Our tv is visible...but it is in our tv room, which is off the living room, but you can't see the tv in the living room. I'm glad we have the space; I always feel like tvs in the main living area end up taking over all other activities in the space. This way, we watch the tv purposefully, rather than because it is there.

or one can choose not to own a TV.
quite liberating.

Since our TV is quite small (although we finally did buy a flatscreen), it is in a smallish wooden cabinet in our living room.

We put our tv in the basement family room and keep the living room for books, music, radio, puzzles, newspapers, magazines and fires in the fireplace.

I'm also firmly in the "don't own a TV" camp. If I want to watch a series or film I can do so on my laptop- without the advertisements and 90% rubbish that they show all the time.
And I don't have to have a hideous black object clogging up my living space.

In our house, we have six TVs, so obviously we are of the "leave them out in the open" school of thought! We have a home theater (I like to say we built the theater and then added a few rooms to live in around it) which is my partner's big (110" screen) hobby. Our living room has a 50 inch flat screen. We don't entertain frequently, but when company comes over, that's where we sit (until we adjourn to the theater, of course!) I don't find the turned-off TV to be any more distracting than plain walls would be... you kind of look at the people with you, y'know? And it's not an issue when I sit and read there, either.

I always suspect that people who are very upset about having nice flatscreen TVs on view (different from the old bulky sets) are trying to convince themselves or others that they are too sophisticated for such bourgeoisie devices. We watch TV -- entertainment, DIY, science, history, movies -- lots of Blu-Ray DVDs... and as professionals (librarian, software engineer) most people consider us fairly intelligent even so! (Not that we are concerned about what they think!) Some TV is amazing! I'd hate to miss out!

I like Kariwk's statement of having the tv in a seperate room for media. Until I get a bigger place, my tv hangs out in the living room (albeit covered with a ethnic thai tablecloth)

I prefer my TV out f view when not in use -- in my NY place it's in a cabinet (see third pic here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2006-entries/small-cool-extras-franks-midcentury-madness--008853 )

I just leave mine out. I did pick a piece of art that was bigger than the tv to hang on the same wall so it takes the focus away from the tv: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnerd/4528004967/in/set-72157623875572184/

When one does choose to own an TV and in fact loveth one's TV, one could hang art around said TV in such as fashion as this: my living room

with the way TVs look today, I see no reason to hide them.

In all the photos you have chosen, the television says "Yes I'm here but other things happen in this room." When there is a giant television dominating the room and all the furniture faces it, the message is "We are all about tv, no imagination or style here." Whether you hide it or display it, do it well.

No TV here, we use our computer if there is something we simply have to see.
I hate walking into a living room and seeing a big TV "Altar" set up. You can tell it's the center of the home. Bah.

Well, as other people have said, it shouldn't a shrine that's the focal point of the room, but beyond that, I've never understood why so many decorators are so intent on hiding a frequently-used item that most people own.

the whole "not own a tv" thing is nice, except i like watching movies not on a teensy screen. i don't have cable, i think that's hip enough.

I've never understood TV shame. Yeah I have a TV alter. I love it. TV is awesome.

Wow I'm really surprised at all the commenters with no TV or against the big display! Every single person I know (except my in-laws) has the "TV shrine" in the living room, with all furniture facing the TV.

Right now ours is in the bedroom, but next week we'll be moving it to the living room in our new shelf unit.

It shouldn't affect social gatherings for us because we host all our parties outside (except for the occasional Dance Central tournament haha)

Ok I'm gonna go against the grain of most of the comments here. I'm a guy and live in a TINY NYC studio. I love my TV as the center hub of my entertainment, my Mac, Apple TV, Netflix, etc.
I was raised on TV so not having one is not an option as I love the choices it offers me for entertainment and education. I read plenty of books and can just enjoy my friends & family's photos scrolling by through my Apple TV's screensaver option when I listen to music to relax. I really have a problem with people who think that modern technology cannot be a part of one's lifestyle in order to have a great space.

I embrace the new and make it work for my life. Let's stop hating technology here! There are ways to make one's space great looking & functional including your TVs and Computers.

I'm cool with it either way, almost all the examples are great ways of incorporating a tv into a room (sorry, but the TV on an artists easel is the most pretentious and intrusive way to have a TV in a room, imo). I think it's great that we live in a time when the technology allows us to have a TV in a room without it taking up so much space or requiring a gargantuan armoire to try and hide it in. I remember being amazed when I go my first flatscreen how even though the screen size was bigger than the set it replaced, the impact it had on the feel of the room was noticably less. I also didn't require the oversized special piece of furniture to support it.

