How to Conceal TV Cords Inside the Wall

You’ll see how easy it is to hide TV wires in the wall with this simple tutorial! Learning how to mount a TV on the wall without showing any wires might feel like a daunting task, but we’ve broken it down into 9 simple steps!

When we first looked at our new home, we focused a lot on the living room layout. Our sectional was bought for our old house, so we had to make sure it would fit. It quickly became clear that for the sectional to work, we would have to put our TV over the mantel.

That wasn’t something I had to deal with in our previous home, because we had a huge wall for the TV in the living room.

But if the TV was going above the mantel, I had two conditions: we had to have a Frame TV, and we had to figure out how to hide the TV cord inside the wall.

The great thing about the Frame TV is that there’s only one cord. Besides displaying art when it’s not in use, the actual “guts” of the TV live in a separate cable box, which is why it can sit so flush to the wall and look like framed art. Then you can connect any other electronics to that black box instead of the back of the TV. It’s pretty cool technology.

RELATED: My Samsung Frame TV Review

We originally asked our electrician to hide the cable to the TV and run it into the cabinet next to the fireplace, but he couldn’t get it done before the “stay home” orders came. So I took matters into my own hands!

I was a little concerned, because we weren’t just running the cord down the wall to a spot below the TV, which is what you’d do when mounting a TV above a piece of furniture or a TV stand. You could simply run the cords through the wall and down behind the furniture.

But we were going to run the cord sideways into the wall next to the mantel, through a cabinet. And I had no idea what everything looked like behind the TV. I knew there was a chimney back there, so we didn’t want to run into that. Thankfully I guessed correctly and we got lucky. It was so much easier than I expected. Let me show you…

Tools You Will Need to Hide TV Wires

Stud Finder
Drill (I’ve used this drill for years.)
Wallboard Saw (another option if that one is sold out)
Steel Fish Tape
Cable Access Brush Plate (single gang) x2
Old Work Low Voltage Wall Electrical Bracket Box (single gang) x2
Screwdriver
Pencil

Tools you need to hide wires behind a TV

Watch the Tutorial on Video or See the Steps Below

Watch the video above, or view it on YouTube HERE.

Steps for How to Hide TV Cords in the Wall

Step 1. Locate the studs in the wall with your stud finder.

I like this stud finder because it shows you where the edge of each stud begins. You want to avoid the studs when cutting into the drywall.

Step 2. Trace your electrical bracket box onto the drywall.

Make the cut 1/8th of an inch smaller than the outline you traced around the bracket, so the lip of the box has something to hold on to.

Step 3. Cut along the outline with the drywall saw.

Step 4. Screw the bracket into place.

Step 5. Repeat Steps 2-4 at the spot on the wall where you want the wires to exit.

Make sure the bottom opening is near a wall outlet or somewhere you can run a power cord, so you’ll have power for your TV.

We had to drill through the side of the cabinet next to the fireplace, but hopefully you’ll only have to cut through drywall.

Step 6. Thread the steel fish tape through one opening and then out the bottom hole.

I don’t know whether you’d need steel fish tape if you’re just running the wires directly below the first box. In our case, where we were running the wire around a corner and to the side, it was invaluable! It took maybe 30 seconds to connect the two openings with the fish tape.

Step 7. Attach the wire(s) to the end of the steel fish tape and gently thread them through the openings.

We gently tied the wire to the end of the fish tape you see in the photo below and pulled it through!

How to Hide Wires Behind a Wall for Electronics

Step 8. Once the wire is through, attach the brush plate cover to the electrical bracket box.

Put the cover plate on, and now you’re ready to connect your wire to the TV and hang it up!

Step 9. Hook Up Your TV and Mount It on the Wall.

We had mounted our Frame TV months before and had been living with the wire coming out the bottom and running over to the cabinet next to it. So it was a quick step to get the TV back in place!

Yay! No more cord running from the TV over the cabinet doors. I’m so happy with how easy it was to install and how great it looks now.

How to Decorate with a TV Above the Mantel

Eventually I want to remove the cabinet doors from the old TV cabinet and build shelves to mirror the left side of the TV. When that happens, I’ll need to find a cute basket and some plants to hide the black box. Until then, it’s nicely tucked away in that cabinet!

The living room makeover is coming along! I have a couple more items on order, and they should arrive next week. Then I’ll be ready to share the full reveal!