Our site uses cookies to give you the best experience. or continue shopping if you're happy.
Accept & close
Top Tip: How To Stylishly Integrate a TV
What to do with the dreaded 'black box'!
You don’t own a TV? What’s all your furniture pointed at? Joey Tribbiani, Friends
I don’t know about you, but I find my TV a design quandary. I waver constantly between feeling that it should be unapologetically out there, an undeniable part of modern life, and wanting to incorporate it in a more elegant way. This amazing living room manages both!
It doesn’t help that most interiors’ magazines seem to never show the television in their photographs, so you get the impression that TV’s are terribly unstylish and something to be embarrassed about. But everyone has one! We need to embrace the design challenge instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.
I can’t say that I’m particularly comfortable with those cabinets that completely hide the TV behind a door, though I see why people like them. I think it’s because I watch a lot of telly, which means I would have to have a cabinet door open pretty much all the time. That would annoy me way more than the presence of the TV.
I’m also personally dead against the practice of mounting the TV above the fireplace – not only is it a waste of a focal point, but it can also be bad for you, producing neck and eye strain due to the viewing angle. It’s like sitting in the front row at the pictures.
Until last year I still had a cathode ray tube television, so I was limited on the options anyway. Having upgraded to a flat screen, it turns out there are several creative ways to help your TV blend in, without forking out for custom cabinetry.
There are dozens of TV stands and consoles available to buy, in all manner of designs from traditional to ultra modern. But what about using a chest of drawers or making a unique one of your own by upcycling?
Here are a few ideas for furniture you can put your telly on – the first one is a spectacular upcycle by our very own Editor Kimberly!
I love a bookcase, especially if it’s floor to ceiling. Slotting the telly into one of the shelf spaces looks neat and stylish.
It’s almost magical how surrounding a flat screen TV with pictures makes it diminish into the overall scheme. Especially if the TV is black and you use some black frames in the gallery.
So what do you think? Do you find the telly a tricky but essential piece of furniture? Have you had a brilliant idea for incorporating it into your interior design?
Image sources: Lonny / Swoon Worthy / Room of Creativity / Burlap & Lace