We have an antique Chinese Wedding Cabinet in a corner of the living area that houses the TV. We had the cabinet fitted with a pull out shelf so that we could have the screen at the proper angle for viewing. I don't have much use for TV and could easily live without one but my partner likes to watch movies on a larger screen than his laptop.

People love to pretend they don't like TV. I admit there isn't much great TV to watch, but it's there. Those that don't own one obviously don't have kids! You can pretend you would only buy architectural and wooden toys for your kids, the reality of staying sane does include an array of primary colored cheap plastic and DVDs of Bob the Builder.

That being said, mine is on a 60s wall unit. I feel no need to hide it or anything else in my life. Did I mention that you can stream The Wonder Years on Netflix?!

I gotta say that I don't have a problem with TVs out in the open. In fact, I don't see why it can't add to your decor. In the summer, I have a underwater video or fish tank dvd playing and in the winter I play a fireplace dvd. And, of course the cat has to have her catnip video of birds and squirrels on heavy rotation.

I bought a very nice looking tv ... at 55". I purposefully waited until I could find one that was both high quality and stylish so that it would add to my home, not take away from it. I love it!

I don't like most of the photos, they all seem so cluttered. I have a room for books, I feel that when they surround the TV you can't look at the TV without it feeling chaotic. Maybe if they were in doors that could shut. I never like art surrounding the TV either.

I am finally getting TV and I don't know what to do with it. I sure love that photo with the wood paneling but that isn't going to happen.

Don't have a TV anymore, but if I did have one, I'd stylishly hide it.

trying to hide a 50" black box is usually worse than the 50" black box itself (see picture one).

I would rather have a tv in the open than the big extra piece of furniture it would take to hide it. Some earlier mentioned the best option....just don't make it look like the TV is the only purpose of that room by facing all the furniture and attention there. My seating faces eachother and the TV is at the end center.

I don't mind the TV out in the open anymore now that I got a flat screen. It's just not as intrusive. The one thing I can't figure out in my small space is how to get rid of the "movie theater" effect of my set up.

I don't really have space for more seating but if you are sitting on the couch the only place to look is at the TV (and not at the other people you are hanging out with).

When the (non-flat screen) TV was in the mission, wood, barrister bookcases and leather living room, it lived in a wood cabinet---not to hide that we own one, just because it looked totally stupid and out of place in that room. Now, the new (flat screen) TV is in my office workspace, and as soon as I get a few minutes, it will hang on the wall, with my computer monitor, a white board, and some photos---all framed in black.

I love tv and I'm not ashamed of my tv shrine! I love style as well, but I feel that both can live together under my roof. :)

I minimize my tv by placing it on a wall in between two windows. The three feet between the windows is perfect for the slim-line flatscreen set upon an antique glass doored bookcase that mostly hides the cable box and Wii. Floor to ceiling drapes over both windows along with some appropriate sized art (about two panels each sized about 2x2) over the TV means that it's not the only thing you're looking at on that wall. Also on either side of the TV are two more chairs that can be used for conversation or shifted to have more people watch the TV.

No TV in my home as well. Hate the way they look, hate what they do to my brain.

I fall into the "display" camp mostly because it always seems like mirrors or cabinets to hide the TV make every day life a little more annoying - no fun. My solution is to always frame the TV in some cool architecture. Here are two pictures if you want to see how I do it:
http://www.insideways.com/2011/03/making-cool-feature-better.html
http://www.insideways.com/2011/09/white-box-challenge-reveal-living-room.html

Hi Jen from insideways, I REALLY love the shelves/wall unit which you showcased in http://www.insideways.com/2011/09/white-box-challenge-reveal-living-room.html
Do you have a DIY of how to build your own version of this shelves? I would love to try to do so for my NYC place! Thanks for posting it!

Right now, my tv is in a low cabinet in my living room. My living room does triple duty as living room/dining room (tv cabinet closed) family room (tv cabinet open). It works for me.

I'm in the my-home-is-made-for-me-to-live-in-&-I-like-to-watch-TV camp. Hiding the TV is like hiding the refridgerator in the kitchen. Why are we pretending that we don't live the way we live, or make people hunt for things that are commonly found in that type of room? As long as there's not a working TV on top of an old, non-working, console, floor model TV (some of you know what I'm talking about), I think it looks fine.

