If you’re like a lot of homeowners, the television is central to your life, perhaps no less relevant than your iPad or your iPhone, for keeping you up to date on what’s happening in the world and for keeping you entertained during your downtime. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you want that television in your line of vision at all times. “Hiding the television is a lot less of a problem now than it used to be,” says Kelley Proxmire of Kelley Interior Design in Bethesda, “because they’re skinny.” And hiding that flat screen TV doesn’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money. Proxmire says she has helped clients disguise their televisions as something as simple as hanging draperies across the front that can be pulled back when the family wants to watch the news or a show.
Another option is to hide the television within existing furniture. Jill Valeri, president of the Welcome Home Interior Design Solutions in Ellicott City, says she has helped clients refurbish antique sideboards or armoires to accommodate flat screen televisions. Proxmire says if you have the extra cash, you might even consider hiring an area cabinetmaker to custom build a television cabinet for you. Some such cabinets use lifts that raise the TV up out of the furniture when in use and lower it back down again when it’s off, but Proxmire says incorporating lifts into the design can get pretty expensive.
Valeri says you can save some money by special ordering a television frame kit from a craft store like Michael’s that allows you to mount your flat screen TV inside a frame. If you wish to completely hide the television, you can add bifold doors to the frame. She recommends Avery Studios in Washington, which offers all kinds of custom framing systems for televisions, including using your own artwork as a cover for the television.
Proxmire has had clients cover doors over a framed television with trompe l’oeil artwork, or artwork that offers a three-dimensional appearance. In one case, a client of hers ordered three-dimensional artwork that made the doors over her television look like bookshelves.
Another pricier option is to purchase a TV that is incorporated into a mirror. Ad notam offers a variety of liquid crystal display screen options that act as mirrors when not in use. When you turn on the television, the mirror (or a portion of the mirror) becomes a TV screen. The technology can be used anywhere in the home, but it’s especially popular in bathrooms, where homeowners can watch the morning news while getting ready for the day in front of the sink or while taking a bath.
Valeri says that many homeowners who decorate in contemporary style don’t necessarily want to hide their flat panel televisions. “I’m finding that more people are embracing the fact that they have a TV in a room,” she says. “The flat panels are sleek and attractive in a modern room.”
In such cases, the only trick may be hiding all the wiring so that the TV hangs like a picture on the wall. Valeri suggests hiring a professional audiovisual installer who can install wiring behind drywall so that good design won’t be interrupted by seeing all the cords. She says you might also consider enclosing all of your audiovisual equipment and paraphernalia in a single space, perhaps a custom-designed cabinet. That way not only will your television and stereo equipment be hidden, but you’ll also keep the clutter of DVDs and CDs out of view as well.
The trick, Valeri says, is to make technology work with the architecture of the room. “Consider what options work best with your design style.”
