The Art of Hiding Your TV

One of the questions that our interior designers are often asked is “what is the best way to hide my TV?”. Whilst a TV is great for watching on a cosy night in, we sometimes want to unwind and tune out technology from our space for a little while. Hiding the dark screen from view can help to give your room a breather from technology.

There are many options, from painting the wall a dark colour to camouflage the screen or adapting a cabinet. However, these tricks will affect the appearance of the whole room. So what are your options if you don’t want a dark wall or the TV is hung above a fireplace? There are some smaller steps you can take that won’t change the dynamic of the entire space. This is the subtle art of hiding your TV:

On Screen Artwork

One option is to transform your TV into an artwork itself. The Samsung Frame TV allows you to display a collection of favourite family photos or choose from a massive selection of art and photography when you subscribe to their art store. You can use this to rediscover forgotten photographs, and digitally display fond memories in the hub of your house. This method is also adaptable, and you can change the images as often or as little as you like, with ease.

Wallpaper Masterpiece

If you have an existing TV it is still possible to conceal it above a fireplace. This beautiful contemporary “artwork” hanging above the fireplace hides the TV in a recess in the chimney place. The recess in the wall has been covered with two bespoke fitted doors, craftily concealing the TV. Taking the concealment one step further and transforming the doors into a focal point of the room, the doors themselves have also been masked. The “artwork” seen in the above photograph is in fact high quality wallpaper, carefully chosen to reflect her contemporary scheme and papered onto the bespoke doors.

Do be aware that making the doors is highly skilled work requiring an excellent carpenter/joiner. The wallpaper also has to be of a quality that won’t rip or tear. A millimetre here or there in the door measurement or application of the paper can make all the difference to the end effect. As you can, it is possible to achieve a simply stunning result.

DIY Canvas

Stripping down to an even simpler solution, hang a painted canvas over the TV. Measure up the size of the space, select a canvas to fit and tap a couple of nails into the wall above the TV. The nails can then be painted the same colour as the wall so that they don’t show. This canvas can be hung whenever the TV is not in use.

For the design, choose a print you love or buy a blank canvas and paint it yourself. In the home pictured above, we used the left over colour testers we had purchased whilst choosing the colour scheme to create a simple and original piece.

The artwork is quite light and easy to move and leans against the wall behind the sofa when not in use. Alternatively, if you put shelves at the height you want the painting hung, you can just add a track to pull the artwork across.

Use these tips to take a screen time break and conceal your TV when not in use. If you would like some advise on which method is best for your space, please do enlist the help of one of our buddies.

Projector Screen

Attaching a projector to the ceiling of your property will avoid the need to hide the screen entirely. It takes a little planning but can be a very successful solution where you have a suitable, smooth wall and ceiling height available. In this case, the screen is used in addition to a TV as part of a home bar and media room. If you are using the screen as the TV you would want a neutral background colour.

You will want to choose a bright projector (2,500–3,500 lumens) with Full HD or 4K resolution and install blackout blinds to control light for daytime viewing. Use a secure ceiling mount and check for lens shift or keystone correction to align the image properly and you may want additional external speakers, as projector sound is not usually high quality. A streaming stick (like Fire Stick or Apple TV) will give you the easiest access to all the applications.

Dark Background Colour

Hiding your TV can be as simple as choosing a dark background colour for the wall behind it. Deep shades like charcoal, navy, or forest green help the screen blend into the space, reducing its visual impact when not in use. This subtle trick creates a more cohesive and stylish look. LED lighting in surrounding shelves and even an integrated contemporary fire can distract the eye from the screen even further.