The charm of a living room without television

When we consider how to decorate and furnish our living room, 95% of the time we do it unconsciously around the TV.

Obviously the main reason is convenience, especially if we tend to be fans of Netflix series and movies ;)

However, the disadvantage of taking television as the central focus is that it becomes a problem when it comes to creating spaces with a certain aesthetic, following the latest trends or having pleasant gatherings to receive friends or family and chat with them.

It is undoubtedly a dream for an interior designer to be able to do without the TV or at least not to pay too much attention to it.

That's why, when a client comments that he wants to furnish a living room without television (they are few, but there are some), the sky opens up and with it the decorative possibilities...

In short we want to pay tribute to all those living rooms that do not need television, so that, if this is your case, you can get ideas on how to decorate it.

Let's go for it!

Conversation first

The advantage of living rooms without TV is that we can arrange the seating as we see fit, since we are not conditioned to face a wall.

This allows us to decorate living rooms with sofas facing each other, a very aesthetic and comfortable option for conversation with friends and family, but it is very uncomfortable when there is a TV, because it forces you to look at it from the side.

A look outside

Another advantage of living rooms without TV is that they allow us to have the main sofa or seat (or at least some of them) facing the outside area, undoubtedly the best view we can have while sitting.

However, in living rooms with TV, this is complicated by the need for a wall to place the sockets and a space for a piece of furniture on which to support it, not to mention the volume it has, which would cover half the window if placed right in front of it.

Multiple seats

If we are very sociable and our home is everyone's home, it is likely that very often we have a lot of people around the coffee table chatting amicably.

In that case, having a living room without a television is an advantage, since by "freeing up" one of the walls, we can fill the space with multiple seats, floor cushions or armchairs without it being a problem.

Even if we do not always have a full house, it can be useful to have different types of seating depending on the moment (a reading chair, a bench, a chaise longue to rest, a couple of decorative poufs that we are looking forward to...).

Art, the protagonist

Another advantage of a TV-free living room is that we can give the spotlight to art, whether in the form of a photograph, a canvas, a composition of prints, etc.

This way, instead of finding a black box, we give another kind of creative life to the room :)

Different furniture

The problem of the TV conditioning us when decorating the living room, is that it does not allow us to innovate too much with the type of furniture we put underneath, at least as far as height is concerned.

This is because the TV should be neither too low nor too high, which is why most TV furniture tends to be relatively low and elongated.

However, if the TV does not go in the living room, we can afford to highlight other types of furniture, such as consoles or sideboards.

Even if pieces that could also be used to place a TV were used, the fact of being able to replace it with other decorative elements improves the rooms.

Mmm... that fireplace in winter...

Is there anything cozier than a living room where seating is gathered around a fireplace?

When we have TV this option is complicated, because usually the heat from the fireplace affects the TV if we place it on top, and also it is usually too high for the usual (it forces us to look up).

This means that we have to look for alternative options, reinforce and insulate the inside of the chimney very well so that the fire does not affect it, etc.

However, in living rooms without TV, we have a free hand! No need to worry about the type of fireplace, the flue or the fire, and we can decorate it as we like.

And if I don't want to get rid of my television, what do I do?

Having a TV in your living room will not necessarily prevent you from having that place you dream of. There are many alternatives such as hiding it or going with our decor without disturbing our relaxation space...

In this case it is true that the seats should be distributed with the best visibility in the direction of the TV, but at least on a daily basis we will not be continuously viewing a black box :)

Let's look at some possibilities:

a) Hiding it with decorative elements

The idea is that they function as "sliding doors" that hide behind them the TV in some kind of niche.

b) Use wooden slats

With the same sliding system, we can create floor-to-ceiling or high slatted wood elements, which are always very decorative.

c) Convert it into a painting

There are televisions that function as a mirror and it is also possible to create a frame similar to a painting around a suspended television, so that for visual effects it looks more like a digital painting than a full-fledged TV.

Another option is to "hide" it in a combination of sheets, as if it were one more.

As you can see, it won't be because of options. The important thing is that somehow "the dumb box" does not become the decorative center of our living room :)