Cable management ideas for wall mounted tv

The main reason I decided to organize and hide TV wires in my living room was that I simply didn’t like the way they looked. They were ugly.

However, there’s another important reason to conceal them and that’s safety. TV cords sometimes can be tripping hazards and they’re potentially dangerous for small children when they have access to them.

If you’re looking for stylish and quick solutions to conceal the jungle of cords without having to make any permanent changes, you’re at the right place. I’ve collected for you all the best ways you can hide your TV wires easily without cutting holes into the wall. Let’s see them.

1. Make a Wood Frame and Cover It in Fabric

It’s a creative way to hide TV cords without cutting the wall, however, you have to choose the fabric wisely. You want it to fit the wall color and the furniture in the room.

For the frame, you’ll need four studs that you have to attach to each other with a few screws (you can use a strong glue instead) to get a rectangular shape.

As a next step, you have to attach the fabric to the wood frame with staples (or glue) and cut a hole for the TV mount. Use picture or wire hangers or adhesive strips (if the frame is lightweight enough) to hang the frame on the wall.

All the TV wires go behind the frame and remain hidden but, if necessary, they’re easily accessible. Wall mounted TV cable management at its best.

You can buy all the necessary fixtures at your local hardware store.

2. Install a Raceway and Paint It the Same Color as the Wall

Using a raceway is one of the most obvious solutions to organize and hide TV wires without cutting the wall. You can find many types of raceways online and in your local store as well. Most of them are made of plastic and have an adhesive strip on the back that allows easy and quick mounting on the wall using no screws. Note that there are specific models for corners.

Most TV cable management raceways are white and if your wall has a different color it won’t blend in. You can solve this by painting the raceway before installation. Acrylic, model, or enamel paint works great for plastic surfaces. Before painting, don’t forget to clean the raceway with warm water and dish soap to remove any grease or dirt.

This is the raceway I recommend because it is paintable and very easy to install due to the self-adhesive backing.

3. Hide TV Cords Behind Other Objects

This one is a basic trick that you can implement in a few minutes, and costs nothing. It works best if you have a surface (such as a shelf, a table, etc.) under the TV, and the distance is not too large between the two items.

Place some home decoration items, picture frames, plants, or books under the TV and position them so that they cover the cords. Make sure you don’t just put the items randomly below the TV. They should look natural and blend in with the environment. That’s all.

Hiding TV wires not only makes a room look better but also makes it much safer. However, there’s so much more you can do to make your home a safer place. We’ve collected the most important easy-to-implement home safety measures you should know in this article.

We’ve also created a useful home safety checklist that you can download free at the end of this article.

4. Turn Your TV Wires Into a Wall Art

Hiding the wires is not the only solution. Sometimes you can leave them in plain sight, and still make them look great. Turning your TV cords into wall art is a stylish and creative way to manage and organize them.

You can create anything from an abstract image to a silhouette of a city, object, or person. If you want, you can decorate the cords with color tapes, ribbons, or stickers to resemble flowers with leaves or anything else you like. Also, you can hang some postcards or giant letters. The only limit is your imagination.

Before mounting the wires, draw an outline on the wall with a pencil that can be erased easily. Measure the length of the cords (you can easily do that with a string) and plan the artwork accordingly. You can mount the wires to the wall with wall clips or mounting tape.

5. Conceal TV Wires Behind Wall Trim

It’s not the easiest and quickest way to hide your TV cords, but it’s certainly an eye-catching one. It can be a great solution when you want to hide TV wires over a fireplace.

Its major disadvantage is that the cables are not so easy to access under the trim work if you need to remove or add one in the future. That’s why I only recommend this method if you’re willing to spend some time disassembling the trim work each time you add or remove a new device to your TV set (or if you don’t want to change your set anytime soon).

So, the basic idea is to hide the cords in a channel formed by two slats and covered with a third one. You’ll need to make both horizontal and vertical channels.

Before you start the execution, I suggest that you plan and design the trim work on paper, and test the length of the wires. You can paint the slats any color you like, but do that before mounting them on the wall (it’s much easier than afterward). For more detailed instructions, visit this website.

