How to Hide a TV Above Your Fireplace

Mounting your TV above the fireplace can be a great way to add beauty, ambiance, and warmth to your home. However, a big black screen on the wall can be a real eyesore for your living room, especially if you want your fireplace to be the focal point.

To hide a TV above your fireplace, you can either place it in a cabinet, behind barn doors, or hang a pull-down picture in front of it. You can also hide it with a mirror, an antique room divider, or a sliding artwork. Another option is to conceal your TV in a roller shutter or paint the wall black.

In the rest of this article, I will go into more detail about each method to hide your TV above the fireplace. I will also show you how to conceal your TV cables above a fireplace without cutting into the walls.

Hide Your TV Behind a Cabinet

One of the best ways to ensure that your TV doesn’t become the centerpiece of your living room is to hide it in a cabinet. A typical cabinet has a door that you can close when the TV is not in use and fold back when you want to watch your favorite show.

You can either build one yourself or buy a ready-made flat-screen TV cabinet. If you prefer to make it yourself, you can easily create a small box with doors. You can also build a display case to add more aesthetics to your space.

If you go this route, make sure the cabinet is large enough to accommodate your TV and its cables. From a design perspective, it’s a good idea to paint your cabinet the same color as your walls and fireplace to blend seamlessly.

Hang a Pull-Down Picture in Front of It

This option is more cost-effective compared to using cabinets. It involves printing a art cover or photo on a canvas and hanging it on the wall to cover the TV. This method is suitable if you can take the trouble to pull down the picture when not in use and roll it up when you need to use it.

Make sure the dimensions of the pull-down picture are just slightly larger than the TV. You can use any of your favorite photos or find one from any stock photo website. The image should also be of high quality to prevent it from warping or becoming grainy after printing.

If you like, you can build a frame around the picture to hide the edges of your TV and the strings of the roller. One of the main advantages of a pull-down picture is that it doesn’t take up much space or steal the spotlight from your fireplace.

Install a Sliding Wall or Artwork in Front of It

Similar to hanging a picture in front of your TV to hide it, you can install a sliding wall or sliding artwork in front of it. This option works even better for a large TV screen. It involves using two panels or graphic frames that slide to the left and right to reveal or hide the screen when it’s being used and when it’s not.

If you choose to use this method, you’ll need to mount your TV on a wall bracket and build shallow cabinets around it. TV mounts come in different styles and sizes. The most basic design is a static arm. However, you can buy a swivel mount that tilts your screen slightly forward for a better viewing experience.

A sliding artwork not only helps to hide your TV but also enhances the beauty of your living room and makes your fireplace the focal point.

Hang a Mirror in Front of It

A mirror is a great way to hide a TV that is mounted above a fireplace. Compared to the two previous methods, it is a simpler, more elegant, and convenient solution, and it adds a beautiful reflection to your space. It simply involves installing a mirror in front of your TV and no special mechanism is required.

TV mirrors are available in different sizes, and you can choose one that matches your screen. When you want to watch TV, simply turn it on and the mirror magically disappears. It only becomes visible again when you turn off your TV.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of installing a mirror in front of your TV, you can instead buy a custom mirrored LED TV. Due to the high reflectivity of mirrored TVs, they are best used in low-light conditions. For optimal mirror reflection, you’ll need plenty of light in the room.

Hide It Behind Barn Doors

Barn doors are a great way to add a rustic atmosphere to your living room. Plus, they never go out of style. They work great for concealing a TV screen and are a great alternative to sliding panels or artwork.

Most barn door designs consist of wooden doors and metal tracks, but you can also choose one with glass doors, old church doors, garage doors, or window doors, depending on your taste.

While most designs will fit any living style, it’s always a good idea to install barn doors that match the style of your home decor or the furnishings around your fireplace. Since barn doors can be heavy, you may need the help of a professional to install them above your fireplace.

Paint the Walls Black

This option is a great way to camouflage your TV instead of hiding it completely. It is probably the easiest and most straightforward solution to make your TV screen as inconspicuous as possible. The dark color of the TV blends into the surrounding background and draws attention away from it.

An even better option is to use a flush mount that prevents the TV from protruding too much from the black wall. You can also cut out a small section on the wall to fit your TV and insert it. The black color eliminates any contrast between the wall and the screen, making it almost disappear into the wall.

Mount It in a Rotating or Flip Frame

TV mounts are usually static, assumptive for the safety of the TV. However, a fixed TV mount does not serve the purpose of hiding the TV to make the fireplace visible. For this purpose, use a rotating or flip frame as a TV mount.

Rotating TV mount frames are designed to swivel both horizontally and vertically. They consist of a series of links to hold the weight of the TV in position.

This method gives you more flexibility in space and enhances your viewing experience. It helps you to tuck the TV out of the way – without removing it from its mount – and show off the greatness of your fireplace.

Rotating TV mounts are typically made from durable materials capable of supporting a weight of up to (and over) 100 pounds or 45.36 kilograms. So, it can be safely said that they are generally secure and sturdy – if you’re concerned about the safety of your TV. You can also decorate the frame with a painting or photo if you don’t want to leave it empty.

Shutter It

A wooden shutter can help hide your TV without highlighting it too much. They offer an urban chic and exercise a kind of mental imagination. Guests will constantly be guessing what could be behind the shutters. It would be odd to have windows directly above the fireplace, wouldn’t it?

