Maybe you’re still struggling with decorating around the black hole that is your TV, or maybe you’re like the rest of us who have embraced the fact that we are TV watchers. With studies showing 70% of people would rather stay home to watch a movie than venture out, it’s no wonder that the size of home TVs is growing, as is their prominence in our home decor. Think about the evolution of the TV and how discrete they can be now (we're looking at you, Samsung Frame TV). The good news is there is a way to blend your TV into your design plans, we're here to show you how.
With a few creative design ideas, you can create a TV wall to proudly show off as a work of art too!
The rickety TV stands of fifties home design have been replaced with consoles that look more like high-style furniture than electronic cabinets. The console of today is a sleek credenza that blends seamlessly with your decor.
The TV credenza ranges from ultra-modern, curved pieces to dark-stained antiques. They sit lower to the floor and beautifully hide gaming systems and routers' clutter. They also let you use a TV stand if you’d prefer not to hang it on your living room wall.
Raising the console off the floor with a floating credenza creates a feeling of more floor space while further cleaning up the media wall (aka a place that used to be a jumble of wires and tacky devices). Keeping a minimalist backdrop is key to this modern look.
Having your console run the length of your TV wall changes the scale of the room. Rather than feeling crowded, it gives a sense of space, as if the wall is wider, and becomes a picture ledge on which to set your TV and other art. Offset your TV on one side with a vase of flowers and layered prints to add depth and natural curves.
The accent wall is a tried and true way to highlight the focal point of your living room. Today’s TV walls go beyond painting the wall to mix eye-catching textures and materials as the art medium.
Perhaps the most exciting trend in TV walls is the shift from centering the TV in the middle of the room to placing them off-center, leaving a lot of space for visual “matting.” Hang yours lower than in previous years.
A lower-set TV is often more ergonomic than a tall entertainment center and over-the-mantle placement. It doesn’t have to be the center of attention with this placement if you add in pendant lamps or tall potted plants to create depth and balance out the room.
If you don’t have a big budget to work with, painting your TV wall an interesting coordinating color is a simple, affordable way to stage a dramatic TV wall. Painted shapes can work with the rectangular shape of your TV for a geometric Mondrian effect on the wall, or you can add wall molding painted the same color as your wall in a grid pattern that plays up your TV’s lines.
If the black TV is hard for you to get around, paint the wall black so that it blends with the wall panels behind it. A dark blue or charcoal paint can also allow the TV to recede into the background, as can dark wood stain on tongue and groove wood panels.
A fireplace makes a bold backdrop for your TV when painted black. Add subtle LED backlighting to the TV for a cinema-style ambient light.
Black and white is a classic graphic color combo that works wonderfully with a TV hanging on white walls. Keep your room mostly minimalist white and add black accents in the form of metal table legs, art, or window casings. White upholstery and walls make your TV pop in a vibrant yet intentional way.
What if instead of using paint color to frame your TV, you use layers of natural materials? Cover your walls in vertical wood slats for a mid-century vibe. Layer marble slabs, or marble-look panels, in a section over that.
If a modern TV wall is a tad too trendy for you, substitute shiplap, large-scale tile, or tongue and groove panels as your backdrop. A minimalist backdrop like this can be an affordable DIY project and keep the TV from overpowering the room.
A marble fireplace surround makes a stunning “frame” for your TV with little other ornament required. Consider using off-center negative space to make the TV seem integral to your decor, not just another big object on a shelf.
The entertainment walls of today are not the entertainment center eyesores of the nineties. You can have a built-in TV unit that enhances the clean, natural lines of your living room design. If creating a simple minimalist backdrop for your TV sounds difficult, a built-in TV cabinet that spans the wall might provide the storage space you need to make your living room work.
Floor-to-ceiling wall units installed in a renovation or made from a shelving hack can be covered with custom doors painted the color of your wall to hide your tv and other evidence of busy family life. Hang your cabinets around the TV so that it’s actually tucked back against the wall. Or, let one or more cabinet doors be a contrasting color that distracts from the size of your TV and compliments its color.
You can create a gallery wall with any wall mount TV, but the picture frame model sits flush with your wall like a real art print, and its minimalist frame gives your wall a curated finish.
You can also hang your TV in a grid or asymmetric gallery design with different combinations of your favorite art. Consider hanging floating shelves in your arrangement to surround your TV with collectibles and things you love. Mock it up with an online visualizer tool before making real moves in person.
If you love these ideas but are still concerned about the TV being visible all the time, change your room layout to direct attention where you want it.
If you don’t want a TV to be the focal point, design your floor plan around conversational seating — now would not be the time to center the TV over the mantle. Instead, have sofas and chairs face the fireplace or one another rather than the TV.
If your living room is large enough to stage two seating areas, make one for movie night and the other for entertaining and intimate seating arrangements. Even if your couch faces the TV, turning one chair at an angle to face the sofa and not the media wall can shift the room’s purpose back to face-to-face conversation.
Placing large art prints or a mirror on an adjacent wall can also take some of the focus away from the TV. If you want a large media built-in, give your shelving a large sliding door. A sliding door here will hide the TV on one side of your room but easily moves over to cover the rest of your unit when you are ready to watch.
If you want your TV to be the focal point of your living room, there’s no shame here! Spoak will help you arrange your furniture and test materials for a feature wall that celebrates the TV’s linear geometry and is as beautiful as any other decor in your home — maybe better.
Photo Credit: (Left) Cupcakes and Cashmere
Sources:
Shopping for Media Consoles | The New York Times
70% of people would rather watch movies at home | MarketWatch
Beauty of negative space at home | The Sunday News
Composition with Grid #1 - Piet Mondrian | Google Arts & Culture
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