How to hide a TV in a small living room can be a challenge, especially if you want to keep the space feeling spacious and stylish.

This is one of the most often requested things I get asked about. It seems that everyone wants to have a TV to enjoy, but no one wants to see it 24/7.

I get it. Having a large black rectangle hanging out in the room can really zap the vibe, right?

Fear not, my friend! With the right solution, you can conceal your TV when not in use and enjoy a visually less cluttered living room.

In this post I’ll explore several creative and functional options for hiding that eyesore – but totally necessary, TV. Whether you prefer a minimalistic look or a unique custom solution, you’ll find the inspiration you need to hide your TV and enhance your space.

If this clicks with you, keep reading.

1. Hide it Inside Furniture:

One of the easiest and most stylish ways to hide a TV is to use furniture such as an armoire a cabinet, or a bookshelf. These pieces can be used to conceal the TV when it’s not in use and can also serve as a storage piece.

The downside of this is that you must go over to open the doors of an armoire or cabinet to reveal the TV. But, if having it always on display is getting you down, this is a standard way to take care of the problem.

And it’s an easy habit to get into, especially after you must get up to open the doors once you’re already snuggled up, ready to binge Emily in Paris.

2. Install a TV Lift:

Another option is to install a TV lift, which is a mechanism that can raise or lower the TV from within a piece of furniture.

This is a great option if you want to keep your TV hidden when not in use and have it conveniently accessible when you want to watch it.

This option has been around for a while, but the furniture used to be quite expensive. If you’d like to try your hand at making a lift cabinet yourself, it’s not a difficult as you’d expect.

The only tricky thing is if the lift fails to launch, then you’re stuck with a TV that’s ‘locked’ inside the cabinet until you can get it fixed. (I’d say that’s a worse case situation though…)

3. Use a Retractable Screen:

If you want a more modern and minimalistic look, you can opt for a retractable screen.

This option is especially useful if you have a small Living room, and you want to create more space when the TV is not in use.

I’ve included this option for clients in a few of my e designs this past year.

This concept works great if you have a room with limited wall space and you don’t want a TV or TV cabinet eating up precious space.

A retractable screen is a screen that can be pulled up and down, or mounted to a ceiling, or mounted inside the ceiling, and then lowered when you want to watch something.

This is a great compromise for the giant TV argument that many couples have: one wants the biggest TV possible and the other thinks that giant TV’s are obnoxious. The one gets the big TV like in a movie theater and the other gets to hide it away and have the room clear and open.

The only downside is that you need to make the room dark in order to watch TV because the projector shines the images onto the screen, just like a movie theater. However, technology is catching up, so there’s other options using this concept that can work. Check this out.

4. Mount the TV on a Swivel:

A swivel mount allows you to rotate the TV to face different areas of the room, so you can hide behind furniture and we’re not in use.

This is a great option for a small living room because it maximizes the space and minimizes the impact of the TV on the rooms design.

This works well in rooms with tricky spaces, like narrow rooms, rooms with niches, built-ins, or other architectural features that make it difficult to arrange furniture.

If you can’t position the TV directly across from the main seating, then this is an option that works because you can swivel the TV toward you when you’re watching it and then it can swivel back to a flat position when it’s off.

5. Install a Sliding Panel:

If you want a unique and functional solution, consider installing a sliding panel to conceal your TV.

This can be made a variety of materials, including wood, metal, or glass, and can be custom fitted to your TV and the living room.

Let’s say that you can create an inset niche for your TV. First, an inset niche helps to hide the TV in plain view because it’s set a few inches into the wall – making it not the first thing you notice in a room.

Now, to further disguise the TV, you add a sliding panel that glides over the top of the inset niche. Viola! The TV is out of view!

6. Create a Gallery Wall:

Another creative solution is to create a gallery wall to conceal your TV. You can hang artwork, photos, and other decorative pieces around the TV to make it blend in with the rest of the wall.

This is a great option for a small living room, because it adds visual interest to the space.

This little camouflage trick works great to inconspicuously hide your TV in plain sight.

Companies like Samsung have been offering this kind of solution for a while. Their Frame TV is great because it’s a TV that uses a low light screen saver when not in broadcast mode. This means you’ll have a beautiful and totally customizable piece of art that will seamlessly blend in with the other art on your gallery wall. Even better, the Frame TV has changeable frames – just like a piece of art would.

7. Finally, you can also hide your TV behind a mirror.

This option is especially useful if you have a small living room and want to keep the space feeling open and uncluttered.

Ever been to a police lineup? Me neither… But this concept works the same way. You conceal your TV behind the two-way mirror and it’s there when you want to watch and totally hidden when you don’t want it on.

I remember seeing Candice Olsen, of Devine Design fame, create a room many years ago using this trick and I was so in love with it! I wanted to find a magic mirror just like it for myself!

I guess people have been wanting to hide their TVs for years, huh?

To sum up, hiding a TV in a small living room, can be both functional and stylish.

With a little creativity, you can easily hide your TV and keep your small room feeling spacious and stylish.

Whether you choose furniture, a TV lift, a retractable screen, or a custom solution, you’ll enjoy a clutter free living room, and the peace of mind that comes from having that TV out of sight! The key is to choose an option that fits the style and layout of your small living room.

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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.