Our recently finished bonus room upstairs wasn’t meant to be a formal media or theater room, but it’s perfect for family movie nights. When it came time to add a television, we wanted to avoid a tangle of cords and hide the cable box, so we mounted the TV and ran the wiring cleanly behind the wall. Below are the four straightforward steps we used to hang the TV, conceal all visible cords, and tuck the cable box out of sight.
All together the materials cost under $75 and none of the tasks took longer than an hour; a couple took only minutes. The main steps were:
- Mounting the TV to the wall
- Installing an in-wall cord system
- Getting the power strip off the floor
- Adding an infrared receiver so the cable box can be hidden
Before wiring, we picked the best wall for the TV: a windowless, flat wall without a sloped ceiling, which also faces away from the door so the sound doesn’t carry down the hall. We’d bought the TV earlier when we found a good deal, so the installation focused on concealment and function.
To hold our components we found a nine-drawer dresser secondhand and decided to repaint it rather than attempt to stain over large areas of wood filler. After sanding and priming, we painted it a deep Sherwin-Williams Folkstone and added new hardware. It formed a tidy media cabinet and a surface for the equipment.
Although the dresser made the setup look better, the TV’s small feet and cables still created an awkward mess on top and behind it. That led directly into step one:
1. Mounting the tv to the wall
Mounting the TV was intimidating at first, since it was our first time, but it turned out to be straightforward. The TV has mounting holes in the back where brackets attach; those brackets then hook onto a backplate secured to wall studs. With the backplate firmly screwed into studs and the brackets attached to the TV, the set lifted and locked into place easily. Properly locating and fastening into studs is the most important part for stability.
2. Installing an in-wall cord system
The next concern was hiding the TV’s power and HDMI cables. We used an in-wall power and cable kit designed for DIY installation. The kit requires drilling two holes: one behind the mounted TV and another behind the media console. A narrow plastic tube connects the two holes inside the wall, creating a safe passage for cables so nothing shows on the wall surface.
The kit includes a hole saw for making clean circular openings. We positioned the top hole within the backplate area so the TV would conceal it, then drilled a lower hole about three feet down behind the dresser. The tube cuts easily to length, and feeding it through the cavity sometimes requires shifting insulation aside. Running the tube close to a stud (but not over it) helps guide it smoothly along the side of a 2×4.
The kit’s in-wall power lead has a recessed outlet piece that mounts in the upper hole and a matching plug-end that mounts in the lower hole. The two halves connect through the tube, allowing the TV to be powered without a visible cord down the face of the wall. Plastic trim covers snap on to make each opening look finished.
3. Getting the power strip off the floor
With the cables hidden behind the wall, we still had excess cord under the dresser. A simple solution was to mount the power strip to the back of the dresser, off the floor. Most power strips include keyhole slots for mounting; two screws and about ten minutes are all it took. The mounted strip creates a little shelf for excess cable, keeps plugs tidy, and lets the dresser sit flush against the wall without crushing cords.
4. Adding an Infrared Receiver
Finally, to hide the cable box while keeping remote control functionality, we used a small infrared (IR) receiver. The IR sensor plugs into the back of the cable box and relays remote signals through a discreet external eye placed where it can “see” the remote. We placed the cable box inside a middle drawer, routed its power, HDMI and IR lead through a hole drilled in the back of the dresser, and added ventilation holes so the box could stay cool. With that in place, the cable box is out of sight but still fully operable.
When everything was finished, the wall looked clean and uncluttered — no dangling cords, no equipment on display — while the dresser held the hidden gear. The result is functional and tidy, and it complements the rest of the room as we continue to finalize décor and storage zones.
We’re still deciding on final styling — a seagull mobile, curtains, and a colorful rug are already in place — but hiding the TV wires was a major step toward a polished, family-friendly bonus room. The combination of a wall-mounted TV, an in-wall cord kit, a mounted power strip, and an IR receiver made the entire setup clean, safe, and easy to live with.
