I have a flat screen sitting on a vintage sideboard from France. I don't even notice the TV b/c I think the sideboard's hardware and overall look are the main focus. I only have a picture of the sideboard, but you can imagine how an antique can be incorporated with a modern element. Hope this helps and good luck!

I don't - lol! my son once asked when I was getting rid of 'all that old stuff' too. 26 yrs later, I still have it.

anyway, saw on tv last night that Trace Adkins had a frame made to put around his - looked great. it was a flat screen of course.

there was a thread on this too - maybe on small homes forum? or was it here?

maybe just a shadow box type frame around it?

Bepeace, that's a gorgeous sideboard. Yes, I can see that would command the attention.

Desertsteph, ah, you understand! I love my antiques. And yes there are more comfortable pieces, but I think I'll toss in a leather wingback recliner with pretty legs for TV watching. Won't disrupt the antique look much. The frame around the flat screen is is a great idea! If anyone knows where that thread is I hope they'll post a url. I'd like to see the pictures. Much better than just plain, I'm sure.

I would hang an antique shelf over it and add a drop down panel. Either art or find some doors. There are some unique hardware options available, far more than in the past. The panel could be raised and stay up on it's own.

You could also repurpose an antique double cupboard with doors that slide inside. These would stick out some though with the width. They are an option with TV consoles where the TV hides inside. Eliminate wires too.

All this and I just gave up on ours, it is in the living room and sits on a sofa table with all the components underneath. But in a bedroom I would want something else too.

Darn, I'm late on the suggestion. Here is an exact pic of what I thought about. One could easily build one and use the right hardware for far less than their prices. And it actually works like my laundry folding table which hangs on the door.

Here is a link that might be useful: TV Coverup

I did the same thing with a buffet. I just really wanted my tv/tv stand to be cohesive with the rest of the space and I find my iron work on top sorta pulls the three pieces together. So now I see it as a unit piece rather then a big ol' tv in my face.

Mine is much smaller, but depending on how big the wall is that the TV is on, you could do something similar to "decorate around" the TV so it's less of a focal point. Maybe you could find a long, low antique piece (sideboard, bookcase) to put it on?

Framed Flat Screen TVs
Horchow Wall Cabinet

We have ours in a custom built armoire/entertainment center but I would consider a recessed wall cabinet. A good handyman could easily make it.

Having someone build you something like the horchow cabinet would be quite cheap, it's pretty simple, and then you could paint it to go in the room.

Personally I am not a fan of visible tvs unless the room is fairly contemporary or modern but that's me.

IMO TV's are a fact of life and don't need to be hidden. I'm planning on getting a larger TV soon altho it will still have to fit on a relatively small 100+ year old credenza I've had for over 40 years.

Ideally I guess we could hide every object that didn't fit a narrow view of whatever style we have but I think realism has it's own style and it can be more interesting and easier to live with than strict adherence to that narrow view.

Luckygal, we all have different tastes and there's no need for ugliness to an opinion that differs from yours.
Everyone's opinion should be treated with courtesy and respect. It doesn't mean we have to agree with them but contempt is unwarranted.

Oceana asked how others decorate around their tv hoping, I presume, for a wide variety of options and inspiration.

haley's comet, handeled it well, she put it on an
antique credenza.
Do you have a piece of furniture (antique)that you could use for the tv?
I like what sue20 did as well, it blends
well, and looks pretty too.

I put mine in an entertainment center. It does not seem to stand out as much to me. In fact the TV looks smaller to me. It's a 55" tv.

I got this entertainment center on CraigsList for $400. It's real wood. I can't believe I was so lucky to find it.

Bepeace and Haley Comet. . .I love, love, love your cabinets/credenzas! How do you access the components (cable box/dvr, blue ray?) Most of the newer cabinets have a couple of glass doors that you can aim the remote through. Thanks!!

It's inside!

maybe hang a curtain in front of it, and pull a cord to reveal the screen.

Well imagine my surprise at returning to this thread to find this:

While you are entirely entitled to your own opinion I cannot imagine how you have misconstrued my post to find it ugly and contemptuous. I wonder why you do not grant me the same consideration to my opinion as you state we are all entitled to. Is it perhaps because I don't find it necessary to hide my TV and you do? Strange.

Goldie50, that was a great find and a very good solution IMO to the TV situation. I'd do the same except don't have enough wall space (lots of windows) in my LR.

I saw an entertainment center at our local Amish store where the TV would lower down into the cabinet. When closed it looked just like a buffet. Thought about having one made like that, but I'm now resolved to the fact that the TV is just part of the room, and I'm learning to live with it.

Goldie50, I love your entertainment center. Because it's a dark wood, the TV just blends right in and doesn't seem to stand out so much. What a bargain!

Goldie, that was a great buy! We paid about $2000 for something similar brand new about 4 years ago.

I think the key is de-emphasizing the TV so it isn't allowed to be the visual focal point of the room.

If the room is mostly a TV-screening room then it makes sense to have the TV the biggest element.

However in most living rooms there is at least the tacit expectation that it's a room for socializing. If that's the case, the TV should not be allowed to hog the focus. Set the room up for its intended purpose and find a space (and TV) that fits a secondary, TV-viewing, focal point. The rooms with the TV-placment design problems are where this hasn't been worked out, IMO.

