How to Hide TV Wires (8 Smart Methods)

Whether at home or in your business, the wires connected to your TV can be extremely unsightly.

Hiding the wires makes for a much cleaner look and can make the whole room feel much more put together, which ultimately has positive impacts on your mental health.

You might be dealing with the exposed wire problem and be wondering, what can I do to put these out of my sight? Is there a DIY option? If so, we are here to help.

In this article, we will go over 8 of the best methods for hiding TV wires, whether they are connected to a wall-mounted TV, a flat-screen TV on a TV stand, a complex entertainment center, and much more, so you can take a concrete step toward business or home improvement.

Luckily, dealing with TV wires is one of the simplest TV problems out there.

Method 1: Hiding TV Wires Behind the Wall

This first method may take a little bit of time, but without much effort and with access to a few household tools, this method can be extremely effective for getting your cables out of sight.

The first method is hiding the wires behind wall paneling. It will require that you cut a hole in the wall. This method is great for post-TV mounting wire concealment, as long as you have drywall.

Moreover, you don’t need to leave a gaping hole in your wall since easy-to-install cable plates can be purchased for under $10 on Amazon and can give the setup a nice, put-together look.

For this project, you will need a screwdriver or drill, a pencil, a stud finder, cable plates, and a utility knife.

Steps:

Because this method requires a certain amount of DIY finesse, we have outlined the steps that you will need to take to complete the process in an effective and safe manner.

1. It is best to make the cut in the wall behind the television so that the TV can help conceal where the cords go into the wall. The first step, then, is to grab a pencil and the template that comes with the cable plate, line the template up level behind the TV, and trace where you want to make the cuts.

2. If you have an extendable TV mount, pull the television forward so you can access the wall. If you do not have an extendable TV mount, then take the TV down from the mount before proceeding.

3. Cutting into the wall can be tricky if you do not have a stud finder because you risk cutting into an area with important household utilities. So, before cutting into the wall, use the stud finder to ensure there are no studs, electrical, or plumbing inside the wall where you intend to cut.

4. Using the utility knife, cut lines along the template that you’ve traced to make a hole in the drywall. You will want to first cut lightly and then go deeper into the drywall through repeated motions until you have cut through the wall.

5. Place the top cable plate into the wall with the inner curve facing downwards to easily feed the wires through. Install it by tightening the screws with the screwdriver. The plate has plastic arms which will extend and secure the plate against the wall from the inside as you tighten the screws.

6. Cut the bottom box out as you did the top, but before installing the cable plate, feed the TV wires through and out the hole. Then, feed them through the cable plate, place the plate against the wall, and finish screwing it in.

Method 2: Hide Wires in Plain Sight with Wall Raceways or Channels

Wires for wall-mounted TVs have quite some distance to travel upward and still remain invisible. Depending on the size of your TV and the mounting height that you prefer, that distance can be anywhere from 10 to 31 inches (based on an outlet height of 12 inches).

For this problem, wall raceways and channels come to the rescue. Raceways and channels are flat or D-shaped tubes that run along the surface of the wall to hide TV wires and can be purchased for relatively cheap.

To install and effectively hide TV wires, measure the span of the wall between the base of the screen and the floor—that’s the length of cord cover you need, and you can often cut to fit.

In the case of the Cable Raceway, you’ll cut the base and top of the cord cover using a hacksaw. Then, mount the raceway base to the wall with screws according to the manufacturer’s instructions, lay the TV cords inside the channel, and snap the cover in place over the top.

Cord covers are typically sold in neutral colors like white or metallic gray that can stand out if your wall is a different color. But when painted the same color as your wall (using latex-based paint), they seamlessly blend into the space.

Method 3: Bring Chaos to Order with Cable Ties

Of all of the solutions here, the cheapest and easiest way to tidy your system is to use cable ties. They allow you to create order from the chaos that's behind there, and it's easy to go back and change if you add new components.

There are a couple of options as far as the ties you can use. Forget the one-use plastic ones, though: Go for reusable Velcro bands or wire ties.

When running cables together, try to keep AV interconnects and electrical cables separate. This prevents electrical current from interfering with analog signals in particular, such as those which travel along speaker wires. Use the ties to fix the cables along the natural boundaries of AV furniture and walls.

Method 4: Hide Wires in a Drawer

Your TV stand may have a drawer, or you may have a piece of furniture with a drawer not far away from where the TV is located. In both cases, this method can work.

