Ding dong — the bare spot above the TV is finally fixed.
For a while it looked like this:
Then we upgraded to a larger TV and spent nearly a year hunting for the perfect media cabinet.
Eventually we scored a $59 cabinet at a thrift store and things started coming together.
Whew. It’s NNM — nekkid no more. Don’t mind the power strip on the floor; I shoved it behind the cabinet afterward to hide it.
It feels great to finally have a shelf there.
We weighed a lot of options for the space above the TV — framed art, three-dimensional wall decor, a ready-made shelf, or building our own so we could specify the length, depth, and brackets. In the end, we decided to make a shelf that fit the wall exactly, after years of not finding anything we loved.
Good news: it only took a few hours and about $20.
We picked up a 10″ wide poplar board from Home Depot, cut it to length, and supported it with store-bought brackets also from Home Depot. The finished shelf length is 56″, which complements the 60″ media cabinet below.
For the finish, we primed and painted both the shelf and the originally silver brackets white. We wanted the shelf to blend gently into the room rather than compete with other elements like the white frames over the sofa and the white mirror over the desk.
We mounted the brackets on top of the shelf instead of underneath so everything would sit on the same plane and the brackets wouldn’t intrude over the TV. It’s a personal preference — we like the cleaner look here, especially since we already have brackets under kitchen shelves.
We didn’t want the shelf to draw attention away from whatever we’re watching on the TV below — whether zombies, white walkers, or dignified Brits.
To secure the brackets we used heavy-duty anchors rated for far more weight than we plan to load on the shelf. We also added construction adhesive to the bracket bases before screwing them into the shelf for extra insurance. Many people glue and screw brackets from above and it holds very securely, so it’s not necessary for the brackets to be under the shelf to support it. Let’s just say it could probably hold at least three Claras, hypothetically.
Could you lick these flowers, or is that just me? They’re ranunculus.
It’s so much nicer to sit on the sofa now without thinking, “ugh, this wall has been blank for years — get on that!”
Now I can kick back, put my feet up, and dust my shoulders off, Jay-Z style.
On the shelf I leaned a few frames we already owned and used poster putty at their bases to keep them stable. Inside the frames we have:
- a “squeeze the day” page from an old catalog that I’ve always liked
- a blue botanical print from Ikea
- a Polaroid of John and me from a book signing, matted with a cheerful yellow border made from Clara’s art
There are also fresh flowers that will eventually wilt — after they do I’ll probably think, “ugh, those flowers are dead. Get on that!” — but I now have West Elm paper flowers that will keep the shelf looking lively once the real blooms fade.
Now I can sit on the sofa and focus on the zombies, as it should be.
Before I go, here’s a final shot:
Can you believe this wall looked like that on the day we moved in?
Now it’s all “look at me now.”
What do you have above your TV? A mirror, a plant, or maybe a zombie action figure to match what’s on screen?