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You love binge-watching your favorite shows, but you don’t love how that big black screen dominates your small living room.
The good news? Your TV doesn’t have to be an eyesore that ruins your carefully curated decor.
With these smart design tricks, you can create a beautiful space where your television blends seamlessly into your style. Let’s explore how to make your small living room look amazing, even with a TV front and center.
01. Embrace a Minimalist Approach
Credit: Design byCathie Hong Interiors/Margaret Austin Photo
You’ll love how a simple flat screen mounted on a bare wall can actually look stunning when you add warmth beneath it.
Try placing a pale wood console under your TV to soften the look. Then draw attention elsewhere with a vibrant painting on the opposite wall and colorful textiles that give visitors something beautiful to admire when the screen is off.
02. Incorporate More Black Elements
Credit: Jenn Pablo Studio
Here’s a secret that interior designers swear by: your TV shouldn’t be the only black item in your room.
When you add other black accents like a fireplace, statement lamp, or decorative pieces, your television suddenly becomes part of a cohesive design scheme. This creates beautiful contrast in spaces decorated with neutral tones and natural wood finishes.
03. Install a Textured Wall Treatment
Credit: Laura Brophy Interiors
You can transform that plain TV wall into something spectacular with the right texture.
Consider adding wood slats or paneling behind your television to create visual interest that extends beyond the screen itself. A Frame TV displaying artwork when not in use takes this concept even further, turning your entertainment center into a genuine focal point you’ll be proud to show off.
04. Design a Custom Wall Niche
Credit: Laura Brophy Interiors
Why not give your TV its own special spot within a larger built-in system?
You can create a perfectly balanced wall with closed cabinets for hiding clutter and open shelves flanking your screen for displaying your favorite objects. Add a patterned backing behind the TV, and suddenly your eye has plenty to explore beyond just the black rectangle.
05. Think About Scale and Balance
Credit: Jessica Nelson Design/Carina Skrobecki Photography
You’ll achieve a much more polished look when your TV fits the proportions of your wall or mantel perfectly.
Don’t go oversized just because you can. Instead, choose a screen size that looks intentional and tailored to your space, especially above a fireplace. This creates a clean, well-balanced appearance that makes your entire room feel more thoughtfully designed and cohesive.
06. Frame It Like Fine Art
Credit: Liz Marie Blog
Your farmhouse or traditional style doesn’t have to suffer just because you need a TV in the room.
Frame TVs paired with ornate frames let you display beautiful landscape paintings or photography that changes with the seasons. This clever approach means your screen becomes an art piece that actually enhances your aesthetic rather than fighting against it every single day.
07. Choose a Deep Wall Color
Credit: Brexton Cole Interiors
If solid black feels too intense for your space, you’ll love how dark navy, charcoal, forest green, or deep brown works instead.
Painting your TV wall in one of these rich shades helps your screen recede into the background beautifully. Try this technique on shiplap or behind a fireplace for an especially sophisticated look that makes your television practically disappear.
08. Stick With Monochrome Styling
Credit: Kara Mann
The absolute easiest way to make your black screen blend in? Decorate your entire room in black and white.
This classic color scheme turns your TV into just another element in your cohesive design. Position it against slanted ceilings or anchor it with vintage furniture, and your television becomes practically invisible when you’re not actively watching your favorite shows.
09. Go Bold With Your Color Palette
Credit: Heather Hilliard Design/Michele Lee Willson Photography
You can make your TV virtually disappear by using assertive colors throughout your small living room.
Rich shades like deep red, navy blue, or emerald green create such a strong visual impact that your flat screen becomes secondary. When you commit to a bold color story, your television simply can’t compete for attention with all that gorgeous, confident style.
10. Balance With Opposite Wall Art
Credit: Heather Hilliard Design/ Photo byDavid Duncan Livingston
In narrow or railroad-style living rooms, you’ll want to create visual balance between your TV wall and what’s across from it.
Hang a large painting or piece of art opposite your television, making sure it’s actually bigger than your screen. This keeps your space feeling art-focused rather than tech-dominated, which creates a much more sophisticated and intentional atmosphere overall.
11. Paint the Background Black
Credit: Design bySissy + Marley/ Photo byMarco Ricca Studio
You’ll be amazed at how jet-black paint makes your TV completely fade away when it’s turned off.
