What do you do about TV when you don't have another room to keep it in

[~Megan~]

dh and I like to watch movies and are okay with the kids watching selected movies. We don't want to get rid of the TV all together but have decided that we don't want them watching programming anymore. We do not have another room to keep it in at this time. How do you cover up the eyesore? Should I put a pretty piece cloth over the top or something?

[Individuation]

Originally Posted by ~Megan~

dh and I like to watch movies and are okay with the kids watching selected movies. We don't want to get rid of the TV all together but have decided that we don't want them watching programming anymore. We do not have another room to keep it in at this time. How do you cover up the eyesore? Should I put a pretty piece cloth over the top or something?

Well, I don't know if it helps, but I have a 1970s TV covered in stickers being used as an end table in my living room--and we have no working TV. So I would say not to worry about it!

[GooeyDay]

LoL about the end table! But if out of sight will be helpful for your family, I think a pretty piece of fabric would work well! Very economical compared to those TV wardrobe cabinets, esp. if you use a salvage from a Goodwill bedsheet or something.

~* Laura

[smellyann82]

that's what we did when we didn't have a separate room for it. we now have 3 BRs, one as an office, and keep it in there. that's actually not out of the way enough for us now, so we're going to keep it covered in the bedroom for movie use only. we don't get anything with antenna and no cable, so it'll just be weekend night kind of thing for movies. the cloth worked well until dd could reach it and pull it down. maybe when she's older....

[onlyzombiecat]

We have an armoire. Someone was giving it away.
I like that it is also storage for our movies and game system because I don't want to see those all the time either.

[2+twins]

When we first went tv-free we still had a big tv in our family room, which I used for showing childbirth videos to my students, so I didn't want to get rid of it. I covered it up with a playsilk and it honestly did seem to help them forget it was there.

[HerthElde]

We've only been about 3 or maybe a bit more weeks without TV, with the exception of dh watching Nascar a couple times, and the kids (2yo dd and 4yo dd) don't really notice it at all - but we just sort of fell into a routine where we just didn't turn it on, we didn't really do it on purpose, so that might have helped.
I did decide to try covering it with a blanket a couple weeks ago, but that just enticed my 2yo to play under the blanket and was actually dangerous because of the edges on the TV stand and it's right beside the fireplace hearth, which has sharp corners, so I took that off pretty quickly.
It is an eyesore and I never wanted it there in the first place, but at least the kids don't seem to notice it anymore.

[merpk]

We don't have one anymore, but we would cover it with a large piece of fabric. I mean like enormous-tablecloth-size large.


Find some nice WAHM who makes beautiful manadala/tie-dye/whatevers, and get one from her.


It covered the piles of videos, too.

[RockStarMom]

I would put it in a bedroom, any bedroom, or even on a rolling cart and keep it in a closet or something. I love the energy of TV free rooms, and want to keep the common areas like that. But if that's not an option, I would probably get a cabinet for it to make it less visible and less accessible than a cloth would.

[alima]

Just Tutes tv cozy

[goldfinch]

Ours is in a small corner TV cabinet, which I like because we can close the doors, but which I dislike because it makes the TV take up EVEN MORE space in the room.

It is ridiculous that something which gets used so little (we don't even have cable, the kids watch literally no TV, dh and I watch movies very rarely) gets so much of the prime real estate... but, like you, we're really limited as to where we can put it.

[Bufomander]

If you only want it for occasional movies, could you consider getting rid of it entirely and using the computer for movies?

[simple life]

My hubby loves to fall asleep to a favorite movie (we have like three dvd's that we know by heart). He has a little portable dvd player by his bed. We ended up just selling the tv because the temptation was too great. Paul was just too interested in it if it was on and we tended to just have it on for noise. At first we put it on a cart and stored it in the closet. Do you have a closet with a little room on the floor to push a cart? Even a patio that's covered works (we did this too once we moved). If all you are going to watch is dvd's, I'd go for a portable one. If you are wanting something with a bigger screen, most can be plugged into a computer and viewed on the monitor.

Julie

Originally Posted by ~Megan~

dh and I like to watch movies and are okay with the kids watching selected movies. We don't want to get rid of the TV all together but have decided that we don't want them watching programming anymore. We do not have another room to keep it in at this time. How do you cover up the eyesore? Should I put a pretty piece cloth over the top or something?

[EBeth0000]

what to do with an unwatched (mostly) TV

We are lucky to have just moved to a bigger house, but our one TV (kept soley for Netflix for DH and I) was a huge eyesore in our old house.

Not only does it get in the kids' eyelines, but I think they are a huge vacant focal point for adults hanging out in a living space, something I always hated at parties, etc.

Two suggestions to close the gaping eye of a black TV screen staring back at you:

1) what we did at the old house was got one of those cheap Costco folding tables (plastic w/aluminum legs) and put TV UNDER it. Then we covered table with a tablecloth that went to the floor (you could use a pretty sheet, too) Then we put some lightweight pretty books, art, etc. on top. It just looked like a decorative table but after DS went to bed we would roll up the tablecloth side and pin it under the books on top, and lay on the couch and enjoy a movie together. The sight lines can be tricky though

2) we now have a bigger space with room for an entertainment center--I was really adamant that we get a cabinet with doors to close off the screen. So it's really "out of sight, out of mind" You could browse freecycle or craigslist for a cabinet with any type of closing doors, or create a curtain to go across the front of a bookshelf.

3) I never could afford this, but I always thought it would be really cool to have a beautiful piece of artwork covering the TV screen somehow, you know what I mean? I'm no engineer, so I don't know how you could rig that up.

I do think most ppl's TVs have replaced the fireplace as the conversation center/focal piece of their living room design and that bothers me!

For long term, we are looking to kick out the TV and do one big family computer area on a flatscreen--we will only watch movies online (one day we'll get there, not yet) and be able to monitor kids' computer behavior on a centrally located screen. If all you're doing is watching DVDs (not sure if you still watch VHS, but we do occassionally) then you could consider getting rid of it altogether and watching DVDs on your computer or laptop if you can figure out a comfy way to make that work.

EBeth

[matey]

I guess it depends on how big your tv is. We used to have a 27 inch which was hard to hide. Could you downsize to a small 13 inch, which could be easily tucked away even in cramped living areas? Or the idea of a portable is good too.

[marie1080]

Originally Posted by Bufomander

If you only want it for occasional movies, could you consider getting rid of it entirely and using the computer for movies?

That's what we do.

[vbactivist]

I covered the screen with a piece of felt - atached at the top and bottom with strips of velcro. Then my kids used to use it as a felt board. The flet would get stretched out after a while, but it was cheap and easy to replace...