My flat-screen is against the wall in a minimally decorated corner faced by seating for just two. This TV zone is the out-corner of the L-shaped living-dining room. Both the library-conversation area before and the dining area beyond are larger and more colorful than the TV zone. The flat-screen faces away from the foyer that adjoins the library area, and from most of the room is barely noticeable when not being used. Its position allows viewers in the TV zone and dining area never to be blocked by people passing between the front and back of my home. It's hidden just by being downplayed.

i never understood why i should hide something i use every other day. i don't hide my oven, so why the tv? and also, i create my home for ME, for every day use. i do like having guests, but if they come, the tv is off. that should be enough not to distract them :)

My TV is out and all the seating in the living room faces it. However, even if I didn't have a TV, the seating in the living room would be in those exact same spots because that's what works best for the room.

oh and I forgot: what's the white tv for? i think when it's OFF it's also a big black mass (except the frame) and looks maybe even more awful. was the same with the white smartphones, yeah, they look pretty when the display is on, but most of the time the black one looks better, as it is optically one part and not two (white frame, black display)

I'm in the display camp. I use it, therefore I want it easily accessible. I don't have the time or patience to "unhide" it just to watch something. There's a reason I have a remote control and that it's left near the seating instead of next to the TV. Mine happens to blend into the fireplace wall, which is a chocolate brown, so it doesn't really look that ugly. I find nothing wrong with having a TV out in the open and I certainly don't think I'm too good to go without one.

My house is for living... not to be a showroom 24/7.

I don't have a tv. I watch films and online tv on my computers instead. If I turn the screen of my stationary computer towards the other end of the living room I can watch it with friends and family as well. More place for books and NO advertisements!

If I use something all the time I want to be able to get to it easily. Be it my TV, computer, kitchen appliances, whatever.

What bothers me is when people get something like the TV hutch with doors shown in the first image, but then NEVER actually close the doors. Seems like a waste.

I don't have a strong opinion either way, I guess, though we've chosen to display the TV in our space (mostly because our little studio doesn't have room for a bulky TV cabinet). There's art hung on the wall over the TV, and it's surrounded by bookshelves. Re: lazysmurf's comment... I don't find the art and books distracting or chaotic. The shelves are in good order, and we've tried to keep the art simple (5 or 6 fairly big pieces on the whole wall, not too much visual noise).
Overall, I think that if I'm going to have a TV, I'd rather it be one I don't mind looking at. We were TV-less for a while, and watched movies on a 23" monitor. That was fine too, although it's been nice to be able to move the couch a little farther away from the TV and watch together.
Oh, and... We don't have cable TV service either. We stream movies and TV shows from the internet. It's so much easier to find something I actually want to watch! I still miss HGTV sometimes, but only a little bit. :)

TV is an appliance. Use it wisely. :P

I've always found AT readers overly sensitive about hiding TVs. A TV is just another functional appliance -- most of us don't attempt to disguise our fridges, dishwashers, stereos, computers, alarm clocks, etc.

Sure, some people do, but doing a bad job of it can be worse than just leaving it out in plain sight.

I've never once had someone come to my home and become distracted by my turned off television. I also love to read books and have never been distracted by the TV while reading. The whole, "I don't own a TV so I'm superior to you." thing is annoying and pretentious.

We watch a lot of movies and enjoy sports so our 52" big screen makes us happy. That said, it lives in our 10x12 guest room with our laptops and a wall of books. I wish we could hide it but it's just too darned big!

I cover mine with a vintage scarf. It seems obvious, but no one ever seems to notice that I even have one.

Here is how I hid my TV.
I bought a TV lift actuator and built a pony wall in front of it.

BEST OF BOTH WORDS!

here are two pics of it up and down

Down:http://flic.kr/p/aPwSKP
Up: http://flic.kr/p/aPwSCr

Video of it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL_rl25ZhlM

We have a 62 inch screen, which, when not used for games or films, displays a slideshow of our photos.

Some want to hide the TV to make the living room more formal, like the obsolete Sunday parlor. Some want their homes to seem to have a separate family room or home theater for the big TV. The first few years we lived in this, our first house, my husband made a bedroom the TV room. He set the "public" living-dining room aside just for company, which didn't last long. When his love of computers mushroomed, we shifted the TV to the living room to make that bedroom an office. It's more practical considering that all the rooms are smallish. Besides, those computers, printers, scanners, and other peripherals are even less homey than the TV.

