Image Credit: My Bespoke Room and Da Silva Design

Us Brits are a nation of TV lovers, with research by UKTV Play revealing the average viewer spends an average of three and a half hours per binge-watching session.

The television is already a can’t-live-without appliance in most living rooms. The problem is, they’re not particularly aesthetically pleasing.

While TVs are becoming smarter and sleeker than ever before, the actual screens are getting bigger and bigger. Although this means you get a cinema-style experience in the comfort of your own home, it also means the television can dominate your décor.

“TVs are a double-edged sword in the living room – indispensable for entertainment yet notorious for clashing with our carefully curated aesthetics,” explains Alexa Glover, head of marketing at My Bespoke Room.

“It’s a love-hate relationship that many of us grapple with: we crave the cinematic experience but dread the visual chaos it brings. Far too often, we surrender to the temptation of making the TV the room’s focal point, a decision that can disrupt the harmony of your decor. But don’t fall into this common trap.”

With some creativity and strategic planning, you can enjoy your favourite shows without letting the TV dictate the design of your living space. There are all sorts of clever (and stylish) ways to hide a TV, or at the very least minimise its impact. 

Read on for our expert-backed ideas for disguising a television, from hiding it in a gallery wall to custom cabinet doors, and modern mechanisms.

Integrate it into a gallery wall

A simple, renter-friendly hack is to hang up lots of artwork and photographs near the TV to distract the eye from the screen itself.

“This is one of our favourites as it’s also incredibly affordable and you can make it truly unique,” Alexa explains.

She suggests incorporating your TV into a gallery wall by surrounding it with framed art, photographs, and other decorative elements like plates.

“This draws attention away from the TV, making it appear as just another piece of art. For bonus points, consider getting a frame TV that sits flush against your wall like a frame and allows you to display artwork,” she adds.

Blend it with darker walls

Dark walls are having a moment right now – with navy, green and even brown all proving popular. Thankfully, as well as cranking up the cosy in your living space, a darker hue could also help disguise your screen and help it blend in seamlessly.

“Darker colours absorb light, making the TV less conspicuous,” Alexa explains.

“Consider using deep shades like charcoal, navy or forest green for the wall behind your TV.”

As well as painting the wall behind dark, using a dark-coloured wallpaper will have a similar camouflaging effect.

Try a bespoke storage solution

Custom cabinetry or bespoke storage units can house your TV along with other media devices.

“This way, when the TV is not in use, you can simply close the doors to conceal it. This approach not only hides the TV but also provides additional storage space for your living room,” Alexa explains.

And we all know the value of extra storage.

Interior designer Rebecca Barnes suggests creating a piece of joinery in which to place the TV, with pocket doors that cover the TV itself but that can be pushed back to the sides of the joinery when needed.  

Put it in the corner

A golden rule of hiding the television is not placing it in the middle of the wall or above the mantlepiece, therefore making it the focus of the room.

Instead Alexa suggests slotting your TV into a corner as a simple but effective method to stop it being front and centre.

“Position your TV in a corner or at an angle rather than making it the focal point in the centre of the main wall,” she explains.

“By doing this, the TV becomes a part of the room’s layout rather than the centre of attention.”

Alexa advises complimenting this setup with cosy seating arrangements that facilitate conversation and interaction – not just TV time!

Curate the space around it

Another simple method for disguising your TV is to carefully curate and display objects around it from vases to artwork and ceramic pottery.

A seamless arrangement of shelving and furniture will not only hide the screen but will give the wall a balanced and calming look.

“Although the TV isn’t totally disguised in this way, by filling the shelves around the TV, you direct the eye away from the TV being the main focal point,” Laura Parkinson, director of Palmer and Stone, explains.

Disguise it with hanging fabric

Laura recently worked in collaboration with Mel. Architect on her kitchen extension in Forest Gate, East London where she used a bespoke quilt she had made to cover the TV. 

“The TV was wall mounted so we sourced a brass pole which the wall hanging sits on above the TV when the TV isn’t in use,” she explains.

“The wall hanging can then be removed and transferred over to another location when the family is watching the TV. The quilt was made bespoke by artist Lizzie Scarlett using the birth flowers of the family as inspiration.”

If you want to do something similar, Laura suggests checking to make sure whatever covers your TV can be be easily removed.

“The most important consideration is how easy it is to move/remove the cover. It’s got to work seamlessly, otherwise it’ll drive you mad doing it every day,” she adds.

Use a mirror or large piece of art

Another clever way to hide a screen is by framing the TV as a painting, where it sits behind a piece of art.

“The art can then roll back behind the frame and expose the TV,” explains Rebecca.

“Alternatively, it is possible to install a mirror on a wall or chimney breast, and behind that is a screen that is only obvious when turned on.”

Partition it off

While TVs are a part of everyday life, Cathy Dean, CEO and founder of Studio Dean, says they don’t have to dominate a space.

In the project below – a full refurb of an apartment in Morpeth, Northumberland – the design team divided the lounge into a cinema-style snug and dining room, with all of the TV wires smartly tucked away behind the dividing screen.

“In this space, we needed the room to perform in multiple ways and space was at a premium so zoning the space with a partition you could get light through but that gave us more wall space to house the TV was key,” she explains.

“The void in the wall handily hides all of the TV wiring – bye bye spaghetti junction.”

Cathy says the television was further camouflaged by opting for a dark colour for it to sit against.

“This way it is easily visible when on and discreet when off,” she adds.

Use a modern, motorised system

To stop your large black screen drawing your eye when not in use, Richard Cotgrove, founder at Stucco Veneziano, suggests making it disappear altogether.

“Designers often strive to create environments that are cohesive and balanced, and an exposed TV can undermine these efforts by becoming an unintentional focal point,” he explains.

To stop that happening, Richard suggests disguising the TV using a motorised lift system.

“This allows it to be stored within furniture and raised or lowered as needed,” he explains.

“This method means your TV will disappear completely when not in use and is probably the best way to keep your aesthetic clean and uncluttered, but likely requires a bit of work and investment.”