Depending on your home decor or preferred style, there are different styles and types of shutters to choose from. You can go for full-length shutters -which will make the brain work on what might be hiding behind it- to shutters that transport your guests to the baroque style of the 16th century -the design with brushed bristles.

You could have the lower half shutter, where the TV is, while the upper half shows a painting that matches the shutter style.

Another style is the special shutters. This type of shutter allows for undercover to be customized. It can have an arched top or an unusual shape – all according to your taste.

Hide It Behind an Antique Room Divider

One of the best ways to hide something is a screen that separates part of the room. In this case, we want to hide only the TV. Therefore, we need a screen that comfortably rests above the fireplace and makes the TV inconspicuous.

Screens are either created to hide part of a section or fully hide the entire section. This method means that the antique screens that we need in our scenario will hide the top sector and leave the bottom part visible. So, the screen could have a mesh-like pattern on top and leave the lower part free.

Some antique screens could even depict a known history that’s told from the fireplace. An antique screen does more than just hide the TV. It adds an antique vibe to the room aesthetics as well.

Dress It with Artwork

If you want to keep something away, hide it from prying eyes behind an artwork such as a painting, sculpture, or still life.

To hide your TV and emphasize the presence of your fireplace, you can arrange paintings around your TV to make it appear as if it’s not a standalone object but a part of the picture. For example, a black-framed TV can serve as part of the canvas, where the soot from the fireplace place comes to rest. Surrounding it are paintings that mimic the glow of fire. However, this may require a professional touch.

As part of a still life drawing, your TV stands still; add alongside it other still life but realistic drawings. The other artwork should distract attention from the TV and lead you to the fireplace.

How to Disguise TV Cables Above a Fireplace Without Cutting Into the Walls

If you have successfully hidden the central part of your TV – the screen – the cables may still give you away. How is it possible to hide the cables without cutting into the walls? Removing and tucking away?

Why not disguise them?

Yes, you can disguise your TV cables and wires as well as you hide your TV screen. It may seem almost impossible, and it will probably require you to cut slits into your wall to hide them. No, we’ll try to help you avoid this as much as possible.

Use Cable Channels

Cable channels are widely used in households and commonly used for cable organization. It will serve the same purpose for us, but with a twist. Channels are available in bright colors, mostly white, and that doesn’t fit in too well with our objective.

If you successfully hid your TV with a dark frame and have a white channel beneath it, it can be suspicious. To clear this suspicion, you’ll need to paint the channel black or in a color that comes closest to black.

You can also paint the channels the same color as your fireplace. This color will not only conceal the cables but also add a touch of design to your fireplace.

After painting them, you just need to tuck the cables into them and attach them to the wall. You don’t need to drill into the wall with a screw. Channels have adhesive tape on the back.

There are different types of channels, choose the right one to match your TV’s position, and you’ll be surprised at how easy they are to peel off.

Add More Artwork

It can be frustrating when you’ve done everything right but it seems like the TV cables are not cooperating. You may not need to hide them if you add more graphics to their position. Use graphics that complement the wires and make them look like part of the artwork.

You can use the wires as part of the art that represents smoke rising from the top of the fireplace and collecting on the screen (only the most observant people might notice it’s a TV screen). Thin stalks with small leaves also effectively hide the cables. Adding artwork not only disguises the cables and wires but also adds more flair and creativity to your fireplace.

Arrange Statues and Sculptures

Arrange artworks like statues of warriors or cultures on the fireplace. It feels good when the figures are antiquated. They add a classic touch of heritage to your fireplace environment and help to hide the cables effectively.

If you have an antique screen that covers your TV but the cable above the fireplace is exposed, arrange statues that match the screen design to add more aesthetics to it and hide the cable behind it. For example, if the screen has a Japanese flair, you can use samurai statues arranged in a sequence in battle style.

Sculptures like pots and busts are allowed to be on display above the fireplace. The TV cables disappear behind them, and with the hidden TV, only the fireplace and the artwork on it are left to be seen.

Try Fabrics

This method may sound dangerous due to the proximity to the fireplace and the possibility of coming into contact with fire. However, fabrics are well-suited for disguising TV cables.

The key is to utilize that feeling of danger as art. Use fabrics with lace as covers for the TV wires and cables. Choose materials that seem to be part of the disguise you’ve given your TV. The important thing is that it matches well with your TV disguise and the color scheme of your fireplace.

Leave Them in Plain Sight

The best place to hide something from a man is right under his nose. Leave the TV cables and wires in a way that you can easily see them.

Arrange them in a way that forms a pattern on the wall and draws attention away from the TV.

You can make them into a circular maze that leads to the fireplace. You can also add some creativity by painting the cables and wires in different colors.

Remember that your TV is hidden and creates a sense of intense imagination and curiosity to know where these colored cords come from and what holds them there. This arrangement allows you to hide the cables and draw attention to the fireplace.

Final Thoughts

Your fireplace should be the centerpiece in your room, and your TV shouldn’t get in the way. Fortunately, there are several ways to hide your TV and enhance the aesthetics of your living room.

Here’s a brief overview of the methods we have considered in the article:

• Hide Your TV Behind Cabinets
• Hang a Pull-Down Picture in Front of It
• Install a Mirror or Sliding Wall or Artwork in Front of It
• Hide It Behind Barn Doors
• Paint the Walls Black
• Mount It in a Rotating or Flip Frame
• Shutter It or Hide It Behind an Antique Room Divider