How To Style An Ugly TV

TV's can be the bane of any Interior Designer or Realtor's existence. They can look ugly, clunky and out of place. In this video I will go over some tips on How To Style An Ugly TV.

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⏱ Timestamps:
00:00 - How To Style An Ugly TV
01:13 - Today's Sponsor - Skill Share
02:00 - Put It On A Dark Wall
03:12 - The Frame
04:16 - Hide It Inside A Cabinet
05:54 - Hide The Wires

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[KDbelieves]

For cord covers, a tip is to route it to the side instead of making it come down the middle. Then you can put a decor item in front of it like a plant or something.

[amberbanuelos]

I’m so glad you’re doing this, I don’t think I’ve ever seen good tips on styling a TV other than, “Put it in a cabinet and close the doors.” But what if we want it to look good while we’re watching it? I mean, the point of a TV is to watch it, and I want it to look halfway nice all the time.

[BP-ycnk]

Love this! My boyfriend has a 70” tv that is his pride and joy. He was not budging on getting rid of it. So I decided to tile the wall with black slate and it looks so nice! He loves it as well.

[shwajo]

The TV is this great example of designers in denial, showing us beautiful rooms we can never have because they essentially require a total lifestyle overhaul. The TV-less living room has long been one. The "office" with the uncomfortable stool and ineffective "desk" that never seems to house more than a laptop and some paper (for writing on?!) is another I could do with seeing a lot less of. So thanks for taking TVs seriously! Though, as a console gamer since childhood, I still feel like I'll never truly be able to take advantage of these techniques to minimize the ugliness of the media center.

Running cables elegantly to an outlet isn't quite the same when you've got a surge protector with 10 things plugged into it. =)

Sadly gaming culture doesn't really put any effort or concern into design anyway. This is the community that thinks dozens of pulsing LED lights and harsh angular boxes look good. Maybe I should just embrace the ugly. =(

[grat]

Nick. THIS is what sets you apart. I am so happy to see this addressed finally. Thank you!

[BreakingStubad]

Just painted my whole “projector space” dark green, almost black, and it honestly looks amazing

[mzfreddie]

Before we moved into our home the previous owners were doing some renovation on the wall we planned to mount our TV. We kindly asked them if they could put an outlet up where we'd mount the TV. They were kind of to do that and add a pass through to the bottom of the wall as well as another outlet down there. It's worked out great. Definitely think add in the pass through is worth it, especially if you're going to be doing work/paint on that wall anyway.

[koalaeucalyptus]

I don't know why people are convinced TVs are "ugly" -- there are many sleek looking TVs nowadays, and I really don't mind it being a focal point. Of course, you'll need to embrace your living room as a TV room as well, but in real every day life, it's easily done. Dealing with the wires, cables and cords is really what makes a difference.

[mate]

I also have the Samsung Frame and I'm never looking back. You can also buy a Chromecast to your existing TV so it always shows a curated fancy picture, but the advantages of the Frame is really the form, it really looks like a picture frame.

[sp]

My husband and I got a new TV a couple of years ago. I really wanted The Frame for the very reasons you mentioned but it was an additional $1, 000.😵 We ended up going for the "big black box", but we ran all the cables through the wall which was actually really easy and inexpensive. It makes a world of a difference to hid all those unsightly cables. Looks so much nicer.🙂

[alexa]

Great advice, as always! I wholeheartedly agree on the cord covers. My bedroom tv had several cords hanging down, and it gave me anxiety every time I looked at it. I finally grabbed some covers, and bam! 15 minutes later, including the time to paint the strip, no more visible cords! One small change made a huge difference.

[carolrowland]

Yes, I’m an interior designer that despises TVs getting such prominence in a room. Placing above a mantle sends me into orbit. I created a shallow box to surround the TV with 4 bifold flat doors and used a moderately priced oil painting, divided it into 4 sections and had it applied to the doors. Results were a beautiful painting showcased when the TV wasn’t in use. 👏👏👏

[diintheuk]

I love that you cover this practical topic, Nick!! We have 75" TV and our living room is 4.5 X 4.5! (UK homes are smaller lol) I might try painting a wall next time we move... although between homes being smaller in the UK and me being Korean and love buying bigger gadgets, I can't seem to find an ideal arrangement as yet. Lol

[WulfLovelace]

I am going with a dark wall behind the TV and red accent wall, on the opposite side with old movie posters, and other types of posters in the same category, to give this throwback, retro theater feel to the space. I am super excited. I've always loved retro designs and retro style. So I am trying to combine retro design in a contemporary way.

[NatTayHill]

0:52 LOL!!! I love you so much! I literally laughed out loud... "go listen to your NPR and read your books" Baaahaahaa

[nicolek.]

A dark wall…. What an affordable, simple yet effective idea!!!
My boyfriend put a MASSIVE tv in our tiny living room and it really dominates the space.

[thursaheiner]

Thank you for these suggestions! We really don’t like the look of the TV and have tried different things, but ended up covering it with an antique Bolivian weaving and it actually doesn’t look too bad!

[sp-blsl]

I don;t have a TV but I have a friend who put the TV (that big black blank space) in front of that other big black blank space (the fireplace opening). It's on a very low, plain wheeled tray they had and can easily be moved when they have a fire or entertain. It looks great. And yes, hide the wires!! What is up with those people who don't see all those wires?

[invioletsky]

Nick, you are a mind-reader. I am in the middle of renovation and my home is now in light natural colors, transitional style. My boyfriend wants a big, black TV in the middle of the living room. I agreed but it is in total contrast with all the colors and the style of everything else in the room. Thank you for the tips and the affirmation that TVs are problematic.

[praveenmishall]

Few more suggestions to TV problem- If you have the google chromecast or fire TV, they do provide some really cool pictures to be displayed on your TV when not in use from their picture gallery that you can customize. It may not be as elegant as frame tvs but it’s better than black box on the wall and much cheaper way to incorporate. I know Nick hates DIY but you can also build a frame custom for your TV to make it look like a frame TV. You can also put led strips behind your TV that matches what’s displayed on your tv and extends the color. For a designer that may not be very appealing but it looks better than plane black screen when you have picture displayed on screen with extended light sometimes that working as mood lighting. Lastly this mostly you need to do it while building the home but if you run the HDMI ARC cable and IR repeater cables from your living room tv to say coat closet, you can put your whole media console hidden in the coat closet with all wiring running inside the closet removing the need to hide the modern day wiring problem rather moving it to different place. Additionally while running cables for your speakers across your living room try to run it as close to your baseboard as possible as hopefully some furniture pieces will try to hide it, you won’t need to paint the cable covers as white is mostly standard and cable management is easier that way. Hopefully this helps!