It’s not very often that you see a television photographed in a magazine spread.  That’s because a TV can disrupt the harmony of an otherwise beautiful design.  So, we asked ourselves, how can we avoid making the ubiquitous television the focal point of a room?  Real life interior design means accounting for real life practicalities: so rather than do away with the TV, we have come up with some custom designs to disguise it.

We recently created this decorative focal point around the family room television for a client.  Here is a “before” shot.

Now, here is a glimpse into the design process, during which we drew upon some of Houston’s most talented resources, starting with an organic design drawn by Leslie Sinclair’s team at Segreto Finishes.  Here is a paper sketch of what the iron doors (which will open to reveal storage and cables) will look like.

Below is a detail of the laser cut panels created by Peck and Company that will replace the old wooden cabinets.

Here we are installing the linen fabric backing behind the ironwork.

The completed design leaves us with an aesthetically appealing border to enjoy while the TV is on and a pair of sliding doors that can be used to cover up the TV when it’s not in use.

In this photo of another project, you can see again how our design team came up with a solution for hiding the TV.

We designed this wooden case to keep the client’s television from being a distraction in this neutral room. The panels have a custom faux finish applied by Janie Ellis’ the expert team at Anything But Plain.  This addition introduces a complementary texture and is, in itself, a beautiful design element in the space.

Here are a few other ways we have helped clients to disguise their TVs:

In this room, the TV is so hidden you may not even know it’s there. We’ve tucked it away behind those beautiful antique panels on the back wall.

Below, in the final example, our team crafted yet another unique solution: the bottom half of the artwork over the fireplace raises up to reveal the TV.  We commissioned a Houston artist, Kevin Peterson, to paint a scene with the client’s grandchild in the foreground.   There are eighteen TV’s in this particular house, most of which are concealed in some “clever” way.  We are currently designing a new house for the same client, which is scheduled to have twenty-three tucked-away TVs, so that the whole family can keep abreast of entertainment, sports and politics in style.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.  Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”  -Ronald Dahl