The Most Clever Hidden TV Cabinet
7 Materials
$50
5 Hours
Easy
Today we would like to share an innovative solution to a hidden TV. Do you wish you could hide your TV? This was Stephanie’s dilemma! Her hubby, Dan brought home this large TV with his bonus and announced he wanted to hang it on the bedroom wall.She was not a happy camper, but what was she to do? She thought about it and knew if she could conceal it when not it use, she would be happy with it.
Browsing ideas on the web, she was inspired by this hidden TV cover from pottery barn (which is no longer available) and knew that we could build our own version for much less money. After much online searching she came up with an innovative slide system to conceal the TV.
{
"id": "5934213",
"alt": "",
"title": "",
"video_library_id": "4790",
"thumbnail": "https://cdn-fastly.hometalk.com/media/2019/10/28/5934213/the-most-clever-hidden-tv-cabinet.jpg"
}
{
"width": 634,
"height": 357,
"showRelated": true,
"noautoplay": ""
}
Check out this little video clip of the Hidden TV Cabinet in action!
Our original plan, was that we would construct our own box that we would mount to the wall and make our own sliding mechanism to conceal the TV, but as luck would have it we found a box for this purpose at our local thrift store! It was solid, well constructed was the right size and best of all it was only $5.00 !!! 
There was no way we could even purchase the lumber for $5.00, so we snatched it up!
There was no way we could even purchase the lumber for $5.00, so we snatched it up!
This box only framed the TV, there was no method for concealing it. We began by removing the decorative moulding on the front. We scored the moulding with a utility knife and then pried it off with a multi painters tool. We also removed the cross bar that the TV would mount on. Stephanie’s TV was already mounted to the wall with an adjustable TV mount. We marked, and cut it with a circular saw on the backside of the box, removing that section of wood.
I’m so blessed with friends who are always on the look out for scrap wood that I could possibly use. Well, I had a stack of tongue and groove lap siding that a dear friend had brought me when a garage was being taken down. I knew that it would give Stephanie’s hidden TV box the perfect finish.We began by using the table saw and trimmed off the tongue and groove edges from each board.
Our plan was to just cover the existing box with this chippy, white lumber. We began covering the outer edges of the box. We mitered the edges of the wood, with a 45° cut. We cut 2 sides, then made sure the fit was good before we actually attached it to the hidden TV box.We applied wood glue to the back side of each board and nailed it with a pneumatic brad nailing gun.
We applied the chippy white lumber to the entire outer edge first.
Once all the sides were covered with the chippy boards, we began to cut pieces to cover the front edge. We again made mitered cuts and glued and nailed them into position.
We had no idea if the paint on this chippy wood had lead in it and we also didn’t want it to continue to flake off. We searched for a clear coat finish we could apply that would not change the look of the wood and would seal and protect it. We found polyurethane coating with a matte finish Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane Clear Matte.
To hang this bad boy, it took many hands! We made sure it was level and secured it to the studs in 4 different places with long wood screws.
We cut a piece of 1/2" thick MDF wood to size. We measured the opening we needed to cover, plus the width of the drawer slides with a 1/4″ additional border on each side. (The drawer slides are the mechanism that will raise and lover the panel that covers the TV).
In order for our panel to rise high enough to allow the entire TV screen to show we needed a 28″ drawer slide. At the local hardware store we were only able to find 26″ slides. With a little research Stephanie located some on Amazon.
On the back side of our sliding panel we marked where to attach the other sliding bar. We first located the center where the bar would attach, marked the screw placement, drilled pilot holes and attached with screws.
We are getting close to the finish line, so exciting. We placed the canvas art on the back of the board, centered it and marked it with a pencil. This would give us an idea of where to attach it with screws on the back side.
We just love how this hidden TV cabinet turned out! When it is closed, it just looks like a fabulous piece of art on the wall.
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 127 comments
-
I like this project. Don't know that I would have the patience or the strength to complete it though.
-
A very wow project. I think it is more complicated than I would attempt and also think it is a wonderful job!
-
Thank you Barbara. It was all my daughter Steph's idea.
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
What am I missing about keeping it in place in the up position? In horizontal it can only come so far out and there is a stop when pushed back in. How do you create a stop to keep it from coming from coming down when it is pushed up vertically?
Just saw the window bolt part to use for keeping it up. What is a window bolt?
Where are the cords? Most TVs are connected to WiFi and other devices like game consoles.