How to Decorate a TV Console

Whether you’re an avid movie marathoner or just enjoy watching the occasional film, installing a TV console in your living room is a fantastic way to organise your multimedia area and add a focal point to your layout. As your TV is likely to be a major feature in your living space, giving it a little extra decorative TLC can have a huge impact on the overall look and feel of the space.

Adding accessories and decorative pieces to the console will help you maximise its effect and liven up your interior. So, how to decorate a TV console? Keep reading to find out.

The Luka TV Console beautiful slatted doors add form and function to your living room. Picture credit: @melisaclementdesigns

How to choose the right TV console for your home

Although they all serve broadly the same function, TV consoles come in a variety of styles and sizes. You’ll find some with wooden finishes, some with painted tones and others made from a mix of materials. You’ll also be able to choose from mid-century modern consoles, contemporary designs and light, airy Scandi-style pieces.

Most TV Consoles have a variety of built-in shelves and cupboards. This gives you plenty of space for tech accessories and DVDs. You can also use these storage pieces for books, vinyl records, ornaments or just the remote control.

When choosing a TV console for your living room, keep in mind the proportion of TV size to the console length. In general, a TV unit should be 10-15cm wider than the TV that’s placed on or above it. This helps to ensure your TV area looks balanced and well thought out.

Selecting a TV unit that’s in the same style as your other furnishings will also help to tie your room together. So, if the other pieces in your lounge have a retro feel, opt for a vintage-inspired console. Alternatively, choose a contemporary unit if you’re going for a modern aesthetic.

The Seb TV Console is a mid-century piece with drawers, cabinets and open shelving for ample storage. Picture credit: @onebad_mthfr

Keeping it simple

Once you’ve got your TV console, it’s time to flex your creative muscles and start decorating. It’s always a good idea to keep décor to a minimum to avoid interfering with the TV. After all, if you stuff your TV console with numerous photos, souvenirs, and ornaments, you might end up getting distracted and missing the cliff-hanger on your favourite show. Keeping décor to a minimum will also help to keep the focus on your furnishing and avoid your room appearing cluttered.

Decorate your TV console with a few carefully selected plants, vases, photos, and ornaments. Make sure none of the objects you put on your console go in front of your TV screen and try to choose pieces that complement the style of your room and you’re furnishing.

Style it your way. Picture credits: @dewdropzz

Balance it out

You can create symmetry on either side of the TV by using accessories and decorative items of a similar height or positioning. For example, you could put similar sized plants either side of your TV or balance your layout with a vase on one side and a photo on the other.

Taking an even-handed approach to your interior design should ensure you end up with a room that feels well thought out. It also gives you a useful place to start when thinking about where your objects are going to go.

Complement your TV console

When choosing ornaments and accessories for your TV console, it’s important to consider the style and colour of the unit itself. If you’ve opted for a retro style wooden console, look for accessories that are also made from natural materials or that have a vintage look.

If you’ve chosen a unit with a contemporary painted finish, select pieces that complement the tone of your furnishing. Try to avoid using too many different colours as this can make your TV console appear cluttered and chaotic.

August’s sleek carrara marble and a timber slatted frame deliver timeless appeal to any interior. Picture credit: @elise_joseph

Decorating around your TV console

Now you’ve got the look of your TV console just right, you can start decorating the rest of your room. One of the first things you’ll need to think about is lighting. Lighting can have a massive impact on a space so it’s important to get it just right.

Ideally, you don’t want any of your lights to reflect in your TV screen. Getting this right might be a bit of a case of trial and error as it’s not always easy to work out where the light from a lamp will be visible. It’s a good idea to keep your TV console itself free of illumination. Having bright lights right by your TV can make it harder to see the detail on the screen and can draw your eye away from the action.

Want to turn your TV console into a real feature and tie your living room together? Invest in an area rug. As well as centering your room, an area rug can allow you to add colour, style and pattern to your space.

Another good way to bring your interior together is to place a matching cabinet close to your TV console. Pairing complementary pieces can help your layout to feel more cohesive and enhance your design theme.

Last, but not least, you can use mirrors to bounce ambient light around your room and make the space feel bigger. Again, try to choose mirrors that reflect the style of your TV console. Choosing a big, bold mirror will maximise the amount of light in the space and help to bring your walls to life.

Get more interior design ideas and inspiration by looking around or contacting a member of our team.