Before you get scared that this has turned into some kind of new Tech Talk column, let me reassure you that it’s nothing of the sort. But it does seem to me that whenever you see pictures of living rooms in magazines and online, the dreaded black box is rarely to be seen.
To be honest, it’s understandable – televisions are fugly creatures. They are big black boxes that generally add very little stylistically to a space unless you are going for a really contemporary masculine vibe. Otherwise, what do we try to do? Hide them. Create gallery walls around them to make them less conspicuous (hello, my dining room), we cleverly put art work in front of them that slide away to reveal the TV behind, we hide them in huge cabinets, create dedicated rooms for them, generally make them go away.
But the truth is, we live in an age where the television has become smarter, more necessary (ok, some might argue with that) and a bigger part of our lives. I admit, we like our television. Curling up with a film on a Saturday night with a few cocktails is practically a given in the Swoon Worthy household (we are old and the lure of a night on the tiles, stumbling in at 3am with a hangover that lasts days, no longer really appeals at our age – this is what happens to most of us and if it hasn’t happened to you yet, give it time).
While I have shown off the television in our living room a few times, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed. We have taken the first small baby step to making it blend in better with our space – we finally purchased a white one. But what I can’t seem to find is a replacement for the mega-contemporary black stand it sits upon.
I hate that stand. I hate it with the white hot heat of a thousand suns. Long ago, when the living room design was still in it’s infancy we purchased it to go along with all the other darker items in the room and it seemed to work … but as the style around it became bright and lighter, that corner just became a light sucker-outer.
I think the white television is a good first step despite Wayne’s initial protestations, “You do realise when the television is off, it’ll still be black??” Yes, yes, I know, but it’s a SMALLER black box than it would be. At least he’s not insisted on a huge 50″ for here (he’s got one downstairs in the mancave, thankfully) so there’s that too. What you need to know about Wayne however is he is a man that LOVES his tech. So giving him the green light to buy new techie stuff keeps him very happy. Therefore, it wasn’t too difficult to convince him the living room would look better for it. We ended up giving our old telly to his family and the new telly arrived in all it’s shiny white glory.
The stand however, is still giving me nightmares. What I would love is something a bit vintage and in wood. Or perhaps something I could paint in white with little gold handles. I would love a vintage cabinet but my searches have all drawn up short so far. I’m starting to get desperate.
The offerings for television stands in the retail world are frightening. Like, seriously ugly or super contemporary (which just isn’t my bag). Just say no, people, for all that is good and glorious in the world.
A built in cupboard has been suggested and it’s something we’re considering but I think if we did a built in on this side and not the other, it might make the room look a bit unbalanced.
Whatever I put there has to work with the chest of drawers on the other side. And this is where the decorating domino effect comes in. If I do go with something in white on the right hand side, I may end up painting the black portion of the chest of drawers white as well and replacing the handles. At the moment, they sort of balance each other but they appear incongruent to the rest of the space.
The other issue – and my major stumbling block in finding something vintage – is that it must fit the size of the alcove. It’s a mere 90cm across and most of the cabinets I like are at least 1 metre wide. Or they are pitifully tiny. It also needs to have cabinet doors that can open so that we can use the dvd/sky box etc that sit beneath it.
I’ve already suggested that Wayne might need to build me a cabinet but he’s got a list as long as his arm with stuff we need to get on with so I might be waiting quite a while on that one.
Until that time, that horrible stand remains and the search continues…
Is there something in your home that you are searching for but just can’t seem to find? How do you deal with the television in your living space? Do you hide it or do you figure, it is what it is?
Don’t miss a thing!
could you hack another piece just like the other you did for balance, but remove the top drawer for cabe boxes, etc?
I've considered that! But I really don't want the boxes on show all the time – they are just not pretty enough to be displayed ;) xx
I can totally empathize. My husband's desktop computer is in our living room and I've been looking for a desk that I like since we moved in 5 years ago. The one we currently have is ugly and cheap but fits the space (it's in a little nook) and for the life of me I can't find a nice one that's small enough.
So frustrating when you are looking for the perfect piece! I feel your pain ;) xxx
My tv stand is a cast off from my mum, it's all chrome and glass, I loathe it. The day she gave me it, she said "Thank god, now I'll never have to dust that thing again." What I'd really love is an antique sideboard, I did find a perfect one a while ago, but couldn't get it and it's haunted me ever since.
Hahaha!! So basically she didn't want it either ;) Gotta love it! Aww my condolences over the lost piece – I'm sure you'll find another you love. I've had many 'one-that-got-away''s too! xxx
I wonder if your other chest (with the lovely yellow wallpaper) would serve as a good TV stand? Maybe you could rig something such as a hollow back in one of the drawers where the cables and things could be hidden. Then, you could have fun finding a new piece of furniture for the other side. Anyway, your room is so cozy–I love it!
