From gallery walls to built-in shelving—everything you need to make your television the most stylish focal point in the room.
Let’s be honest: the television is almost always the elephant in the room. It’s large, it’s dark, and when it’s off, it can feel like a big black void on an otherwise beautiful wall. But here’s the thing—it doesn’t have to be that way. Art around TV is one of the most transformative, budget-friendly strategies in interior design today, and once you understand the rules (and when to break them), you’ll wonder why you ever left that wall bare.
Whether you’re dealing with a massive living room feature wall, a tight bedroom corner, or a floating TV stand in an open-plan space, the principles of decorating around a TV remain the same: create balance, add personality, and make the screen feel intentional rather than like an afterthought. This guide covers every angle—from what to hang next to a mounted television to how to build a full gallery wall that makes your TV look like a piece of curated art itself.
According to a 2023 Houzz Renovation Trends report, over 62% of homeowners cited “creating a more stylish living room” as their top renovation motivation. And the TV wall? It’s consistently ranked as the single most impactful place to start. So let’s get into it.
A well-curated gallery wall transforms the TV into a seamless part of the living room’s visual story.
Why the TV Wall Matters More Than You Think
The wall where your TV lives is—by default—the most viewed surface in your home. Studies on eye-tracking behavior in living spaces show that people naturally direct their gaze toward screens and light sources. That means whatever surrounds your TV is going to receive enormous subconscious attention.
Most people treat the wall behind TV as dead space. They hang the set, run the cables, and call it a day. But interior designers know that this is actually prime real estate for expressing your home’s personality. Wall decor around TV doesn’t just fill empty space—it gives the room cohesion, warmth, and a deliberate visual story.
The Common Mistakes People Make When Decorating Around a TV
Before diving into what works, it helps to understand what doesn’t. The most frequent errors when people attempt to decorate around a TV include:
- Hanging art too high — Art placed too far above the TV creates visual disconnection and looks like it belongs to a different wall entirely.
- Ignoring scale — Small frames on a large wall look timid and scattered. Large picture above TV placements often work better than clusters of tiny prints.
- Competing with the screen — Busy, colorful artwork directly behind the TV can make the screen harder to look at when it’s on. This is why many designers prefer neutral wall art behind TV.
- Forgetting the sides — Next to TV decor is just as important as what goes above or behind. The flanking zones are your biggest opportunity for personality.
- Ignoring cables — No amount of beautiful wall art around TV can compensate for a cascade of tangled cords.
Pro Tip Before you put a single nail in the wall, tape out the TV’s dimensions and your intended art placement using painter’s tape. Live with the layout for 24 hours. This costs nothing and saves countless patched holes.
How to Decorate Around a TV on a Large Wall
A large, open wall with a TV at its center presents both a challenge and an incredible opportunity. The challenge: empty space can make even a 75-inch TV look small and isolated. The opportunity: you have room to do something genuinely spectacular. Understanding how to decorate around a TV on a large wall is really about mastering proportion and visual weight.
Creating a Full Gallery Wall Around the TV
The gallery wall around TV approach is arguably the most popular solution for large walls—and for good reason. Done well, a gallery wall behind TV creates the impression that the television is part of a curated art collection rather than a standalone appliance.
For a simple gallery wall around TV, start by selecting a mix of 5 to 9 frames in complementary sizes. A good rule: let the TV act as the “anchor” piece and build outward from there. Use frames that are consistent in tone (all black, all natural wood, or all white) but vary in shape—rectangular, square, and round—for visual interest.
Key spacing guidance: maintain approximately 2 to 3 inches between each frame and between the outermost frames and the TV. This spacing is tight enough to feel cohesive but loose enough that nothing feels claustrophobic. The gallery wall above TV zone—the space directly above the screen—should feature your largest or most impactful piece. A large painting above TV or a statement mirror works beautifully here.
Using Symmetry for a Clean, Modern Look
Not everyone is drawn to the eclectic energy of an asymmetrical gallery. If your style runs more contemporary, symmetry is your best friend. Flanking the TV with matching panels—whether artwork behind TV in matching frames, twin sconces, or identical floating shelves—creates a crisp, architectural feel. This is especially effective when combined with a painted accent wall or a dramatic material like stone veneer or shiplap.
Built-in shelving flanking the TV adds storage, symmetry, and a custom-built feel to any living room.
