What To Do With Your TV

Long gone are the days when you had a little 14 inch television set in the corner of your room. As televisions have become thinner, they have also become much larger and can dominate a room in a way which they have never done in the past. Whether the TV is on the wall, on a stand or hidden away there is hardly a living room in the country which doesn't have a large screen of some description taking up space.

So what should you do with your television? Should you embrace it as a design feature and turn it from an electronic necessity into a source of pride? Or should you hide it away behind doors and only let it out when your favourite program is on?

These days the television is used as much more than just a way of watching the BBC. With hundreds of channels available to watch there is hardly a time when the TV isn't on in most households. If it is not being used for television watching there is a good chance that a games console or two has been hooked up to it. Then there is the DVD watching which goes on. With surround sound and super wide screens the TV gives watchers a similar experience to going to the movies.

Bearing all of this in mind, the television has to be one of the more important appliances we own. However, if you want to hide your TV away you have a number of options.

A TV cabinet is a great option for most living rooms. The television simply hides inside a cupboard and the doors are left open when it is being watched. If you are not a regular TV watcher then this is best for you. However you need plenty of room for the cabinet to ensure there is enough space to open the doors fully. In addition it may not be ideal for a very large screen as the cost may not be worthwhile. If the point is that you don't want something to dominate the room, you may find the cabinet does just that.

Wall mounted flat screen TVs can be hidden by a piece of art or a mirror. The painting can simply be hinged and swung out of the way when the TV is used. Alternatively it can sit on rails and pushed up out of the way. These systems can even be controlled by a remote and will move as the TV is switched on. Other ways of disguising a flat screen TV is simply building a frame around it to make it into a feature. When it is turned off it could be a large mirror or it could be turned into to a digital picture frame.

Some furniture such as fire places, bed-ends or cabinets can hide the television within them. When it is switched on it emerges from within the furniture. The best thing about this is that when it is hidden it is impossible to know it is there. The size of the television is limited to the size of the furniture and because it runs on a gliding system there is more room for something to go wrong. There would be nothing worse that wanting to watch TV only for it to be stuck inside your bed.

Media centres are large wall bookshelves which are reversible. The shelf spins around and the television is mounted to the rear. During the day just the books are on display and in the evening it is spun round to reveal the television.

So there are plenty of options available on the market. If you want a really cheap version however you should simply buy a curtain or a room divider and hide the TV easily and without fuss.