1 idea:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/tv-cozy-how-to?autonomy_kw=hide%20tv&rsc=header_4

I hate exposed television sets too. They look like a big black eyeball sitting there in the middle of the room gawking at you.

If you don't want to get too much wood in that corner, how about instead of the existing cabinet, you build a simple table out of books and a glass top?

You just stack (on their sides of course) several hard cover books (depending on how high you want the table to be) in several columns and top it off with a glass table top that fits securely. Sounds like a challenge but its a neat alternative to another wood table. Plus it looks "smarter" because well- it's books!

Another wacky idea is to use contact paper in any color to camouflage your television set. Tack it on. You could also use vintage clippings from old magazines - it's fairly quirky and a nice alternative to the black eyeball of death. You can also place a large green plant (real or faux) in that corner behind the tv with some smaller potted plants on top of the set. The one on your window sill is cute. TJ Maxx, Staples, and Michael's have large faux plants that are relatively cheap.

It's hard to tell how much space you have to play with, but maybe you could put the sofa in the windows facing the other way and place the tv where the sofa used to be in something that can hide it a little from the back. Could even just add a panel of wood (painted to match in color) to the back of the chest it is currently on or the low stool in the window. Sort of like a mini version of this:

http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf665&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNMED&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNMED

I think if you like watching tv, you need to stop being afraid of it. Everyone on here TV-bashes way too much.

Back to your dilemma: You have a low sofa and your tv is pretty big. I say you put it on something much lower than what its on now. I would save myself the money and use the coffee table you have for your tv and spend some cash on a new bad ass coffee table that works towards your updated mcm look. I think the coffee table as a tv stand would be way cuter than some bulky piece made for a honkin' tv like that.

Good luck!
-Eleazar (http://www.blogazar.com)

I would strongly advise against using udoumami's idea of stacking books to make a shelf. It won't look "smarter." It'll look like you never read your books and don't care about them so they're being used to hold up furniture. Smart people read books, they don't build with them.

I think a teak MCM low credenza would be great. Don't fear the wood!

I don't get the OP's comments/concerns - She wants to do her place in the MCM style, but she's afraid of going too modern for the space? (Hint - That's what MCM stands for: Mid Century Modern)

She also wants a wood credenza, but is afraid of wood because the floors are wood?

I think what she really wants is Shabby Chic - There are fleamarkets and Craigslist for that.

Have you considered re-configuring the room and putting the couch where the TV is now and putting the TV on the opposite wall (or vice-versa)? You could get a flat-screen and put it inside a wall mounted cabinet that would open and close. Below it you could put a small console or even re-use your coffee table if it fits...or put the one you have on wheels and move it from in front of the sofa when you need it to under the wall mounted cabinet? Otherwise you are going to end up with a bulky armoire that may take up too much room. It's hard to tell from these pics but it would be a shame to obstruct those windows at all and it's going to be tough to hide such a big TV with furniture without taking over the space.

get a flat screen tv and mount it on the wall with an articulating arm.

I love the solid wood/white metal combination of the LAX series media cabinet. Pretty affordable too!
See it here: http://www.nest-living.com/products/lax-series-media-unit-by-mash-studios

A low coffee table (second hand?) in the same spot. Get one that is long enough to extend to your sofa so it acts as a side table too. Wood is fine but if it's in rough shape paint it a bright colour in keeping with turquoise accents you have. Perhaps a complimentary yellow or orange as you have a lot of white.

Forgot to mention you can then place a vase with flowers or a sculptural piece on the end table near the sofa so it hides the 'black eye of death' a bit.

Har! Heck, what's wrong with recycling what you have and aren't currently using? I know I rarely pull out my copy of War and Peace now that I've finished reading it. The same goes for Clarissa... and a few calculus and engineering text books that would sooner rot on my shelves.

Now, I don't own a television set so I'm swamped with books, books, books. Books that I've read, books I have yet to read, books that have been given to me, books I inherited from literary aficionados. Naturally, I'm finding myriad ways to display this collection now that it's eaten up several bookcases in my quaint studio.

I'm sure there are several books in everyone's library that are just collecting dust- so why not display them creatively when finished reading them? Of course you could donate to a local library but if you are hanging on to some items for sentimental reasons, go for it! Maybe there's a book on tact we can add to that stack. Smart people also have a sense of humour and generally think outside the box. Oh, and they also typically have an actual contribution to make to a conversation. Smart people talk about ideas, not other people. ;)

I've been agonizing for months about having to move the TV into the living room. The solutions I've come up with so far are too expensive or bulky - new tv, new armoire. I'm really liking the idea of a tv cosy. It is a little kitchy and a little tongue in cheek. It might be a great solution for my room!

First off, MCM furnishings will go great in that space, most true modern furnishings will add to the space while not overwhelming it like a lot of the bland contemporary stuff will.

Secondly, embrace what you have and go with it, I like a long lack shelf thing on it's side, perhaps on wheels put up against the wall to make a long, low table where the TV can sit and some nice pictures etc to it's right and a nice round accent lamp on the opposite end, and if close enough to the couch to use as an end table, so much the better, replace accent lamp w/ a reading lamp and you are set.