The Built-In Approach
Nothing elevates a TV wall quite like built ins around TV. Custom or semi-custom built-in shelving transforms a flat wall into an architectural feature. The TV becomes one element within a larger composition of books, plants, objects, and lighting. Builtins around TV also solve the eternal cable-management problem—you can route everything cleanly through the back panels.
If full custom build-ins are out of budget, IKEA’s BILLY bookcase system and similar flat-pack options can be painted and trimmed to mimic the look for a fraction of the cost. This DIY approach has exploded in popularity and is often tagged as a DIY entertainment wall project on Pinterest and Instagram.
How to Decorate the Wall Behind a TV Stand
Many homes still use a TV stand or media console rather than a wall-mounted setup. In this case, the challenge is slightly different: you’re working with a defined lower boundary (the top of the stand) and an often-awkward vertical expanse above it. Knowing how to decorate wall behind TV stand means thinking about the full zone—from stand surface to ceiling.
What to Put on the Wall Behind the TV Stand
Decor behind TV in this configuration typically works best as a single large statement piece rather than multiple small ones. A large-scale print or canvas—anything 36 inches wide or more—provides enough visual presence to match the horizontal weight of the stand and screen below it. Abstract art works particularly well because it doesn’t compete with whatever’s on screen, and it photographs beautifully.
Alternatively, consider a painting behind TV—specifically a landscape or architectural piece in soft, muted tones. The Scandinavian interior design tradition often pairs a large neutral canvas with a sleek media unit to stunning effect.
Decorating the TV Stand Surface Itself
The surface of the stand is part of the overall around TV decor picture. Resist the temptation to cram it with devices and remote controls. Instead, edit ruthlessly and style in odd numbers: a small plant, a sculptural object, and a candle or lamp create a triad that feels deliberate. Leave breathing room—negative space is not empty space, it’s editorial space.
Decorating around a TV stand also includes the space immediately beside the unit. A tall floor lamp, a woven basket, or a potted fiddle-leaf fig creates vertical interest and softens the hard edges of furniture and electronics.
📐 Quick-Reference: Art Around TV — Sizing & Spacing Rules
Gallery Frame Spacing: 2–3 inches between pieces and TV
Art Above TV (Center Height): 6–8 inches above the top edge of screen
Ideal TV Viewing Height: Center of screen at seated eye level (~42″)
Large Piece Width Rule: Art should be 2/3 the width of the TV or wider
Side Decor Height: Match bottom of art to TV’s lower third
Under-TV Clearance: Leave at least 8″ between TV and stand surface
Above TV Decor: Making the Most of That Upper Zone
The space directly above your television is one of the most misused spots in the entire home. Above TV decor ideas range from minimalist floating shelves to dramatic oversized art, and the right choice depends entirely on your room’s scale and your personal aesthetic.
What to Hang Above the TV
For a clean, modern look, a single large canvas or print in a palette that echoes the room’s color story is often the strongest choice. Think of it as wall art over TV: the piece should feel like it was chosen to be there, not like it was placed there to fill a gap.
Above TV wall decor can also take the form of a statement mirror. Mirrors above the television serve double duty—they bounce light into the room and create the illusion of depth. In smaller living rooms, this trick can make the entire space feel significantly larger.
For those who prefer a more layered, maximalist approach, decor above TV ideas can include a floating shelf styled with books, small sculptures, trailing plants, and framed photos. This adds texture and movement that static wall art can’t quite replicate.
Over the TV Decor: The Rules of Proportion
The most important rule for over the TV decor: the piece (or arrangement) above the TV should not exceed the width of the TV itself. A common beginner mistake is hanging art that’s narrower than the screen, which makes both elements look mismatched. Art over TV should ideally be at least two-thirds the width of the screen, with full-width matching or slightly wider being even better.
Pictures Around TV: Building a Photo Gallery That Works
Personal photographs are among the most meaningful things you can put on a wall. When executed thoughtfully, pictures around TV create an emotional warmth that no amount of store-bought prints can replicate. They tell your story. The challenge is making them feel intentional rather than casually scattered.
