There’s one room where interior design always seems to lose out to technology: the TV room. No matter how beautifully you furnish it, the glossy black screen draws your eye the moment you walk in—and when it’s off, it becomes a big dark hole in the middle of the wall. The solution is rarely to hide the TV, but to give it company. The right poster around or next to the screen stops the rectangle from dominating and instead makes it part of a whole. This guide explains why the TV room is so tricky, how to soften the black rectangle with art, and which subjects, sizes, and heights actually work in 2026.
Quick facts: One of the strongest interior design trends of 2026 is what’s known as moody interiors—deep, dark wall colors, subdued lighting, and plush textures. In the TV room, this trend works perfectly: a dark accent wall helps the screen blend in instead of standing out. At the same time, slat walls (wood slat panels) continue to be one of the most popular ways to frame a TV wall, and art TVs like Samsung’s The Frame—launched in 2017 to display art when the TV is off—have brought the idea of the screen as a picture into the mainstream.
Why the TV room is the hardest room to decorate
The problem with a TV is that it goes against everything we know about how a wall should be balanced. It’s large, black, glossy, and almost always placed in the middle of the wall the furniture faces. The eye is automatically drawn to the darkest and most high-contrast feature in a room, and an off-screen wins that battle every time. The result is that the rest of the room feels unfinished whenever no one is watching.
The classic mistake is trying to solve the problem with even more technology—a bigger TV, a soundbar, game consoles stacked underneath. But the more you gather around the screen, the heavier the black zone feels. A smarter approach is to work with the opposite: to nestle the screen into something that softens it. That’s where art comes in. A poster or a collection of prints next to the TV gives the eye something else to rest on and breaks up the harsh geometry.
There’s also a psychological side to it. The TV room is often where we truly unwind, and a room that feels bare and dominated by technology doesn’t invite you to do that. Art makes the room personal: a wall collection that reflects what you enjoy watching—films, music, travel, nature—means the area around the TV says something about you even when the screen is off. Many people say that the TV corner is the hardest part of the home to make feel finished, and almost always it’s because the wall has been left bare around a dominant screen. Filling it thoughtfully is the cheapest way to elevate the whole room.
"A switched-off TV is the darkest spot in the room – and the eye is always drawn to it. The art around it is the only thing that can break its hold."
Three ways to solve the black rectangle with art
There are three tried-and-tested ways to help the screen blend in, and they suit different rooms and budgets.
Build a collection around the TV
The most common and forgiving approach is to surround the screen with posters so it becomes one of several rectangles on the wall instead of the only one. The idea is for the TV to read as one image among others. Choose prints in calm, muted tones so the screen’s black has company rather than competition, and leave an even gap of five to eight centimeters between frames. We’ve written our own guide to gallery walls that also works beautifully as a starting point for a TV wall – the principles of composition are the same.
Frame it with a slat wall or dark accent wall
For a more cohesive look, treat the entire TV area as one unit. A wooden slat wall behind the screen creates a warm, vertical rhythm that makes the TV look built in, while a single poster to the side breaks up the strict pattern. Alternatively, paint the wall a deep, dark color – dark green, graphite gray, or almost black – so the switched-off screen nearly disappears into the background. This is exactly the aesthetic behind 2026’s moody trend, and it’s especially well suited to rooms that are mostly used in the evening anyway.
Turn the screen into a picture
The third option is technological: a lifestyle TV like The Frame displays artwork in full resolution when it’s not in use. But you don’t need to buy one to borrow the idea. Hang a real poster of a similar size right next to the TV to create a visual parallel – the eye reads the two rectangles as a pair, and the switched-off screen feels less lonely. A large fine art photography poster in dark tones works particularly well because it shares the screen’s depth without stealing light.
Motifs and colors that look great in screen glow and evening light
The TV room has lighting unlike any other room: it’s usually dim, it’s mostly used in the evening, and some of its light comes from the screen itself in shifting cool tones. This places particular demands on the artwork. Pale, pastel leaves that brighten up a sunny kitchen lose their vibrancy in the subdued evening light. Instead, artwork with depth and contrast comes into its own – dark landscapes, graphic compositions, black-and-white photography and atmospheric cityscapes.
