Media Stand Styling

By Kate Riley August 20, 2015

The flat screen TV is part of our lifestyle and out in the open in most households. Many homes and apartments lack a built-in entertainment center, so the console or media stand is the next best thing for supporting the TV and housing media equipment.

Several years ago I shared 9 ways to design around a TV but today the focus is on one of the most popular solutions: the media stand. No wonder so many retailers sell several versions, they’re in high demand! Styling a media stand or console can prove a challenge, I prefer simplicity myself but there are many different ways to pull off a stylish display of your own.

simple media stand tv arrangement

style me pretty

 simple console arrangement

jenny wolf interiors

One of my favorite looks is a symmetrical art display around the TV, I did this recently for the shelter family room. Art or photographs that share commonality combined with matching frames is a no fail way to style a wall around television.

symmetrical art around tv

 sita montgomery interiors

symmetrical art around television

 rain on a tin roof

symmetrical art arrangement

 hooked on houses

There’s no need to place the television in the center, these spaces showcase how to create a display with art and accessories around an off center TV.

tv off center media stand

 sharon eiger via houzz

media stand off center tv

crate + barrel

floating console

 jessica helgerson

Here are two opposite yet equally stylish examples of accessorizing, the first uses colorful and symmetrical stacked books, lamps, and dishes, the second image is a more zen approach with layered accents in soothing neutral tones.

 console with stacked books

 waiting on Martha

floating console simple rock arrangement

 peridot decorative homewear

Up the elegance with a mirrored console and create a more formal wall gallery with gilded frames and fine art.

mirrored console wall gallery

lauren hasket

mirrored cabinet wall art gallery

atlanta homes mag

Then there’s the ever popular eclectic wall gallery which allows the art to take the spotlight and detracts from the big black box.

wall gallery behind tv

 a cup of jo

mid century media stand

 west elm

long black tv console

 pottery barn

white media stand abstract art

west elm

gallery wall around tv

 pottery barn

wall gallery around tv

 style me pretty

Dressers are another great solution to act as a TV stand, removing the upper drawers makes space for the media equipment.

 dresser media stand

 cape 27 blog

dresser tv stand

burlap and lace

For those of you with the media stand + TV combo, how have you decorated yours? Simply, eclectically?

11 comments

  1. I love the symmetrical look of the gallery walls with all of the art prints. I guess I am just drawn to symmetry.
    I recently did my T.V. wall. I love the mix of my French weathered buffet, blue and white chinoiserie, floor to ceiling shutters, and beautiful candle sconces. It’s symmetrical. Love all of this great inspiration!

  2. My favourites are the first one for its simplicity and the one with the tv on the black wall. It just disappears. I am not a fan of all the artwork around the tv because I admit I like to watch it and I think all the artwork would be distracting

  3. Loved seeing all the ways people have decorated around their tv. What struck me the most is that I think my very own husband has bamboozled me into believing that some big speaker “has” to sit on that console to the side of the tv. Nowhere in these photos did I see one of these speakers. That one speaker ruins all symmetry on top of the console and now I learn that it doesn’t even have to be there. I see some various knick knacks in the not too distant future on that console.

  4. I agree with Eileen above. My favorite one is the 1st one for it’s simplicity. I think that the artwork surrounding it would be distracting when watching TV (especially in the last pic) and I also don’t care for making the TV part of the decor of a room.

  5. This is such a great post as was the one you did 9 years ago and the one Maria Killam just did in July. With all the easy, practical, dramatic and beautiful solutions out there, nobody has an excuse these days. My favorite is the Pottery Barn pic as the TV hung among all the black and white pix in their black and white frames and the other coordinated elements doesn’t even really look like a TV.

    However, all but one of the pix shows a black TV screen. I can certainly understand that too much visual stimulation around the TV screen when it’s turned on can be distracting. That’s my instant reaction to the Atlanta Homes Mag pic where there’s way too much going on in the room to begin with and the constantly changing TV screen would have my eyes and brain crying “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!” Definitely something to keep in mind when setting thing up.

    Since my large screen TV is in my bedroom on a media cabinet that looks like a dresser and I don’t like the big patch of black, I got a large lightweight canvas pic that coordinates with all the other art in my room and I sit that in front of the screen during the day when the TV is not in use.

  6. Ugh, what’s with all these gallery walls? Based the sheer number of examples, I’d say this is a trend that’s run amok and it’s time to move on to something new, more unique, and definitely less cluttered. When I sit down to watch TV, I’m ready to relax, so a clean, uncluttered, and zen-like atmosphere is more suitable for relaxation than one featuring cluttered walls and TV consoles. You can’t hide that big black screen amongst a plethora of photos or artwork. If you can’t enclose the TV in a slim cabinet or entertainment center, then how about investing in a beautiful mirrored TV? The keep-it-simple rule truly is the golden rule when it comes to design.

  7. Ours is completely unadorned. But probably because there is no room, the television takes up all of the surface area. It sits at an angle in the corner of the room next to the fireplace. The whole wall is unbalanced decor-wise, because on the other side of the fireplace, I have a tall narrow display cabinet. I considered built in cabinets and shelving above, but didn’t really want them or need them. I like to change things up, and built-in is so permanent!

  8. I’m really liking all of these different styling options! I actually had already pinned a few of the pictures above because I’m trying to figure out how to style around our TV… I’ve had friends comment, “yea, I’ve tried to see in your house when we drive by but all we can see is the TV”… Great, haha, I need to close my curtains! So I’m up in the air between an eclectic gallery wall or a more uniform one! What do you think? We’ve got a long shot-gun living room with the fireplace on the same wall as the tv… Symmetric or eclectic?!

  9. Nice post. Love seeing all the options. The black wall stood out as the most interesting- the TV wasn’t the focal point. The wall around my tv is a blank canvas waiting for something ….

  10. We have just wall mounted our TV and are on the lookout for an antiquey type sideboard/buffet similar to the one in the 4th picture down to go beneath it. It’s amazing, now that we have taken it off a piece of furniture, how much it has already shrunk in presence in our sitting room. I can’t wait to have an attractive piece of furniture under it to create a nice vignette on.

  11. I agree with Jill. What many of these designers seem to forget is that there is a function to the TV, which is watching a movie or a show. Visually busy décor around the TV, whether gallery walls or something else, are going to detract from that experience.

    The “Style Me Pretty,” Peridot, and Cape 27 examples above work for me, but the rest are too cluttery for my taste.

    Don’t get me wrong — I love a good gallery wall, just not behind the TV!

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