How to Arrange Pictures Around TV on the Wall
When planning pictures around TV on wall, think of the screen as the center of a sunburst pattern. Photos can radiate outward in all directions—above, below, and to the sides—as long as they maintain consistent spacing and a unifying thread. That thread might be a matching frame style, a consistent color filter on the photos themselves, or a shared subject matter (family, travel, black-and-white film photography).
Picture frames around TV ideas that work especially well include the “staircase” layout (frames ascending or descending in height alongside the TV), the “constellation” layout (seemingly random but carefully spaced placement), and the “grid” layout (perfectly aligned rows and columns for a graphic, editorial feel).
Pictures Next to TV and on the Sides
Pictures next to TV can anchor the horizontal eye-line and make the TV feel planted in the space rather than floating. The side zones—next to TV decor territory—are best treated as vertical strips. A column of three frames stacked at varying sizes, all in coordinating tones, creates rhythm without chaos. Alternatively, a single large portrait-oriented print on each side provides clean symmetry that feels almost architectural.
Decor Around Mounted TV: Special Considerations
A wall-mounted TV has no stand to anchor it visually, which means the wall itself must do all the heavy lifting. Decor around mounted TV is simultaneously more flexible (no furniture constraints) and more demanding (no furniture to hide cables or fill the lower zone).
How to Decorate Around a Wall Mounted TV
The first task when working out how to decorate around a wall mounted TV is cable management. Surface-mounted cable conduit, in-wall cable kits, or a strategically placed floating shelf directly below the TV can all conceal cords cleanly. This is non-negotiable: no wall decor next to TV or above will look polished if a tangle of cables cascades down the wall.
Once cables are sorted, consider the decor for behind TV zone. For wall-mounted sets, a painted accent wall in a deep, saturated tone—navy, forest green, or charcoal—can make the screen almost disappear when it’s off, essentially turning the TV into a black-framed artwork. This technique has been championed by designers like Emily Henderson and is one of the most effective flat screen TV on wall ideas available.
How to Hide the Back of a TV in the Middle of a Room
One of the most asked questions in open-plan living is how to hide back of TV in middle of room. When a TV is mounted on a room divider, a freestanding panel, or an island wall, the back is fully exposed. The cleanest solutions include: a fabric panel mounted on the back of the support structure; a cladding of vertical slats, reclaimed wood, or tile that creates a finished “back-of-the-wall” look; or a floor-to-ceiling bookcase on the reverse face that makes the reverse side into a library wall. Each of these transforms what might otherwise be an awkward afterthought into a genuine design moment.
Floating shelves beneath a mounted TV solve cable management and add decorative layering below the screen.
How to Decorate Under the TV and the Lower Zone
How to decorate under TV is a question that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The zone directly below the screen—whether it’s a floating shelf, a TV stand surface, or bare wall—anchors the entire composition. Get it wrong and the TV looks like it’s levitating awkwardly; get it right and the whole wall coheres.
Decorate Under TV: Styling Options
Decorate under TV with a floating media shelf for a minimal, airy look. Style the shelf with a mix of objects at different heights: a stack of art books, a ceramic vase, a small succulent, a trailing pothos. Avoid anything that creates screen glare—matte objects and low-key lighting work better than reflective surfaces here.
Under TV decor can also include a narrow console table if the TV is wall-mounted without a formal stand. This grounds the television visually and provides a home for streaming devices, remotes, and ambient lamps. The under the TV decor layer is where practical meets aesthetic in the most visible possible way.
Decorating Under TV: Adding Texture and Warmth
One often-overlooked trick for decorating under TV: use texture to add warmth. A woven basket, a rough linen lampshade, or a terracotta pot brings organic softness into what is otherwise a very angular, tech-heavy zone. This is especially effective in living rooms that trend toward the contemporary or industrial, where warmth can be elusive.
TV Wall Decor Ideas for the Living Room
The living room is where most people spend the most time wrestling with TV ideas, and it’s also the room where the TV wall has the most impact on the overall feel of the home. TV wall decor ideas for living room span the full spectrum, from pared-back Japandi-inspired arrangements to opulent maximalist galleries that could live in a boutique hotel.
Living Room Wall Decor Behind TV: Style by Style
Living room wall decor behind TV should always be chosen in relationship to the room’s broader palette and furniture style. Here’s a brief guide to what tends to work in different aesthetics:
- Modern Minimalist: A single oversized canvas in a neutral tone. No frames, no gallery—just one powerful piece. Wall art behind TV in black and white photography works brilliantly here.