I have actually thought of that! But then I'd need to find something to store our DVDs and that was difficult enough trying to find the perfect piece lol xxx
I found my perfect TV cabinet about 18 months ago. It is a vintage dressing-table, whose mirror had been removed. It has deep drawers perfect for storing DVDs etc.<br />They come in a variety of sizes, are relatively cheap, you can paint them any colour you want and I'm thinking maybe Wayne could fix hinges to the top drawer so it flaps down (a bit like a cocktail cabinet) for using the sky
Why not do some inexpensive white floating shelves? You could hide the cable box etc. by maybe putting small items in front of them (making sure the part that has to sense the remote commands is not obscured). You would need to put holes in the very back of the shelves for the power cords. Then you could take your time searching for the perfect piece. Can the t.v. be wall mounted?
There's such a mess of wires (there are 2 separate boxes, the sky box and the dvd/sound system box along with the surround speakers) and both would need to be exposed whilst tv watching in order to use the remotes. So trying to hide that amount would just be more trouble than it's worth with open shelving :-/ But thanks for ideas!! xxx
You can use a cabinet similar the other one one the other side. To hide the tech simply loosen the fronts of the drawers and screw some hinges to the inside lower part. Add a magnetic clasp to hold the front when you close it. This way you can open the front of the drawer downwards when using your tech, but close it and looks like a chest of drawers when not! Voila, problem solved! Let me
I just don't want a second set of drawers on that side as well (we use the one on the left to hold our DVD collection!) – I think even if I found that same chest of drawers and decorated it the same (wallpaper/paint), it's a bit too matchy-matchy but if I find something different it might just look strange having two mismatched drawers… so this is why I want a cabinet, to offset that
I am so excited to hear (or read) you talking about this. I have the EXACT same problem. A search for TV stands on Pinterest either brings up very modern stands or something completely un-feasible. Unfortunately for me, my husband insisted on the 50", and since we have a 1 bedroom apartment, it is front and center in the space. I found the following stand from Restoration Hardware, which I
What a lovely piece! With so many boxes (a sky box, a DVD player that also connects to our surround sound) it's just too much to conceal as we would need access to the fronts of the boxes in order to use them with the remotes so baskets would make that a bit difficult. It's why I want a cabinet so that we can open it up to reveal the boxes only when we're watching TV – I don't
I like your wall decor above the TV…Looks like it's giving the double finger! I love your blog and I hope you find something amazing! Cant wait to see!
Hahaha!! Love it!!
I'm getting ready to hang kitchen cabinets (uppers) low on the wall like a fauxdenza. Maybe you could find one on Craigslist (or whatever you have like that) paint it and add legs if you want.
That's a good idea! I'll have to see if I can find something that might fit on eBay! I'm a little afraid of hanging too much on the walls, however, they are over 100 years old and a little weak – so the less heavy stuff on the walls, the better really ;) But it might definitely be a consideration – thank you! xx
Can you not mount the TV to/on the wall? (sorry, english is my second language!) Cover the wires and then have a lovely and vintage cabinet underneath for dvd-player and other things? We have our TV mounted on the wall and it does appear less huge and Tv like actually!
I'd prefer not to hang the TV on the wall only because the walls are over 100 years old and not that sturdy :-/ and I'd still then need to find a cabinet to house the DVD/skybox and hide the wires so I'm still in the same position – ha!! Thanks so much however, it's a nice idea! xxx
That's a tough one. I have the same issue. I actually have a nice tv for my living room but don't like the stands so I haven't installed it yet. I love your space and will be interested to see what you do. xo Kristin
At the current house, our TV lives a lovely red painted chinoiserie armoire. It has drawers for the DVD collection and the armoire doors slide back into the space completely out of the way when we want to watch TV.<br />In the new house though, we will mount the TV in a wall cavity and cover the space with a sort of Japanese painted screen which will fold out of the way when we want to watch TV.<
That sounds like a very elegant solution (and something I'm trying to achieve myself)! I've looked at the chinese style armoires but with prices around the Β£1k mark, a little outta my budget – they are stunning though. I like the solution of hiding it with a screen as well, brilliant :) xxx
I resigned us to just having the fugly stand we currently have until a man came over to measure and quote for a window seat. He said to me "whilst I am here I might as well quote you for a tv cabinet". I think he felt my pain. My only issue is that I won't be able to take it with me when we move.
