June 30, 2011

Hiding TV Cables

Some DIY projects require complicated fixes.  Some DIY projects only need easy fixes.  Some DIY projects require complicated fixes, but I do an easy fix anyway.  This is such a time.

You might remember that we have a honking big TV hanging over our fireplace.  I know that having a TV over the fireplace isn’t the most design friendly element, but I can’t watch the Real Housewives of New Jersey in a beautiful painting or pretty mirror, so TV wins every time.  But with so much focus on the TV, I was tired of my cables and cords being visible.  I tried disguising them behind vases and other decorative items on the mantle to make them less visible, but we all know they’re still there.

tv_cords_above_fireplace

I would have tried to run the TV cables into the wall myself, but I was afraid it would get too tricky being that it was over my fireplace.  I also didn’t want to shell out the dough to have a professional do it for me.  So that left me with a harebrained idea to try to cover up the cords.

tv-cables

First, I taped the cables to the side to hide them under my curtains.

power-cord

Then I took some paper (the thick paper you get at places like HomeGoods when they wrap up your breakables at checkout), and painted it with some leftover wall paint.

painted-paper

Once it was dry (I used a blow-dryer to speed up the process since I can get a bit impatient), I cut the paper into strips that were wide enough and long enough to cover the TV cables.  Then I taped the paper on top of the cords, hiding the painter’s tape behind the TV and curtains.  I also used a tiny bit of glue to secure the paper to the wall along the entire strip.

hiding-flatscreen-tv-power-cords

nd guess what?  Since the paper color matches the walls exactly, everything blends in together and you can’t even see the TV cords or even the paper strips anymore!

hidden-flat-screen-tv-cords


If you really examine it up close you’ll see that I have something going on there, but from the couch no one will be the wiser!  Sure, this might not be the correct way to hide flat screen TV cables, but it’s free, it’s better than having the TV cables exposed, and it works for me!

2 comments:

Cameron said...

What a great idea! I will have to try this! We have our tv on a stand near our fireplace but the electric outlet is ON THE FIREPLACE! How weird is that? I found your link on HoH! :)
-Cameron
www.thethrillofhuntsville.blogspot.com

VannsAdam said...

Very cool idea. I've had to deal with these types of installations more than a few times, and this is just the kind of common sense solution... that unfortunately never occurred to me (doh). Thank you!