Black and white are almost made for this room. A black-and-white image shares the screen’s tonal range and creates harmony instead of a clash, and it isn’t affected by the room’s color temperature shifting throughout the evening. If you want color, stick to deep, saturated tones – olive green, dark blue, burgundy – that retain their character even in twilight. A graphic poster with clear shapes is also easy to make out from a distance, which is exactly what you want when the viewer is sitting several meters away on the sofa.
It’s also nice when the artwork reflects how you use the room. Film, music and pop culture belong here in a way they don’t in the bedroom, and a pop art poster or a retro poster can give the TV area its own identity. Cityscapes and travel destinations work well too, as they create a sense of space in a room that often feels enclosed and dark in the evening – explore our collection of famous places if you’d like to open up the wall.
Tip: Avoid artwork with large, shiny glass panels directly opposite a window or lamp – reflections in the glass compete with the TV and make the wall look cluttered. Choose anti-reflective glass or a matte acrylic sheet in the TV area to avoid double reflections while you watch.
Size, height and placement – the practical measurements
This is where the TV room differs from every other room, because placement is guided not just by the wall but by two focal points: the TV and the viewer. A common rule of thumb for art is to hang the center of the image at eye level, about 145 to 150 centimeters above the floor. But in the TV area, you’re sitting down, and the TV has its own height. So the posters should relate to the screen rather than to an imagined eye level.
When You Hang Out by the TV
Align the top edges of the side posters with the top of the TV, or slightly above it, and keep the bottom edges some distance above the media console. Leave an even amount of breathing room around the entire screen so the TV feels framed rather than crowded. Smaller sizes, such as 30x40 and 40x50 centimeters, work best around the screen - larger prints compete with the TV for attention. An asymmetrical arrangement, where two or three smaller images balance the TV on one side, creates a more lively impression than a perfectly mirrored setup.
When the poster hangs on its own
If the TV is on its own wall, a single larger poster - 50x70 or even 70x100 centimeters - can hang on the opposite or adjacent wall and become the room’s artistic focal point when the screen is off. Consider the viewing distance: the farther away the sofa is, the larger the image can be to remain legible. A large, clearly defined graphic print works well from a distance, where a detailed image would get lost. Our living room guide goes into more detail about how size and placement work together in open-plan living spaces.
Lighting - the key everyone forgets
A TV room lit only by the screen is tiring to spend time in, and the art on the wall is barely visible. At the same time, you don’t want bright light reflecting off the TV. The solution is warm, indirect light: a table lamp to the side, a floor lamp behind the sofa, or a dimmable strip behind the TV that illuminates the wall without shining on the screen. Warm light, around 2700 kelvin, makes deep-toned images glow and takes the edge off the screen’s cold light. How light renders the colors in a poster matters more than many people think - we’ve written more about it in our article on light and color rendering. Try aiming a small spotlight at a single poster to give the TV area a natural focal point even when the screen is off.
Also think about how the lighting works with the seasons. During the dark Swedish winter months, the TV room is used for more hours per day than any other room, and warm, indirect lighting is essential both for comfort and for making the posters stand out. In summer, when the evening light lingers, the same room may need blackout curtains so the screen is visible - and then the art on the wall takes center stage in the daylight instead. A room that works year-round should therefore ideally have several light sources you can dim separately, so you can shift the focal point between the screen and the wall depending on whether you’re watching TV or socializing.
Don’t forget the media console and cables
A carefully composed TV wall falls flat if the media console below is overflowing with cords and boxes. Before hanging the art, take a moment to gather the cables in a cable channel or behind the console, and keep the surface below the TV clear so the eye can travel up to the posters. A low, closed media console hides the technology better than open shelves and also provides a calm base that enhances everything you hang above it. A couple of books, a vase or a small object on the console ties the TV in with the art and makes the entire area feel like a considered whole rather than a tech station.
Frequently asked questions about posters in the TV room
A TV room never looks good because the television is hidden - it looks good when the screen has company. With a thoughtfully curated collection of posters, muted tones and warm indirect lighting, the black rectangle transforms from the room’s problem into part of the whole. Start with a couple of pieces in deep colors or black and white, and build from there. Explore our graphic posters and photographic art for pieces that bring the TV area together, even on the darkest evenings.