I think that's it with built ins as well – if you aren't planning on staying forever (this isn't our forever home either), it always feels a bit of a shame to spend the cash! There's gotta be another solution – hope the TV stand manufacturers are making notes!! lol xx
oh yes, I've been here! I wrote a blog post about the same prob a few years ago, some little ideas on there that might help: http://patchworkharmony.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/wheres-telly.html<br /><br />I ended up buying a vintage cart thing from eBay which I'm really happy with, much more interesting! <br />http://patchworkharmony.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/new-home-for-tv.html<br /><br />I&#
Ahhh yes, we're definitely on the same page there – normal tv stands are just BORING. I love the solution you came up with and that little cart is fabulous!! It looks great in your space – see? that's what I'm looking for! Something a little more creative!! :) xxx
My first thought is that a wood chest like you have in your bedroom would be gorgeous, and that maybe Wayne could hinge the top drawer to fold down to access the electronic accessories. But in reading some of your responses to other comments, you're not wanting something like that. <br /><br />Since the nooks that flank your fireplace are symmetrical, it would be really nice to have matching
I think you nailed it saying that the vintage would offset the new! Yes yes! I think it's missing in the room – and when I removed my vintage coffee table, suddenly, something seemed a bit off. I think a vintage piece would ground the space a bit more – I've not given up hope finding the perfect piece yet ;) xx
I love this post! You're absolutely right, you never see TVs in any styled spaces. I hate our media center, too. I think if you stop looking for a TV stand and just start looking for a piece of furniture that will fit your space (like a low dresser) you will really turn a corner with your search. Good luck—I'll be following along!
Oh I gave up searching 'tv stand' long ago when I realised how pitiful the offerings were ;) Yep, now searching vintage cabinets – lots and lots of searching but I'm not giving up yet! xxx
Why don't you obtain another chest of drawers and treat is similarly to that and either place the cable boxes/ router underneath and out of view, or, if you need them for access to changing channels, make the top drawer a hinged pull down false front that looks like a drawer? It would be nice for balance.
I just don't want a second set of drawers on that side as well (we use the one on the left to hold our DVD collection!) – I think even if I found that same chest of drawers and decorated it the same (wallpaper/paint), it's a bit too matchy-matchy but if I find something different it might just look strange having two mismatched drawers… so this is why I want a cabinet, to offset that
I hate… hate… hate a tv out and then seeing all the furniture arranged makes the tv look like the "tv god" of the room. There is nothing better than an armoire to hide them in, create additional storage and when the tv is off and people are over, the room looks like it was created for everyone to connect, relax, enjoy each other rather than to group around bow down to the "god&
Couldn't agree more!! If I could find a unit to hide the whole thing (like an armoire) that would fit in that gap and isn't like a million quid, I'd do it :) xx
I hear you Kimberly! I have a hideous set up at the moment under our wall mounted telly to house the black boxes and DVD's – a couple of really old white cubes that were my bedside tables FIFTEEN YEARS AGO! I HATE them!!! I know this is not everyones taste, and sadly it's rather too expensive for me at the moment, but I've actually surprised myself, by falling for this http://
Oh god yes, that's beautiful!! I have seen a few Chinoiserie armoires like that but they are always so ridiculously expensive… at least I know I'm not alone in my hatred of my tv stand!! I feel your pain! xxx
I think some sort of dresser type item similar to the one you have on the other side, but not exactly the same, would be best. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could just whip up furniture that we have in our brains? You are already thinking outside of the box (or console- HA) so something good will pop up. I know it. xo
Holly (of decor8 fame) had a great blog called Haus Maus, chronicling her move to Germany and the furnishing of her first apartment there. She also had a white TV and a low white cabinet for it. It was the "besta burs" from Ikea, but it was rather long… <br /><br />I have a low vintage dresser for our TV and I just painted it black (our tv is black, alas, and though I have had my
Sounds like you've got a very nice compromise going on! I'm sure the piece is out there somewhere – I'm not giving up on the search :) xxx
Sold ours, no telly no problem! hah! <br />But seriously I think you just need to level the height with the other side for your eyeline and you are there :) x
Definitely would like something a little higher – although not so high that we're straining our necks whilst on the sofa to watch! I don't think Wayne would EVER let me get rid of the TVs in our house, I'm impressed you don't have one! :) xxx
I just asked my on-site engineer (aka boyfriend) about this, because I was wondering if a unit with a fine mesh front would allow you to use the remote through it without opening the doors. He went one better and told me about the "Remote Control IR Repeater" – a tiny unit which transfers infra-red remotes to a transmitter in the unit with your sky box etc. (so you wouldn't have to