Here’s Why (and How) You Should Hang Your TV From the Ceiling
I’m here today to talk about a unique space-saving technique that I’ve been using in my apartment for the past two years: mount a TV on the ceiling. Do this. You don’t need a bulky entertainment center taking up valuable wall space; your TV can just float above your head and look cool while doing it. (But don’t tell Reddit who will criticize you for placing the TV above eye level . Live for yourself, not for the approval of the mean people on the internet.)
What you need to mount the TV to the ceiling
To make your home look like a “doctor’s office waiting room”, you’ll need:
- Ceiling mount ( here I have it , costs about $28)
- Wire basket under the shelf like this one
- Boer
- Four to six hefty tumbler bolts
- About 10 straps with holes
- A bunch of screws (I’m very technical)
The key to success
Follow the mounting instructions that came with the mount and make sure you mount it securely to the beam. I hired a professional for this step because I wasn’t sure I could drive a nail into a beam as well as into a wall beam, but if you think you can do it, just follow the instructions carefully so you don’t end up with break through your ceiling (and break your flat screen).
However, “buying a TV ceiling mount and installing it” is not a hack. The hack is part of my storage solution, which is what the wire basket is for. Get one that can slide under a shelf, with one side open, and make sure it’s wide enough to fit whatever you need next to the TV, like a game console, streaming box, or DVD player. Remove the wires that would otherwise hold the basket under the shelf with wire cutters and you’re left with a box open on one side and top.
Place the basket next to the TV and mark four to six points in and between the corners where you will support it as it hangs. Raise the perforated straps up to the ceiling so that they wrap around the top wires of the basket at your chosen anchor points, and mark on the ceiling where the screws will go. For each strap with a hole, use one lever bolt and one regular screw. I recommend screwing the bolts to the inside of the basket to keep it secure while you screw in the other sides. Your extra hole straps can be used to secure wires along the ceiling and down the wall. (Here’s a handy guide to hiding wires .) Place your game console, or whatever else you need, in the shopping cart and you’re done.
The benefit of this setup is clear to me as daylight: you get your walls back and don’t need a bunch of shelves to hold your TV. The only thing to be wary of is if you have a low ceiling or someone in your family is very tall, but that’s not much more bulky than a ceiling fan or pendant light that you have to walk around.