The corner of my living room is the only place where I can store my TV. I still have my big old TV, in a cabinet style corner armoire that I bought on Craigslist and painted yellow. I prefer to hide the TV when it's not on. But I haven't found a good solution to hiding the TV in the corner of a room, outside of the armoire. Does anyone know of any?

*When I asked, I of course meant the newer slimmer TVs.

@wyyfe, I remember years ago an AT contributor posted a photo of a homemade cover similar in shape and construction to a big pillowcase that was slipped over the flat-screen. You might like something like that. I liked that it was colorful.

I have set the tone early on in my house. Since I have a five year old, I want her to learn that free time should be focused on playing/exploring/learning. We own 19' tv which is in our living room. We watch the classics (Bugs Bunny, Pink panther cartoons, Rocky and Bullwinkle) However, I have positioned the sofa to face the fireplace. I have put her toys in the shelves next to our fireplace and have allowed her to have her toys in the adjoining room, so that she is encouraged to learn from toys and not from the tv.

TV sizes keep changing so much... I just gave up and entered the "Don't hide" camp.

Ideally, I'd have a small room just for watching TV/movies/gaming. In actual life, my TV is in the living room. I don't like it there. I'd rather hide it. I know I mindlessly watch too much TV and having it out in the open facilitates what I consider to be a bad habit. I don't really want to get rid of it altogether, though. I'm not that strong!

@saraI08, Unfortunately, I know what you mean. I find TV to be an addictive time-suck. I still watch too much TV between sitting down to dinner and bedtime despite cancelling cable-satellite years ago. I briefly missed watching HGTV, but since then have felt better being less passive and more productive. It's helped that I never allowed more than one TV at home and never allowed a TV in the bedroom.

I built this TV cabinet because my 32" Sony would be out of place in my small NYC space. Have a look:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101785167818786487183/Pandora02?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGz2cmg9Mu0fQ

@wyyfe, PS Try AT's search feature using "TV cover"

It may be true that the TV is just an appliance and we don't bother to hide any of the others. However if my alarm clock, which I use once per day (far more often than my TV), was 36 or more inches in size then YES I would hide it too.

As far as pretending disdain for the television goes... when I was just 31 I found myself waiting to undergo surgery for a heart condition. A surgery that there was a sufficient chance I could die from. So as I was waiting I thought over my admittedly short life thus far. What I found was that nearly all of my memories were of things that not only hadn't happened to me, they hadn't happened to anyone except to be staged in front of a camera. I feel I was lucky to have realized it then. I suspect there is going to be a sea of people who are not going to have cause to reflect on their lives until very near the end and then they are going to find that the entirety of their life was working, and staring at a television screen. And while some may find that a life well lived, I can't help but think that most will not.

As a respite family for the foster system I understand that sometimes the TV can be a useful source of entertainment for the kids. That said, our TV picks up no broadcast signal and we don't have paid television either. What we have is a large selection of movies. Movies from the pre-movie-as-marketing-device-for-children era. We choose what will be watched, and more importantly what won't, rather than letting what someone else has chosen wash over them.

@nrKist, Wow, well put.

When it was an ugly box, I hid it. Now that it's sleek, flat, and modern, I proudly embrace it. The fact is, I'm a 21st century tv watching woman, and I see no reason to hide my identity. I'm also a pretty good cook with a commercial oven (on display) and a blog lover with a great big mac (on display as well). By the way, I also display my well loved books and prized artwork. It's who I am, so why pretend to be someone who doesn't watch a good show, cook a delicious dinner, or read a book? It's allllllll on display.

@creative license and others of your ilk:
If you look over the many pictures on AT, you'll notice that most of the furniture is DIY, or refinished, or unique in some way; and much of it is made from natural materials. TV's, on the other hand, hail from another universe of craft and material. They're foreign, in more ways than one. If discontinuity is ok with you, then there's no problem. But for those who want some sort of unity in the world they create around themselves, the problem of the TV is real.

What's the point? If you want to hide your TV just get rid of it altogether. :)

For me, TV cabinets belong with radiator covers, curtain pelmets, valance sheets and those fabric covers people put kleenex boxes in. They don't necessarily look nicer than the things they're meant to hide.

I'm not one to hide my tv, but the two-way mirror is pretty awesome, especially since you don't even need to move anything out of the way when you actually want to use it.

If you don't want a tv...why look at tv design ideas!?! Makes no sense to complain about what you don't have
These design ideas are FABULOUS, by the way

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