6. Camouflage TV Cords and Cables

This method is similar to turning the cords into wall art but this time they practically become invisible to everyone who doesn’t know about their location.

You can use any combination of home decoration items to camouflage your cables. Your goal is to conceal the cords in a larger creation so that they become hardly noticeable. You’ll certainly need some imagination if you decide to hide your cables this way but the end result will speak for itself. If all this sounds too abstract for you, here’s a photo for some inspiration:

7. Use a TV Stand that Does the Job for You

It’s not the cheapest but certainly a stylish way to hide TV wires without cutting the wall. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should buy a new TV stand for the sole purpose of hiding the cords if you already have one. However, if you haven’t got a TV stand yet or want to replace the old one, it can be a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

You can choose from many models on the market. I really like how easily the Ameriwood elevation TV stand solves the cable problem. It has three shelves where you can keep the cable box and other accessories while the snap-on back panel hides all the unsightly wires.

Here you can check out the current price of the Ameriwood TV stand on Amazon.

If you have your TV mounted on the wall and you don’t need a new stand, you can buy some floating shelves with a back panel (to hide the wires) and mount them under your TV. If you can’t find any model with a back panel you like, and you’re not afraid of some DIY work, you can make the back panel yourself using some plywood and slats.

+1 Organize and Hide the Wires Behind the TV Stand Like a Pro

If you don’t have your TV mounted on the wall and you use a standard TV stand, chances are great that there’s a jungle of wires behind the stand.

To organize and hide the cluttered cords, first, you have to shorten each of them individually to the length you need. A fast and easy way to do that is to wind the cables up and then tie them with Velcro or cable ties. To minimize the clutter, you can group cords that go in the same direction and tie them up. However, make sure you separate electrical and AV cables to avoid any interference.

Your goal is to make cords as short as possible and reduce the number of individual cords to a minimum. After this step, your wires will be much more organized and ready to be concealed.

You can hide the wires behind the TV stand in many ways. The method that will suit you best depends mostly on the type of TV stand you have.

If your stand has a solid back panel, you can easily fix the shortened cables on it with some cable clips. As an inexpensive alternative, you can use binder clips to attach cords to the back of your stand.

Another option is to mount plywood or a grid on the back of the TV stand and attach the cords to it.

You can also use a cord organizer (such as this popular one) to shorten and manage all your TV wires in a stylish way and hide them on the back of the stand.

In the case of an open-back TV stand, you can use cable management sleeves to hide cords. Simply cut the sleeve to the length you need and place the cables inside. Then you can attach the sleeve to the frame of the TV stand. It really makes TV cable management a breeze.

Instead of sleeves, you can use colored flex tubing as well: just cut the tube to size and wrap it around the cords.

Using a channel cable organizer is another easy way to conceal the unsightly cords behind the TV stand. Mounting on the stand can be done in a minute thanks to its self-adhesive back. Another big plus is that cables can be added and removed quickly and easily even after the installation.

If you want to hide power strips, surge protectors, and electrical cords on the floor, you can use the combination of a cable raceway and a standard cardboard box and cut holes in it for the cords.

If you need a more stylish solution, you may want to go for this cable management box. It looks pretty neat.

In Summary

As you can see, you have multiple choices if you want to hide TV wires without cutting the wall. If you are tired of watching the unsightly wires under your TV, it’s time to take control and make them disappear.

You can perform most methods within an hour or so. Just choose the one that suits you best. If you want to go the traditional way, install a raceway and paint it the same color as your wall. If you don’t want to spend any money, hide the cords behind other objects. Want to create something creative? Turn your cords into wall art or conceal them behind unique trim work. You have many options.

Whichever solution you choose, planning is a very important first step before you start working. Don’t skip it, especially if the work you’re about to do consists of multiple steps.

Hiding your TV cables will make your living room (or any other room) not only a much more organized and cleaner but also a much safer place for kids, seniors, and pets.

Photos: Homedit, Lifehacker, Bobvila, Camerasandchaos, Musely

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