- Bohemian: A layered mix of macramé, woven tapestry, vintage mirrors, and eclectic prints. Embrace the asymmetry. The gallery wall around a TV in this style should feel collected over time, not designed in an afternoon.
- Traditional/Classic: Symmetrical arrangements with gilded frames, oil-painting reproductions, and architectural prints. The decorations around TV in this style often include flanking console lamps and coordinating vases.
- Coastal/Natural: Driftwood frames, botanical prints, woven textures, and organic shapes. The decoration around TV wall here should feel unhurried and nature-forward.
- Industrial: Black metal frames, concrete textures, vintage maps, and typography prints. The TV itself tends to look at home in industrial settings because its dark, angular form echoes the aesthetic.
TV Wall DIY Ideas for Every Budget
Not every stunning TV wall diy ideas project requires a designer or a contractor. Some of the most impactful changes are DIY-friendly: painting the wall behind the TV in an accent color, installing pre-primed floating shelves, applying peel-and-stick wallpaper panels, or using affordable poster frames in a gallery arrangement. The wall mounted TV decor ideas that resonate most on social media are often the ones with the lowest price tags and the highest creativity.
What to Put on the Wall Next to a TV: Specific Ideas
What to hang next to TV is one of the most specific, practical questions homeowners ask, and the answer depends largely on your wall’s dimensions and your TV’s size. Here are concrete ideas broken down by context:
Wall Decor Next to TV: Vertical vs. Horizontal Approaches
Wall decor next to TV generally falls into one of two categories: vertical stacks (multiple pieces arranged in a column) or horizontal panels (one or two pieces at the same height as the television). Vertical stacks are better for walls with limited horizontal space; horizontal panels work best when there’s ample room to spread out.
Decor beside TV that incorporates living elements—plants, fresh flowers, trailing greenery—adds an organic softness that manufactured decor can’t replicate. A tall potted plant like a snake plant or monstera beside the TV brings life and color into the corner without overwhelming the screen.
Wall Decor Ideas Next to TV: Specific Products That Work
Some specific wall decor ideas next to TV that consistently earn praise from designers and homeowners alike:
- Floating walnut shelves styled with books and objects in a tonal color palette
- A single large portrait-format mirror in a thin metal frame
- A floor-to-ceiling curtain panel that adds softness and height
- A pair of matching sconce lights for ambient illumination
- Vertical art in a painted mat with a thin black frame—simple, graphic, effective
- A mounted pegboard painted the same color as the wall, styled with small plants and objects
Bedroom TV Walls: How to Decorate Around a TV in a Bedroom
Bedroom TV setups demand a slightly different approach than living rooms. The goal is to integrate the screen seamlessly so it doesn’t dominate the most intimate room in the home. How to decorate around a TV in bedroom settings comes down to softening the technology with textiles, warm lighting, and organic shapes.
In a bedroom, the wall behind TV ideas lean toward calming palettes and personal touches. Soft gray, dusty pink, sage green, or off-white accent walls behind the TV create a cocoon-like atmosphere. Hanging art around TV in a bedroom works best with pieces that have personal meaning—family photos, travel images, art that provokes memory or emotion. The bedroom TV wall should feel like a sanctuary, not a cinema lobby.
How to Style a TV Wall: The Step-by-Step Process
Pulling together everything covered in this guide, here’s a practical, repeatable process for how to style a TV wall in any room:
- Establish your TV height first. Mount or position the screen so the center is at seated eye level (approximately 42 to 48 inches from the floor, depending on your seating height). Everything else builds from this anchor point.
- Resolve cable management. Before a single nail goes into the wall, conceal all cables. This is the foundation of every great TV wall decoration for living room.
- Choose your primary decor strategy. Are you doing a gallery wall, flanking symmetry, built-ins, or a single statement piece? Commit to one approach before buying anything.
- Plan on paper (or painter’s tape). Map out your decor around TV ideas at full scale before committing. Paper templates taped to the wall reveal proportional problems that are invisible in your head.
- Shop for consistency. Whether it’s frame finish, art tone, or object material, choose a unifying thread and stick to it. TV wall art ideas that feel cohesive always have this invisible logic running through them.
- Layer from the wall outward. Wall art first, then floating shelves, then objects on shelves, then floor-level plants or lamps. Each layer adds depth.
