Disguising a TV

While The Man was constantly bemoaning our chunky old tube television, I was quite unfussed by it. However I admit that when we did upgrade, I was excited at the prospect of not having to decorate around a black box.

That is, until the new TV arrived and I realised that instead of a chunky and daggy but small black box, I now had to decorate around a flat but ernormous hole in the wall.

With that in mind, I thought I’d round up some ideas on how to disguise your TV… in plain sight.

Rearrange your room
Arrange your furniture and create another feature (like this gallery wall) so that the TV is not the focal point of the room.

Apartment Therapy 

Put it off-centre
Similarly, place the TV off-centre in a symmetrical arrangement and your eye will be drawn to the more aesthetically pleasing central feature, such as a fireplace or grand mirror.

Houzz

Bookshelf
Recessing the TV in a bookcase will create other interest for your eye.

Both via Life. Kids. Pretty Things.

Paint the wall black
For a TV that fades into the background, paint the wall behind it black.

Houzz

…or both
You might even like to combine the previous two ideas.

Lonny

Wallpaper behind it
Wallpaper will draw your eye to the walls instead of the hole in it. Patterns with black will help it blend in even more.

Apartment Therapy

Folio via Desire to Inspire

Make it into an artwork itself
Let’s admit it: we all watch TV. So instead of trying to disguise it, you could make it into a feature that’s still sympathetic to the decor.

House Beautiful

Real Living

From looking at these examples, I can see a few common themes we can learn from.

• Blend into a dark background
• Surround with objects of a similar colour
• Arrange the room so that the TV is not the focal point
• Distract by placing another feature (eg. artwork or mirror) in a prominent position

I haven’t decided I want to do yet but it’s certainly given me plenty of ideas.

I’d love to know: how have you solved the black box dilemma in your home?