Most living rooms are arranged around a television, and most desks around a monitor. That means the wall you look at most has a large black rectangle in the middle of it. When the screen is off, it is a dark hole. When it is on, everything around it competes with it.
You can't hide a screen, but you can make the wall around it look intentional. The approach is different for a TV and for a monitor, so they are covered separately here.
Part one: the TV wall
Should you hang art above a TV?
Often, no. A TV is already mounted at or above eye level for seated viewers. Art above it ends up near the ceiling, where nobody looks comfortably, and it makes the wall top-heavy. If the gap between the top of the TV and the ceiling is less than about two feet, leave it empty.
If you have a tall wall and want something there, keep it low and wide. Our canvases and posters are portrait, so use a row of two or three small ones, or a small tapestry hung landscape. Keep the group no wider than the TV, with its bottom edge 4 to 8 inches above the screen.
Better: art beside the TV
The space to either side of a screen is at a much more natural height.
- One side only. A tall, portrait piece on one side, with a floor lamp or a plant on the other. An asymmetrical arrangement looks relaxed and modern.
- Both sides. A matching pair of portrait pieces, one each side, at the same height. This is formal and balanced.
- Size: roughly the height of the TV, or a little taller. Leave 6 to 10 inches between the screen and the art.
The gallery wall around a TV
This is the method that hides a screen best. Surround the TV with framed pieces on all sides, so that the black rectangle becomes one dark frame among many. It works well with black frames and with dark artwork.
- Keep the gaps even, 2 to 3 inches.
- Leave a slightly larger border around the screen itself.
- Keep the outer edge of the whole arrangement a neat rectangle.
Which art suits a TV wall
- Dark artwork. A TV that is switched off is black. Art with a lot of black in it, such as a night city, deep space or neon on black, makes the screen look as if it belongs to the set. Cyberpunk Slick Street, a night street that is mostly black with streaks of light, is a good example.
- Calm artwork. When the TV is on, you don't want something bright and busy pulling at the corner of your eye.
- Matte surfaces. Canvas or matte paper. Glass or acrylic beside a TV picks up the moving picture as a reflection.
Colour the wall, if you can
A black screen on a white wall is as conspicuous as it gets. On a charcoal, navy or deep green wall, the TV recedes. If you can paint, a dark wall behind the TV is the most effective single change.
Part two: the monitor
A desk is different. You sit close, the screen is smaller, and you look up from it constantly. The wall behind a monitor matters more than any other wall in a home office.
Above the monitor
Unlike a TV, a monitor sits low, so there is room above it at a good height.
- Height: the bottom of the art 6 to 10 inches above the top of the monitor. Low enough that you see it by raising your eyes, without tipping your head back.
- Width: about two-thirds of the desk's width. For a 48-inch desk, around 30 inches. Two portrait pieces side by side make up that width, as does a 36 × 26 inch tapestry hung landscape. A single portrait piece of 16 × 20 or 18 × 24 inches, centred, also works.
- Centre it on the desk, not on the wall.
If your monitor is on an arm and moves around, centre the art on the desk anyway.
What to hang there
Every time you look up from a screen to think, your eyes go to this spot. It should give them a rest.
- Depth. A landscape, a horizon, a street receding into the distance. After hours of focusing two feet away, a view that reads as far off is a relief.
- Low to medium contrast, if you want calm. Misty landscapes and soft abstracts. See what is lo-fi art.
- Dark tones, if you work in a dim room or with a dark theme. Bright art above a dark screen causes glare in your upper vision.
- Nothing reflective. A glossy surface directly above a monitor will show the screen and your lamp. Use canvas or a matte print. Our post on matte vs glossy explains why.
Beside the monitor
With a wide or dual-monitor setup, there may be no room above. Hang a portrait piece to one side, at seated eye level. A vertical piece beside a horizontal screen is a pleasing contrast of shapes.
Light behind the screen
An LED strip on the back of a monitor or TV, shining on the wall, reduces eye strain in a dark room and makes the art nearby visible in the evening. Set it to white or to a colour from the artwork.
Things that apply to both
- Hide the cables. Nothing undoes a wall faster than a dangling lead. Use a cable cover painted to match the wall, or run cables behind furniture.
- Don't crowd the screen. Leave a clear margin around it.
- Keep heat in mind. Don't hang art directly over a vent on a TV or a PC that blows warm air upward.
- Match the black. Black frames and dark art tie in with black screens and equipment.
- Test with paper. Tape up a paper template and check it from where you sit.
Quick guide
- TV, low ceiling: art to the side, not above.
- TV, want to hide it: a gallery wall of dark pieces in black frames.
- Monitor: one calm, matte piece above, or a pair, about two-thirds the desk width.
- Dual monitors: a portrait piece to one side.
For desk walls in more detail, see desk setups for developers and desk mat and wall art pairings. Browse the canvas art collection for matte, ready-to-hang pieces.