- Edit ruthlessly. Once everything is up, stand at the main seating position and study the wall for 10 minutes. Remove anything that your eye doesn’t need. Restraint is the signature of truly skilled decorating around a wall mounted TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best art to put around a TV?
The best art around TV is typically abstract, landscape, or typographic art in neutral or muted tones. Highly colorful or busy artwork can be visually distracting when placed directly beside or behind a screen. Large-scale single pieces tend to work better than small clusters directly adjacent to the TV.
How do I decorate a large wall with a TV?
For how to decorate around a TV on a large wall, the most effective approaches are: building a full gallery wall that uses the TV as the central anchor, installing symmetrical built-in shelving on either side, or using an oversized accent piece above and flanking decor beside. The key is filling enough of the wall that the empty space works in your favor rather than feeling neglected.
What should I put on the wall behind my TV?
Great options for what to put behind TV include a large canvas or print, a statement mirror, a gallery arrangement of framed art and photographs, a textured panel (shiplap, slat wall, stone veneer), or a painted accent wall. The right choice depends on your TV’s size, your room’s style, and how much visual impact you want the wall to make.
How high should art be hung above the TV?
As a general rule, when placing wall decor above TV, hang the bottom of the art 6 to 8 inches above the top edge of the screen. This maintains a visual connection between the TV and the art without the piece feeling like it’s floating away. For oversized pieces, you can reduce this gap to 4 to 5 inches.
Should I put a gallery wall around my TV?
Yes—a gallery wall around TV is one of the most designer-endorsed approaches to TV wall styling. It works because it visually absorbs the TV into the larger composition, making the screen feel like part of an art collection rather than a piece of electronics. Keep the gallery framing consistent and the spacing tight (2–3 inches) for the most polished result.
What can I put next to the TV on the wall?
Excellent options for wall decor next to TV include framed prints or photos in a vertical stack, tall potted plants, floating shelves styled with books and objects, sconce lights, mirrors, or decorative panels. Aim for pieces that are proportional to the TV’s height and that create a visual “frame” around the screen.
How do I decorate under a wall-mounted TV?
For how to decorate under TV that’s wall-mounted, the most common solutions are a floating media shelf or console table directly below the screen. Style the surface with a minimal grouping of objects—a plant, a candle, a sculptural piece—at varying heights. This grounds the floating TV visually and provides a natural home for streaming equipment.
How do I hide the back of a TV in the middle of a room?
The best solutions for how to hide back of tv in middle of room include cladding the back panel of the room divider in wood slats or tile, adding a fabric panel in a neutral tone, or building out a back-to-back bookcase that creates a library wall on the reverse face. Each approach turns an architectural awkwardness into a design opportunity.
Can I put a painting behind the TV?
Absolutely. A painting behind TV—especially a large-scale, muted landscape or abstract piece—can be one of the most elegant TV wall solutions. When the TV is off, the painting is the focal point. When it’s on, the painting adds context and warmth to the screen. Just make sure the painting’s tone doesn’t create glare or visual distraction during viewing.
What colors work best for wall decor around a TV?
For wall decor around TV, muted, medium-value tones tend to work best: warm grays, dusty blues, sage greens, off-whites, and soft terracottas. Very bright or saturated colors can make the TV screen itself seem washed out by comparison. For dark accent walls behind the TV, deep navy, forest green, and charcoal are consistently effective.
Conclusion: Make Your TV Wall Work For You
The television doesn’t have to be a compromise in your home’s design. With the right approach to art around TV, the screen can become the centerpiece of a genuinely beautiful, expressive wall that reflects who you are. Whether you opt for a full gallery wall behind TV, a clean built-in system, a single oversized canvas, or a curated mix of personal photographs and decorative objects, the principles remain the same: establish your anchor, plan for proportion, manage your cables, and edit with intention.
Start with the one change that will have the biggest impact in your specific space—whether that’s finally hanging that large print above the screen, building out flanking shelves, or just styling the TV stand surface with purpose. The best TV wall decor ideas are the ones you actually act on. Your wall is waiting.
Ready to Transform Your TV Wall?
Save this guide, share it with a friend who’s been staring at a blank wall, and start with one small, intentional change today. The most beautiful rooms are built one considered decision at a time.