Pair that dark wall with a low black console and you’ve created a sleek, cohesive look. Add white walls and pale wood built-ins around this dark zone, and you’ve got a graphic color-block effect that’s incredibly stylish and makes your screen feel intentional.
12. Nestle It Within Built-In Shelving
Credit: White Sands Design Build
Your TV becomes so much less dominant when it’s surrounded by beautiful built-in cabinetry filled with books and decorative objects.
White painted shelving works especially well for this approach, creating a cohesive wall where your television is just one element among many. This works beautifully in smaller downstairs living rooms where you need maximum storage without visual clutter.
13. Flank It With Wall Sconces
Credit: Design byStudio-Surface/ Photo byJenny Siegwart
You don’t have to hide your wall-mounted TV when you can balance it with beautiful lighting instead.
Keep your screen modest in size so it doesn’t overwhelm your room, then add minimalist sconces on either side. This creates symmetry and provides ambient lighting that makes your TV feel like part of a well-designed feature wall rather than an afterthought you’re trying to disguise.
14. Transform It Into Artwork
Credit: Liz Marie Blog
Frame TVs are absolute game-changers for rooms where you want your screen to completely disappear between movie nights.
Mount one over your mantel and add a picture light above it for the full gallery effect. You can display classic paintings, family photos, or seasonal artwork that makes your TV look like a genuine art collection rather than electronics.
15. Create a Color-Blocked Feature Wall
Credit: Laura Brophy Interiors
A strict black-and-white palette on your fireplace wall makes your flat screen look like it’s part of the architecture itself.
This color-blocking technique is especially effective in small spaces where you want clean lines and modern sophistication. Your TV becomes an intentional design element rather than something you’re trying to work around or apologize for in your decor scheme.
16. Recess It Into the Architecture
Credit: Design byGhislaine Vinas/Art Gray Photography
You’ll achieve the most seamless look possible when your TV is actually embedded into a custom wall niche.
This minimalist approach works beautifully in all-white or monochromatic rooms where clean lines matter. Your television becomes part of the wall itself, creating an ultra-sleek, architectural feel that’s perfect for contemporary and modern spaces where you value simplicity above all.
17. Add Soft Backlighting to Shelves
Credit: Kendall Wilkinson Design
Your TV shouldn’t be the only glowing element on your wall, or it’ll dominate your entire room.
Surround your wall-mounted screen with built-in shelving that features soft LED backlighting. This creates ambient illumination that balances the brightness of your television and makes your whole wall feel intentional, cohesive, and beautifully designed rather than tech-focused and cold.
18. Position It Away From Center
Credit: Design byEmily Hendersonand Priscilla Frost / Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp
Sometimes the best placement for your TV isn’t the most obvious one, especially in rooms with low ceilings.
Try hanging your screen off to one side of your fireplace on a dark paneled wall instead of directly above the mantel. This creates a more comfortable viewing height and keeps your television visible but not dominant in your overall room design.
19. Tuck It Among Your Book Collection
Credit: Studio Peake
Colorful walls and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are your secret weapons for making a TV feel less intrusive in small spaces.
Create a custom niche within your built-in shelving that’s perfectly sized for your flat screen. With books, decorative objects, and vibrant paint colors competing for attention, your television becomes just another interesting element rather than the room’s focal point.
20. Use Bold Wallpaper as a Backdrop
Credit: Forbes + Masters
Instead of trying to camouflage your television, why not embrace it against a backdrop of gorgeous graphic wallpaper?
A bold pattern adds movement and visual interest that makes your screen feel intentional. Float a modest-sized TV on your papered wall, add a low console beneath it for styling, and you’ve created a feature wall that’s genuinely beautiful.
21. Add a Sleek Thin Frame
Credit: Mindy Gayer Design Co.
You can give your wall-mounted flat screen a more polished, finished appearance with a simple thin frame around the edges.
This small detail makes your TV feel integrated with surrounding built-ins rather than stuck on as an afterthought. Paint your built-in wall in a soothing color like soft blue to draw the eye and add warmth that balances all that technology.
Final Thoughts
Your small living room can absolutely accommodate a TV without sacrificing style or sophistication.
Whether you choose to camouflage your screen with paint and texture, embrace it with bold design choices, or transform it into artwork, you’ve got plenty of options that work beautifully.
The key is making intentional choices that integrate your television into your overall design scheme rather than treating it like something you need to hide or apologize for in your home.
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