Tips on how to hang a television on a wall when the studs aren’t where you want them! Learn how to hide the television cords and what mounting hardware we used.
I recently revealed our long-time-in-the-making media room makeover! You can find the source list for the products used in the room here, a tutorial on how we built the bookcase and cabinet built-ins here, and a tutorial on how we covered the popcorn ceiling with planks here. Today, I wanted to share a quick tutorial on how we hung the television on the wall and managed to hide the cords.
Supplies Needed to Hang Television on Wall (when stud is not dead center)
- Drywall saw
- stud finder
- 1/2″ to 1″ thick scrap piece of plywood
- Wood screws
- Drill
Step 1: Determine your television placement on the wall and mount plywood if needed.
Using your stud finder, mark in pencil the placement of your studs. If a stud does not fall dead center to where you want to hang your television, you will need to mount a piece of scrap plywood on two studs in order to create a solid surface for your hardware mount. Below is a horribly blurry screenshot of a video from my phone showing how we mounted the scrap piece of plywood into the studs. Cut your plywood to size and use your drill and long wood screws to secure your plywood into the studs.
Step 2: Purchase your television mounting hardware.
Measure your TV, check the back fittings, and begin to research which hardware works best for your needs. Amazon is a great resource to search for affordable mounting hardware. I chose the Mounting Dream Full Motion TV Wall Mount because it had nearly 2500 reviews with a five star rating. It claimed a “less than 30 minute install” time which was appealing. It was indeed very easy to install! Install the hardware in the center of your plywood following the package directions.
Step 3: Use drywall saw to cut small holes to run the cords down.
You can purchase television cord kits to help manage your cords, but we didn’t find this necessary. We simply opened up a small hole below the television mount and another small hole inside our cabinet. We then use a surge protector power strip to plug in all of the cords to the nearest outlet. To run the cords down the wall we attached a small weight to the end of each cord and fed it down the wall. In our case, our small weight was literally our son’s tiny decorative iron elephant! It looked like the elephant was spelunking down the inside of our walls and cracked us up! Feel free to get creative with whatever might work for you. 🙂
Here is a better look at how the hardware looks installed. The swivel arm on the hardware works great and when the television is pushed up against the wall it is completely centered.
I hope this brief tutorial was helpful if you’re considering mounting your television! Let me know if you have any questions!