Use a Thrifted Piece to Cover Your Screen
...and only see the TV when you want to!
For years I struggled with this TV conundrum: we use it, we've grown to rely on it, and it serves many positive purposes, yet I don't want a massive electronic piece to be the centerpiece of our family space.
When we moved to this house, I took the opportunity to change things up for our family room this time around. We mounted the TV on one of the main walls, as had always been the case, but this time I was able to find some cool artwork (and yes, I'm calling it artwork!) to hide the unit when it's not in use.
I found the vintage classroom map on Ebay - they have lots! I made sure to find one that would cover the size of the TV, and I lucked out to find this one with a design and colors I love. I paid about $100 for the map and shipping, which isn't cheap, but it was worth it to me for something I'd be looking at every day. Plus, a handy map of the US is a great teacher and conversation-starter with the kids, and allows us to easily refer to places around our country as we learn more about it, even the difficult parts like the genocide of Native Americans and oppressive policies targeting Black people. Looking for Selma, Alabama? Okay, let's find it together.
We mounted a strip of wood a little wider than the map into the studs, and hung the map from there. The shelf below it is a standard Ikea piece - about $50. Extra bonus: got to watch some of my most recent favorite show, Mrs. America, during the photo shoot!
The rule in our house is no TV on weekdays/schoolnights, so most days we can really just enjoy the family room as a shared space without an additional screen to tempt us :) If I were really fancy, I'd have figured out a better way to hide the cords, but... well there's life, and it just hasn't been a priority yet, which I'm okay being okay with.
Happy Thrifting!
