A TV wall or media cabinet is one of the most popular pieces of fitted furniture in London living rooms. It tidies away boxes and wires, gives the screen a proper home and often adds shelves and cupboards either side. In a period house it usually sits on or around the chimney breast, with the alcoves used for storage.
The joinery is the easy part to picture. The parts that decide whether it works day to day are less visible: where the cables run, how the equipment stays cool and how much room you leave for a future screen. This guide covers each of those in turn.
Start with what you own, and what you might buy
Make a list of everything that will live in or on the unit. That might be a set-top box, a games console, a streaming stick, a soundbar, an amplifier, speakers and a router. Note the size of each and whether it needs to be seen by a remote.
Then think ahead. Screens tend to get bigger when they’re replaced, and the box you use today may not be the one you use later. A design with some spare width around the screen, adjustable shelves and room to change the layout of the equipment ages far better than one built tightly round today’s kit.
Planning cable routes
Cables are the main reason a media wall looks messy. Good planning means each cable has a route from the screen to the equipment and from the equipment to the sockets, without trailing across shelves.
- Leave openings or channels at the back of cupboards so cables can pass between sections.
- Allow access panels or removable backs so cables can be changed later without taking the unit apart.
- Keep power and signal cables in mind together, so the sockets end up where the equipment sits.
We build the routes into the furniture. We don’t do electrical work. If you need new sockets moved behind the screen or into a cupboard, that’s a job for your electrician, ideally before the unit is fitted. Part P of the Building Regulations covers some electrical work in homes, and the GOV.UK page on Building Regulations approval explains how approval works.
Heat and ventilation
Set-top boxes, consoles and amplifiers all give off heat. Shut them in a closed cupboard with no airflow and they can run hot, which some equipment doesn’t like. The usual answers are simple: leave a gap above and behind each item, add vents or slots in the back or base of the cupboard, and avoid stacking equipment directly on top of each other.
Check the instructions for each piece of equipment. Many say how much space they need around them. We can design shelves and openings around those figures once we know what you have.
Thinking about fitted furniture? We design, make and fit it across London: we visit, measure and talk through the design, then send a written quote. Arrange a design visit.
Remotes, doors and open shelves
Some remote controls need a clear line to the box. Closed doors can block the signal. Options include an open shelf for the equipment that needs it, doors you leave open while watching, or equipment that can be controlled another way. It’s worth checking how your own devices work before deciding on doors.
Fixing the screen and the unit
If the screen will hang on the wall, the bracket and the wall need to carry it safely. Fixings must suit the wall. Victorian and Edwardian houses usually have solid brick external walls, while internal walls may be lath-and-plaster or newer plasterboard on studs. A chimney breast is often solid, but it may have been altered in the past. We look at the wall at the design visit and plan fixings to suit.
If your chimney is blocked up, it should still be ventilated to help stop damp. Any damp should be sorted before furniture is fitted against it. Our guide to building around a chimney breast has more on this.
Materials and finish
We make TV units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF is stable and takes paint well, so it suits doors and panels. Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, which helps with shelves carrying heavy equipment. The unit is then spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in a colour agreed with you. See MDF vs plywood for the differences.
Quick answers
Can you hide all the cables?
We can plan routes so most cables run out of sight inside the unit. Where cables meet sockets, the position of the sockets matters, and moving them is work for your electrician.
Do you install the TV or sockets?
No. We build the furniture and the cable routes. New sockets or wiring are for an electrician.
Will the unit fit a bigger TV later?
It can if you plan for it. Leaving spare width around the screen and using adjustable shelves gives you room to change things later.
Can a TV unit go in an alcove?
Yes. Alcoves beside a chimney breast often hold the equipment and storage, with the screen on the breast itself. See our alcove units page.
Related services
More advice
- Alcove Units: A Guide for London Homes
- Building Around a Chimney Breast: What to Know
- MDF vs Plywood for Fitted Furniture
- Built-in Bookshelves: Depths, Spans and Sag
- All advice
This guide is general information about fitted furniture. It isn’t legal, planning or building advice; for those, speak to the council, your landlord or managing agent, or a suitably qualified professional.