Thursday, January 19, 2012

How To Hide Your Big Screen TV Without Your Husband Hitting The Roof!

The bane of the big screen TV age.

Your husband wants the biggest TV screen known to man.

While you like watching the big screen, you don't like it staring at you when it's not on, a big black hole sucking the life out of the room.

What to do, what to do.

There are products on the market out there to take care of just this problem - but they're costly.

I'm here to offer a solution. An inexpensive solution.

A cheap, do it yourself, custom made solution that will make you both happy.

The details. Here's my TV. Right smack in the middle of my living room. The first thing you see when you walk into my home.

(Yes - I have a copper colored ceiling. If you want to see more about that, click here.) 

Looks like a picture - right?

Well, it is a picture. All I did was take a canvas, paint a picture on it, and hung it over the TV. Simple & effective. This is what it looks like when we're watching TV.



Here's how you can do it too.

  1. Measure the size of the area you want to cover. My TV has a huge black frame around the actual screen, so I decided to cover just the screen itself.
  2. Order stretcher strips in exactly the size you need from any art supply store, or on line here. You will need 4 - two of the vertical measurement, 2 of the horizontal.
  3. Order a piece of canvas at least 8 inches bigger then the size of your finished picture. Order it primed (means it already has a coating of white on it so you don't have to do it.) Again, an art supply store or here.
  4. Assemble the stretcher strips. Stretch the canvas on the strips. You will need a staple gun for this. (easy directions on how to stretch a canvas here.)
  5. Paint a picture on it with acrylic paints.  Now, don't get intimidated by this. I found a picture in a catalog I liked, and then copied it onto the canvas. You could paint anything you want to - or have the kids do a masterpiece. The point is just get one color on it and have fun! Let dry.
  6. Attach two hooks to the back. 2 wreath hangers work well for this. I made some hooks out of some strips of metal I had in the basement.  
  7. Screw the hooks to the back of the picture.
  8. Apply some cushioning of some sort to the inside of the hooks so they won't scratch the TV screen. I used felt adhesive pads.
Taa daa! You're done!

Now, when the TV is not in use, hang the picture over it. And when it is in use, put your picture below it. Mine happened to fit perfectly hanging on the moulding around the fireplace. See what works for you.


Now you have the best of both worlds - big screen TV when you want it,  and decorative picture when you don't. And a great conversation piece too!

In need of more ideas like this one? There's lots more in my book, "30 Days To An Organized Home". Click here for more info.

 be organized.....evelyn

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