20 Genius (and Stylish) Ways Designers Hide TVs

Everick Brown designed a statement wall encased in custom steel with walnut insets to create a "floating credenza" that hides the television. A console table behind the sofa helps separate the two living room zones.

Designed to look like abstract artwork, Kristine Fine hid the television behind modern paneling above the fireplace. It suits in with the neutral tones nicely and maintains the refined and grown-up atmosphere while also ensuring that it's family-friendly.

This living room sitting area revolves around the corner fireplace, so to ensure that the television didn't take up too much valuable visual space, designer Denise McGaha invested in a Samsung Frame disguised as a photograph that complements the blue and grey color scheme.

This outdoor living room designed by Amanda Lindroth is the perfect place to entertain and unwind. Look closely at the pagoda-shaped cabinet above the fireplace and you'll notice that it opens to reveal a TV. It was based on a design from St. Michael's Mount castle in England.

What do you do in a busy kitchen where the children love TV and the mom doesn't but she does want to keep an eye on said kids? Enter the Samsung Frame, once again doing God's work in family homes with competing interests and preferences.

A bi-fold panel painting by Stuart Coleman Budd conceals a television, but the goal was to be transparent. “Bronze hinges honestly express that it’s a movable screen—that this is true kinetic art,” says architect Ken Pursley of Pursley Dixon Architecture.

This formal living room designed by Mark Cunningham doubles as a more relaxed and casual hangout room. To ensure that it could do both well, Cunningham built a television into the back wall shelf that pops up when the occupants want to unwind with a good movie.

Don’t hide it, just make it one with your wall. This gallery wall of various sized framed prints blends in with the Samsung Frame TV that has a wood frame and a rotating display of art images. “None of my clients' guests realize its a TV when they first walk into the room,” says Natalie Myer of Veneer Designs.

Custom paneling over a fireplace elevates the television area in this bedroom lounge zone. Flush with the fireplace facade and further disguised by a custom mirror, the television definitely will not be ruining the chic decor scheme here.

Designer CeCe Barfield Thompson hid a TV behind a retractable antique mirror for max glam. “In an oak-paneled Manhattan library, I designed an antique mirror to hide the wall-mounted television,” Thompson says. “The mirror's lower panels retract like a garage door to reveal an entertainment system behind. This mechanism allowed us to create a room that was incredibly functional, without sacrificing an ounce of beauty!”

Here's another example of custom cabinetry that hides a large television. A sliding door flush with the wood accent wall makes this media room designed by Heidi Caillier extra discrete and pretty—that custom upholstery, drapery, and grasscloth are too good not to get lost in the entertainment system shuffle.

Designer Nina Farmer took the most elegant approach possible—hiding her TV in a custom mirrored cabinet atop the mantel. “The living room needed a concealed TV due to the formality of the architecture,” she says. “Hand blown mirror was used on the doors so that the enclosure fit with the original 1850’s marble mantel. It has concealed hinges and no pull, so when it’s closed, you would never know what’s behind it.”

If you can’t outright conceal your screen, the key is to avoid the “black hole effect” when it’s off. “I always try to blend them into the architecture of the house,” says designer, Eche Martinez. “We recently completed a project in Belvedere, CA where the home owners were hesitant about installing a TV in their living room. To solve this, we decided that the best way to divert attention from the TV when it was not in use was to have an oversized, freestanding piece of art right next to it. Clients loved it, and above all, the piece looks great in the room."

This LG OLED TV is a game-changer. When you’re done watching, switch it to Gallery Mode for gorgeous photos accompanied by mood-enhancing music. “The LG OLED TV is as advanced as they come. It’s extremely thin, and has the ability to look like a piece of art instead of a black hole,” says designer Sherry Hart.

A sliding panel is a sleek, clean-lined way to keep your TV out of eyesight. “We opted for a more mobile approach and arrived at the idea for a sliding panel,” says New York design firm Pappas Miron. “During daily life as the family is together, the Venetian plastered and steel trimmed panel can rest in front of the adjacent bookshelf. As the hour strikes to host a cocktail party, the clients can easily slide the panel to cover the TV and reveal the bookcase and bar area.”

If you love anything and everything farmhouse, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to try barn cabinet doors. “The house had this great nook with barn doors that we knew would be the perfect place to hide the TV. It’s so nice when you don’t have to look at it—and this was a super cool way to hide it that’s different than a classic TV stand.” says Amber Lewis, founder of Amber Interiors Design Studio.

Designer Brady Tolbert mounted his bedroom TV inside a cabinet, then reinstalled the doors to allow them to open accordion-style. “Your grandma's old hutch just might be the perfect house for your TV,” he says. “I used this vintage hutch and took out the shelves to make room for my TV to pull in and out on a mount. When I want to use it, I just open up the doors and pull it out, and when I am done, I can close it off so that it hides itself away.”

“We decided to treat the triple-height wall where the TV was located with a faux concrete finish.,” says designer Tina Ramchandani. “Because of it's height and treatment, the wall became a feature and takes your eye away from the large, embedded TV.”

No wall space? No problem. Designer Chad Graci of Graci Interiors constructed a custom, free-standing cabinet with a pop-up mechanism at the foot of the bed. When in use, “the TV swivels 180 degrees,” Graci says. “The clients can either sit in bed and watch TV, or lounge in the seating group on the opposite side of the room. All of this can be achieved by remote control.”

We never would have considered a tripod, but this creative hack brings so much character to a room. “We wanted to have a TV in this luxury bedroom suite without hanging it on the wall. Working with Leon custom speakers, they restored and modified this antique surveyor’s Tripod, then built a custom swivel box in bronze and upholstered it in white ostrich leather,” says designer J. Randall Tarasuk of Pavarini Design.