This Is the One Thing You Don’t Need in a Bedroom, According to Designers

Recently, I asked a handful of interior designers about the pieces people just don’t need in their bedrooms, and one answer bubbled to the forefront time and time again. “A TV is definitely not needed in the bedroom,” designer Leah Alexander says, and her surveyed designer peers definitely agree.

“Why not embrace rest to the fullest by unplugging from as many screens as possible here and have [the bedroom] be a sanctuary for reading or sleeping instead of binge-watching your favorite show?” designer Jean Liu suggests. Designer Wendi Young, who has been in the interiors business for over 25 years, shares a similar sentiment. “It’s a hard thing not to do, but [I suggest] keeping electronics and work outside of the bedroom,” Young says. “It is a space to rest and restore.”

Designer Emilie Munroe takes the no-TV rule a step further and advises against using any screens in your sleep space, no matter their primary purpose. “We hear so much about not having screens in the bedroom because screen time tricks the brain into not feeling relaxed and restful,” she says. “I’d like to extend this concept to include exercise equipment.”

While many of her clients ask for guidance on placing spin bikes and rowing machines in their main or guest bedrooms, Munroe would rather these pieces be placed in another space entirely. “I cannot think of a less calming and relaxing view from the bed than onto a piece of machinery,” Munroe says. “Love supporting exercise, but [I] would rather see equipment in a garage, den, media room, or playroom.” This is especially the case when these items are attached to streaming services and have — you guessed it! — yet another screen attached to them.

Of course, small-space living may mean the bedroom and living room are the only options for your television and other screen adjacent gear, and by no means did these surveyed designers believe in making their clients sacrifice those “Grey’s Anatomy” marathons or at-home sweat seshes for good. “If a client insists on having a TV, then I try to put it inside of an armoire or cabinet, so that it’s tucked away while not in use,” designer Elyse Petrella says, suggesting one way to conceal a large screen in a bedroom (or elsewhere).

Have no choice but to put a TV in your bedroom (or living room), or just want to be a designer rule breaker here because you like streaming from bed? You can still do you without disrupting your design aesthetic. The days of clunky televisions that kill a room’s mood are by and large gone. Plenty of flatscreens can be camouflaged in a sleep space.

Not ready to part with your perfectly functioning flatscreen? Consider leaning your TV on an easel rather than mounting it to the wall for a more artsy look. Only watch television on occasion? Throw it back to simpler times and opt to view your favorite flicks on a projector you can set up whenever it’s your turn to host movie night. Heck, you can even cover your TV with a blanket, as seen in the Queens apartment shown just above, and have it concealed. That way, your TV won’t be a constant visual reminder of technology or a tempting distraction all day and night.