Making a few creative modifications to a desk drawer can do away with the eyesore of a clunky power strip parked on the floor, your wifi router, and overflowing with cords. With a hole saw bit attached to your power drill, drill a hole into the back panel of the desk drawer located near a wall outlet.

Then, feed the power strip cable through the hole and use double-sided adhesive to mount the back of the power strip itself to the same drawer panel. As you plug electronics into the power strip, create a space for each gadget to rest while it charges in the drawer.

Perhaps you can't (or don't want to) mount your TV to the wall, whether you're renting your home or not confident in your DIY skills.

You can still achieve a streamlined look by placing your TV on top of a surface. Choose a console, cabinet, or entertainment center with an opening in the back to run cords through.

To further hide visual clutter, choose something with at least one cabinet door to place the cable box and/or router behind, then feed the cords through the back and up to the TV.

You'll most likely see a small section of wires, but it will be minor compared to having the box sit on the floor or on top of the TV stand

Method 5: Install New Sockets Behind the TV

If you decide to wall-mount your TV, then hanging wires are going to be obvious from the get-go. If you're lucky enough to have a TV located right above an outlet, it's easy to relocate the outlet higher.

That's because the TV wires can travel between two studs—no need to drill holes into studs to run the wire horizontally. It also helps that an old-work or retrofit plastic electrical box allows you to place that higher outlet in the drywall, without having to nail it to the studs.

Best of all, no drywall patching is required. It's easy to fish wire vertically through open stud bays. The lower outlet can stay in place, supplying electricity for other devices. This is the DIY approach.

However, if you are not comfortable dealing with wires and studs, then you could pay an electrician to install a power socket or HDMI ports in the wall for you. But that's expensive, and if you rent your home or you plan to mount the TV on a brick or concrete wall, then moving the socket is not an option.

In this case, a different solution, like the cable raceway we mentioned earlier, could be a more economical and feasible choice.

Method 6: Use a Cable Box

Cable storage boxes are becoming popular, especially as a way to keep home offices elevated and organized.

These subtle, often neutral rectangular boxes are available in different sizes and designed to support power strips, along with plugs of all sizes and the bulk of the excess wires.

It should not be too difficult to find one that fits the style of your living room or entertainment room, so once you get one, you can simply place it on the floor near the outlet and cable jack and stuff the bulky cables and wires inside.

Method 7: Use Cable Wraps

One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to manage a mess of cords coming from your TV is a cable wrap.

A cable wrap provides an easy way to consolidate all the loose cords that dangle from your desk. Simply bundle them together in your hands, and wrap the two-foot-long pieces of flexible foam tubing around the wires to corral them into one larger one and minimize chaos.

Thanks to the slinky shape of most cable wraps, you can break out and redirect wires from the group anywhere along the stretch so that they can reach exactly where they need to go.

Method 8: Hide Cables with Baseboard Channels

Eliminate the tripping hazard of an ethernet cable or television power cord by outfitting the existing baseboards in the room with baseboard cord channels. The self-adhesive, impact-resistant cord channels are little more than hollowed-out sections of plastic quarter-round shoe molding.

To mount the channels to your baseboards, peel off the adhesive backing of a channel, press the back of the channel against a baseboard, and then run an ethernet cable—or any other cord, for that matter—through the opening in the channel to simultaneously hide and protect the cables from damage.

Like cable raceways, these baseboard channels are almost all paintable so they can match any interior design or aesthetic.

Quick Tip: Label, Label, Label!

Regardless of which approach you choose to hide TV cords, each cord should be clearly labeled. Taking a few minutes to do this organizing project now will save you time (and possibly a headache) in the future.

While some TV cords belong to you, others (such as the power cord on a cable box) might belong to the cable provider and need to be returned if you switch services.

Identifying all the cords ahead of time takes out the guesswork and hassle. Plus, if you decide to move or mount your TV, plugging all the cords back in will be a breeze.

From Chaos to Order

Dealing with lots of wires, HDMI cables, ethernet cables, TV cables, and all the other parts that come with a home entertainment center can really feel like a hassle.

Unfortunately, there are so many people who do not like the chaotic look of the chords but are not sure of the right steps to take to remedy the situation. Many people will simply try to ignore the mess of cables, but it is hard to deny that hiding them would give the room a much better look.

In this article, we have shown you eight great methods for hiding your TV chords, and the best part is that for most of them, you can do it yourself at relatively little cost.

The right method will undoubtedly have to do with your particular setup and tastes, but we hope that at least one of these methods can help you manage the cables and help give your room a more put-together look.