Also think about whether you're a TV is always-on person. That makes it easier to figure where to put it and how to integrate/disguise it.

L

In the living room it's behind pocket doors in the armoire. In the keeping room it sits out in the open.

Wow!! Some wonderful ideas here -- such creative folks here!! :)

Perhaps consider adding some black around the whole room to balance out the visual weight of the TV?

I think decorating around the TV like Haley has done or having a gorgeous hutch makes the TV presentable. I don't think it is necessary to "hide" a TV. Today they are black and sleek and not big and clunky with buttons showing, etc. as they were way back when. I think they should be thought of as adding decor to a room and balanced out as teacats mentioned. I would only consider hiding a TV if it was in a formal living rooom where the enphasis was on the formal decor, etc. and was only viewed for special occasions and not on a daily basis.

Goldie50, I love how your TV fits perfectly into the beautiful piece you found.

I'm still dealing with a 40-something" old, big fat ugly TV. I'll have to wait until people are throwing away their flat screens at the reuse center!

In the meanwhile, Den = TV watching. I happen to think nice stereo equipment is mechanical art, as can some TVs. Mostly? I've always found them to be ugly until they invented these sleek ones. Have you seen the Samsung frameless TV? Wayyyy cool,

I think a frame around yours that might blend itself into the beautiful antiques you have.
But that's a pretty honking big TV, woman! :)

Wow everyone has done such a great job! TV's are hard to blend in some cases but I LOVE my tv!

I have mine on a sideboard. I know I could do better but this is where it lives for now. I want to hide my components and maybe mount it to the wall. Either way this works for me! :)

{{!gwi}}

I don't think Lucky was being ugly, she was just saying that she doesn't see the necessity of hiding TVs.

I can go either way on this one. The TV in my current LR is out in the open on a stand, but its also on the same wall you enter the room in a recess so it is very discretely placed within the room. Its also black against a black wall.

In a room where TV watching is going to happen, I think having it out but ignoring it or treating it like another piece of furniture may allow you to think about it less than some elaborate method of hiding it such as the TV elevators, one way mirrors, sliding panels and the like.

I think if you can hide all the cords that is most of the battle, then the TV is just a black rectangle. My cords go into the wall through a large grommet and all the mess and tangle is inside an adjacent cabinet.

I think much more about being able to hide it when it is in a potential focal point area or you enter on the side /back of it. To me, putting it in a cabinet that is always open and has a tangle of wires all over it or is otherwise not just as attractive open as closed, kinda defeats the original intent.

Good question. We are in the dark ages, we don't have a flat screen yet, but our regular TV is in the living room. No pics, but it's smaller than most flat screens and it's on a built-in bookshelf to the right of the fireplace.

Smaller size and having something else that draws the eye on the same wall reduces it's importance.

We have a big hunk of a tv in the den. Since it was going on a wall that is 10 foot wide, we made a cabinet for it.
I wanted a chair on each side and also wanted it not to high so that I could put my photos on top...
At the time, several years ago there weren't many big
tv units, but, big units to house 36" tv's and not 50 - 60
inch tv's.

Here is ours, 52" tv

the kitchen tv, I did not want to see when not in use...
It's a 23" tv behind the three door cabinet on the left.
the cabinet is 9" deep x about 28" wide. Last year we added
the cookbook shelf under it and the spice cabinet to the left.

our bedroom tv is 32" and we made an adorable shelf for it
to sit on, at least I think it's adorable. :)

ok, here is my adorable shelf, we made it to match our end tables.

I think it's about 6" deep, it's all a matter of taste, I personally don't like them just floating on the wall.

Wow, thanks for all the terrific ideas and great photos! I visited all the links you posted, too.

Just to clarify, this particular TV that is there right now is much more intrusive than any TV you've pictured. Sorry I didn't include this picture earlier. And yes, it is now sitting at this awkward angle stuffed into an area where there isn't room for it. It does look this bad:

I think this TV has to go bye bye. Agree? It's HUGE, very modern, and I can't see any way to gracefully blend it into the decor (as so many of you have done with yours), or ignore it. It almost killed my herky son and his herky friend trying to get this monster up the stairs. Some TVs can be ignored, I agree, but not this behemoth. It was purchased for my (now gone) theater, where it was intended to be the focal point. It did that job well.

I love your ideas and will book mark this thread for when I get a different TV that can be more easily hidden.

Thanks, everyone!

Joann, you and I posted at the same time. I love the cabinet you made for yours. You and your DH do such great work!

I did read Lucky's post as being called (if not necessarily me, then those who disagree with her) narrow-in our-view and that is why I thought what she said inappropriate for this forum.
Equating decorating preferences that should be reserved for character traits.

Disliking something that others like doesn't give me a narrow decorating view.
I still don't like any of the tvs shown on this thread that incorporate a traditional decor and a visible tv.
But it's not my home and I think if the posters are pleased with what they have done then WELL DONE! BRAVO!

Who cares what anybody else ultimately thinks about how any of us decorate? We all decorate for ourselves as we are the ones who live in the home.

oceanna -- we had a tv very similar to that... almost exactly that model... they are so bulky and overwhelming to any space. Please, get rid of it! It will lift a huge burden off the shoulders of your room! :)

We replaced ours with a very flat Samsung model and it is mounted on a wall above our fireplace. I made sure to pick a TV that was thin and looked nice. I had plans to frame it in like a picture frame.... but didn't go forth with those plans. First, because all the models I was looking at said they needed ventilation around them to have a long life... and second, I ended up thinking along the lines of Lucky..... It is a room where we watch TV, so..... it is ok to have a TV there. :) I thought I would hate it out in the open, but after living with it and it being so thin compared to the other, it never bothered me.

Our bedroom TV does bother me, though. It is thin, but not as thin (less money.) It also isn't wall mounted. It just looks large and obvious upon entering the room. I will probably buy/make furniture to house it like goldie50 did...

One last comment before I stop rambling,.... I saw a Divine Design on HGTV where they painted the wall where the TV was mounted on black (Actually, I think it was black fabric, but still the same effect.) That made the TV pretty much disappear when not turned on. Cheap and easy, if it fits your space/decor...

Here is a link that might be useful: our tv above fireplace

Lolauren, thanks I'm glad someone agrees. At least now you can all see what I'm talking about. It really is huge, and my LR is small with a huge window, a huge fireplace, a half wall, and a wall extending into the dining room (so it's almost wall-less).

Anyone have any idea what I should ask for it in CL? I paid $2K and the sad thing is I only watched it about 20 times, but it's about 5 years old. It's HD.

Thanks for the warnings about how thick the replacement is. I'll look for a thin one. Your room looks beautiful, very crisp and clean yet inviting. Thanks for sharing your pic!

Great call about the black. I hadn't thought of that but it makes good sense. Not for my particular decor, but for someone.

I don't mind having my TV visible in the family room but I wish someone would invent decals that would safely cling to the screen to cover that huge black rectangle. They could be anything from a solid shade that matches your walls or something that goes with the decor or even a pretty print or art scene.

My SIL hated the large flat TV her DH bought so she hung it on the wall and then covered it with the same window treatment that she used on her bay window. When the drapes were closed you'd never guess a TV was there.

A few years ago, DH asked for a giant flat screen tv for Father's Day ~ so sweetly and pitifully, that I couldn't say no . . . although I wanted to! The problem was that our family room has only one (semi)unbroken wall to it and anything on that wall competes with our hand-painted kiva fireplace in the corner right next to it. AND, to complicate matters even more, that wall (pretty much the entire house, actually) is made of real adobe bricks, which look awesome but are a bear to try and hang anything even kind of heavy on. Too heavy or put a nail in at the wrong angle and you can end up with a 3" wide and deep hole, where adobe dirt and hay fell out of the brick . . . and you can forget ever hanging anything on that brick again, even once it's patched!
I really wanted an EC like Goldie's that had a wood back to hang the tv on, but it would have totally overwhelmed the room :~(
A great credenza, like Haley's or Bepeace's, would have been nice but I was afraid to hang the tv on the adobe wall and I couldn't find one to hold ~AND HIDE~ all of our DVDs, tapes, and components. I wasn't so concerned with hiding the tv, but thought that the components and DVDs would clutter up the area too much.
And then we found a tv lift console that solved all our problems- it hides lots of stuff inside of it and the tv sits down in it, as well, when we aren't watching it. When it's down, it doesn't compete with our fireplace, which is a huge bonus in our small family room! I do have to tell you, though, that it was a huge PIA to actually get that tv hung on the console's hanging bars! But now that it's done, we love it. The motor is quiet and smooth and the remote easy to use. Another downside, for anyone contemplating buying one, is that you can't put anything on the top of the console, decoration-wise, as the back two-thirds of the top section opens up as the tv slides up. We bought a narrow tower to sit next to it and I have a lamp on that. We also have a set of three framed Indian artifacts that we've hung over the console. They were a huge PIA to center, but they work with the kiva instead of competing with it.
So, that's one more solution to consider, not so much to hide your tv, as ours seems to be up more than it's down like most people, I guess, but it is a tv hanging/storage place. I do want to make it VERY clear that I'm not criticizing leaving a tv out on display all the time. I think it's a perfectly ok thing to do. I just wanted to show you another option for any flat screen tv and explain why we went with this option.
Lynn

Our flat screen up, before we hung our art over it:

And with the tv down:

Now that I see the photo, can understand what you are really concerned with. The only thing I could offer is a folding screen. Many possibilities using different types to match your room. Unless it also takes up a lot of the room.

I agree with selling and getting another which would work. They have dropped considerably in price. On the other hand if you have a good TV and room for it, sounds like it works great....save the money and just screen it for now.

cherigw - The sideboard is currently in front of a pony wall (not my favorite place for it, but necessary now). So, the components are behind the TV on the pony wall. When I move, I will be putting them in the drawers and using a remote that is capable of going through wood. I was told by an engineer friend that this does exist - we'll see:). FYI - I found this the sideboard on eBay and only paid $360 - makes it even more attractive!