How to hide wall mounted TV cords above a fireplace, on fireplace walls or brick walls without the need of an electrician, power tools, or carpentry skills.
I have been receive a lot of questions about the TV in my living room – specifically wanting to know how I hid the cords and wires hanging down from it since the TV is mounted above a fireplace mantel.
In a perfect world, I would answer that there were electrical and cable outlets on the wall behind the TV, but since my house was built in 1993 – flat screen TV’s mounted on walls were not something builders included in their design.
We could have drilled a hole in the wall ourselves and threaded the cords/wires like I did for this wall mounted TV, but that kind of installation would not work with a brick fireplace.
What did I do? My easy fix is one that lessens the eyesore of exposed wires. I came up with a cord concealer idea by covering the tv wires with a sleeve of fabric in the same color as the wall instead of the running the wire behind the drywall.
If you have a piece of furniture under your TV and not a fireplace, then you may be interested in a way to hide the tv cables and cords in the furniture under a wall mounted television.
How To Hide Wall Mounted TV Cords Above a Fireplace Without an Electrician
Next to my fireplace is a cabinet that houses the cable box and all the devices we have hooked up to the TV. All the cords coming from the TV are threaded through the back of this cabinet.
If this fabric cover idea won’t work for your space, then head to the end of this post for another option to hide wires or cover the cords dangling from a wall mounted TV.
supplies needed:
- Fabric – enough to cover the length of the cords
- Velcro – sticky back
- Cable ties
- Scissors
- Optional: wire and a picture hanging hook
Time needed: 30 minutes
Tutorial: How to Cover and Hide Wall Mounted Flat Screen TV Cords Without Power Tools
- Band Cords Together
Bundle the cords together using cable zip ties as shown in the photo below.
- Cable Tie Placement
Place a cable tie about every 6 inches along the length of the cords.
- How to Make a Fabric TV Cord Cover
Figure out how long and wide your sleeve of fabric should be to cover the cords. The fabric should wrap around the bundled cords/wires loosely. Cut the fabric to size and hem the raw edges with fabric glue or if you have a sewing machine, finish the raw edges with sewn hems.
- Add Sticky Back Velcro
Place your fabric right side down – peel the two sides of the Velcro apart. Attach one side of Velcro along each long edge of the fabric: On the left edge of the fabric place the Velcro on top of the fabric. On the right edge – the Velcro goes on the underside of the fabric edge.
- Wrap Cover Around Cords
When the cover is wrapped loosely around all of the cords it makes a nice and neat sleeve of fabric. The Velcro along the edges will keep the cover closed while it is around the cords.
- Arrange Seam To Back
Make sure that the seam of the cover is hidden and facing the wall.
How to Make Hanger for the Covered Cords
Once the cords are covered in the fabric sleeve that runs off the mantel or console under the TV, you can let them hang or hide them behind a piece of furniture that is next to the wall-mounted TV.
To do this, I made a hook out of wire and wrapped it around the end of the bundled wires. I then ran the covered wires behind a cabinet next to the mantel where there was an electrical outlet on the wall.
Next, use a stud finder to find a stud on the wall and attach a picture hanging hook or a large screws on the wall behind the cabinet and above an electrical outlet. Hook the wire loop on the cords over the hook.
This keeps the cords/wires from hanging down directly from the edge of the mantel. You can also use cord clips that have adhesive strips to hang the bundle of covered wires on the wall.
If there isn’t a wall outlet next to the fireplace, then you will need to use an extension cord or power strip to plug the cords into.
Finished TV Cord Cover
If you look closely you can see the TV cord hiding cover on the left side of the mantel.
I have been pretty happy with this TV cord cover. It works for my needs. I sometimes place pretty objects in front of it and other times I leave the space bare since the fabric blends into the wall.
When you don’t have the budget to hire an electrician or the skills needed to drill a hole in the wall with power tools, this TV cord hiding cover works very well.
Two More DIY Options to Hide Cords
- TV Cord Covers for WallsIf the fabric cover doesn’t work for your space, you can also use pre-made cord covers sold at electronic and home improvement stores.
2. If you have woodworking skills, you can add decorative trim molding to the wall behind the TV or even arrange empty picture frames on the wall to run the wires behind.
Place the moulding or picture frames as shown above, mark their placement on the wall and remove. Then run the wires so they will be hidden behind the frames. Use cord clips to attach the wires to the wall.
Next, paint the molding/frames the color of the woodwork in the room or the color of your walls and hang them back up. Once you paint the wall and trim the same color it will look like a raised paneling
For a more detailed tutorial on how to do this see this post:
Find out how I transformed the brick fireplace in the photo above to a stone fireplace for $150 in these posts:
