No one enjoys the sight of ugly cables trailing around the TV stand in their living room.
Not only are they unsightly, but having lots of untidy cables makes it difficult to identify which cables belong to which devices. Good cable management behind your TV also makes cleaning easier because it reduces clutter.
Our guide has lots of low cost ideas for you to eliminate cord chaos around your TV.
Make use of your TV or its stand to hide cables
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You can use adhesive zip tie bases and zip ties to tidy up trailing cables directly on the back of a TV, or on the back of a TV stand.
Bundle up any excess cables and secure them up with zip ties. Then use zip tie bases to hang the cables on the back of your TV or stand, hidden out of sight. You might want to use nails and screws in your TV stand as anchors to attach the cable ties to.
Another option is to include a cord organizer rack to secure heavier cables.
Use sleeving and tube to keep cables together
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If you have lots of wires you want to run along the same path in a tidy way, you can use flexible split conduit tubing. The split in the tube can be pulled apart and closed up again, which makes it easier to access and remove cables that belong to your TV, games console or DVR box.
Another option is to use expandable cable sleeving. This is a light and flexible material which is easy to pull over cables and cut to the length you need.
Use a cable management box
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Using a cable management box is one of the quickest and easiest ways to hide cables behind your TV. They are also an elegant way to store all those stray cords.
Most boxes are designed to contain an extension lead, which means you can plug in all your devices and keep the plugs and cables neatly hidden away.
The box also makes it safer if you have kids or pets, as they can't touch the plugs easily.
Use trunking to hide cables for a wall mounted TV
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If your TV is wall mounted, you can use trunking with self-adhesive backing to conceal wires in no time at all.
Just line the trunking up where you want it and stick it to the wall. Then run your cables through it and snap the front on. To make the trunking blend in, you can paint it the same color as the wall.
Hide mounted TV cables in the wall
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This works really well if your TV is hung on a stud wall. It is a more time consuming option than trunking, but it is worth putting in the extra effort to get a cable-free appearance.
Use a behind wall TV cable kit and some tools, including a holesaw, to create two holes in the wall (one behind and one below your TV, near the floor or behind your TV stand). Before you drill, make sure you've measured where you want the holes to be - ideally hidden away from view.
Then it's a case of installing the kit and running your cables through.
Fix cables to the wall without using screws or plugs
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For a fast solution to fixing cables to the wall, use zip tie mount screws in combination with zip ties. All you need to do is drill a hole in the wall, thread a cable tie through, pull through your wires and tighten up the cable tie.
Use skirting board trunking to hide cables
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Sometimes wires have to extend a long way around a living room to get to the TV, such as telephone aerial cables. When this happens, one solution to hide the wires is to run them along the skirting board using trunking.
The trunking is often made from MDF and blends in well, with a removable cover to put cables behind. Although they may take a bit of work to install, they are a discreet way to hide cables.
Label plugs to make them easy to identify
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When you have a lot of cables, it can get confusing when you need to identify which cable belongs to which device. One quick solution to this problem is to use labels or different colored cable ties. Just attach them to the cables and cut off any excess.
Final thoughts
With a little bit of thought and organisation, there are many ways you can use cable management to keep things tidy around your TV stand and your living room. You can keep it basic with a few cable ties, or go further and wall mount your cables.
