any lazy boys and leather sofas. Thank god.

JDurney says:

I want to know what to do with large speakers – my husband has just bought a home theatre that he has placed in the lounge room!

Julia says:

JDurney: I'd suggest putting them in a cabinet of some sort and replacing the panels in the doors with acoustically transparent fabric (which comes in tons of colors) That way you can make it match your decor or even look built in, instead of ugly black speakers.

vanessa v. says:

i came upon this post when looking for family room inspiration for a client. the last lonny image is fine. i'm an interior design here in the Toronto area and that is a perfectly acceptable way of installing a television on the space above a fireplace, if no other options are available… especially in the case of small space (condo) living. it is best of course to reserve a tv-free living space for gathering and conversation and "living", and delineate another room for tv viewing. i question the aesthetic sightline of one of the images with the tv being first thing you see upon entering a home in the front entrance main wall on an undersized credenza. have you thought of putting your tv elsewhere, kim, perhaps in a tv room and defining your front area as a more formalized living space? your tv floats amongst art in an odd placement in your front entrance with no formally defined entryway (even if I presume you commonly use the backdoor? i see no goulashes – and gosh knows we need those in ontario in winter!)… I can offer a room plan if that will help?
vanessa

We are huge TV watchers. Our TV is over our fireplace but it bugs me. I think it's because my hubby hung it RIGHT over the mantel so as not to crane our necks as much. I would prefer it off to the side, but then it would not be seen from all of the seating in the living room. So it is what it is, I guess. I do like the idea of placing smaller frames around it to camouflage it a bit.

Kate says:

Hi all,

Have any of you considered a TV Lift Cabinet? The cabinets are gorgeous and can house not only your TV but your playstation 3, wii, and cable box. The best thing is that all your electronics can be concealed at all times. I recently got one and absolutely love it! Mine is a foot of the bed cabinet but there are bigger ones that can go against a wall.

james says:

Hey just FYI folks… the wickedly awesome light in the BLOG MAGISINET image is a NORM 69 designed by Simon Karkov in 1969 for Normann Copenhagen in Denmark. It's 129$ and you assemble it yourself. Super cool product. Here's a shop in Ottawa Canada that sells it.

Arrielle P says:

I absolutely loving the place. The view on the last photo is so refreshing, nice place to stay and relax in there. 🙂

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