However if the view isn't worth it, I'd flip the couch around so it backs up to the bay, perhaps with a tall sofa table behind it with a lamp or two, the TV where the sofa was on a nice low credenza with a screen to hide it's back and to create a nice semi divisional aspect to the space so your sleeping is a little bit more separated from the living area and slide the screen down towards the wall fo it's not centered but still hiding the back of the TV.

it's ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!! some of us still have the big clunky tvs. i went 8 years w/o a tv at all, but then i moved to a studio w/ free cable & i was offered a free tv. so, i'm not about to go out & buy a flat one. lol am i the only person who feels this way?

but i digress, i'm in the same boat. currently, it is sitting on a mid century coffee table. here's how i'm going to hide it. i already have a track rail for my curtains, but i'm going to soon extend that rail to cover the entire wall. i'm going to postition it further out from the wall & use that space for storage. i'm going to bend the rail around the corner. the corner is where my tv will be. then, i'm going to install some soft lighting behind the wall of white curtains using rope lights like maxwell did in his tiny studio closet, remember?

as for you, i do think the tv is in the wrong space. that is a great window & i think it should probably be the focus of the room. so, if you want to hide that tv, take it away from the focus. the cabinet you're using is really not that bad. you could make it look more mod by using a vintage fabric or wallpaper behind the glass & swapping out the knobs. easy fix! & if you are going for mod, get rid of those silver candle sticks & that star. if you like the star look, go for sputnik, not texas. hope something helps!

Move the sofa so it isn't facing the windows, have it face where the TV is now so that you can look out the windows and look at the TV without having the sun glare in your eyes. If it is in your budget, I highly recommend getting a flat panel TV and mounting it on the wall. It makes the big black box a bit less intrusive. If not, I think your idea of a teak dresser would great, maybe get a wider one so you can put some other items on the top so the TV doesn't look so lonely. Get a rug or some Flor tiles that connects the area between the sofa and the dresser to add some color and define the space. Lastly, get a cozy little chair and side table to put in the window alcove, not directly facing the TV, that way you have a spot to read or additional seating when friends come over.

I've never understood why people feel they need to "hide" a TV, like it's a toilet or something. Do visible electronics shatter the illusion that you're living in the nineteenth century or something? I do agree that, aside from a home theater, a TV shouldn't be the focal point of a room. But it's okay for it to be visible, and doesn't have to be stashed away from view like dirty socks...

In any case, the problem here isn't so much that the TV is exposed; it's that it's too HIGH. Your eye goes right to it (especially since it's a big black box in an all-white room). Put it on a lower table to get the screen closer to eye-level when you're seated on the couch (makes for more comfortable viewing anyway). Decorate as desired around it to soften the contrast of black box against white wall.

I live in a studio as well, and have my tv out in the open, but not directly across from the sofa, so to me it feels less like the tv is the focal point of the room.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelulubird/1351638032/in/set-72157602080031702/
i bought the little dresser it sits on at a garage sale for $7 and painted it myself (it was bright purple and quite scratched up), so don't be afraid of buying something a little beat up - paint covers up a whole lot!

I dunno. I thought you had a lovely all-white room. The parson's coffee table is a classic. You really want to get rid of it?

get that tv down lower. it should be just above the height of your eyes when you're sitting.

just say no to tv loathing.

Get a flatscreen TV of similar size. It'll save a lot of space and it's far easier to fit into the room. Given the amount of money you're paying per-square foot in San Francisco, that's an important consideration.

You could then mount it to the wall, or hide it in a repurposed shallow kitchen cupboard, maybe with a rolltop front that you only open when viewing tee vee. Or you could even keep the set in a sideboard like this, with a sliding door:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40115023

Flatscreen sets offer lots of options. They're perfect for small space living.

The TV is too high.

Also, to me the TV is an awkward size. If you want something smaller (or with less 'back'), definitely put the feelers out to your friends and co-workers. I've gotten several TV's from friends for free as they upgrade to flat screens or become Amish.

If I lived in that apt, I would do whatever it took to get a smaller tv. Sure, a giant flatscreen will look better than a giant big black one, but a smaller tv of any kind will look best.

I agree that it's also too high, but I think that's a secondary factor. And you probably want to keep using that attractive cabinet it's sitting on--a small tv will work better at the same height.

Otherwise, what that space needs is a comfy armchair. That way it'll look more like a cozy potentially social space, rather than a tv watching corner for one person.

You've got a great cozy, cream-colored thing going on, it needs some accentuating. At least based on the pictures, the little things (vases, etc) there don't work--put them away for a clearer space. I like the clock in general but it doesn't go with that warm look. That stool-chair, could it go somewhere else? Use the ottoman as a coffee table, try putting a wood tray on top or something... it's a trend now but I think it'll work great in your place. Bring more warm colors in... some biggish smooshie reddish pillows for the loveseat (and future armchair). If you're gonna have houseplants there, don't use tiny ones... I'd suggest a windowbox style planter, plant it in a very full way with perennials, and if they die just replant. And finally, this might be only my view but I think venetian blinds bear replacing (with roman shades?) when possible.