How to Decorate an Entertainment Center

Rob Dunn • Dec 31, 2021

When you consider that watching TV is now the most popular pastime in this country, it’s not surprising that an increasing number of households are building custom entertainment systems. These pieces tend to take up an entire wall because of the size of television sets these days. That can pose a challenge as how to decorate an entertainment center around the oversized flat, black rectangle commonly called a television.

Regardless of whether your interior design aesthetic features a classic entertainment center with a TV flanked by built-ins or a modern, minimalist style with a wall-mounted set surrounded by sleek cabinetry, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to decorating your entertainment center:

Pick Pieces You Love
Create Balance
Go Easy on The Eyes
Change is Good

Keep reading for tips and tricks to make your entertainment center a purposeful piece of furniture and attractive addition to your home and not just a place to put your television set.

Pick Pieces You Love

As mentioned above, chances are your entertainment center takes up the better part of a wall in your family room or den. Some people even dedicate an entire room in their house to watching TV and movies with a luxury home theater, which can add tremendous real estate value. The pros at Cinema Sound Unlimited Inc. further expand on this topic in How Do Luxury Home Theaters Raise The Value of a Home.

If your media viewing takes place out in the open, then you will want to be sure that your TV set is easily viewable yet does not dominate the space. This can be accomplished by hiding it behind doors or a picture frame or simply making the area surrounding it more attractive.

When it comes to decorating your entertainment center, you will want to start with a clean slate. Empty it out so that the only thing in it is the television set and any other media pieces, like a soundbar or speakers. Then you can fill in the surrounding space, whether that be shelves, cabinetry, or wall space.

The best place to start is with what "you already own." Go around the house and gather up pieces that you think will work in your entertainment center. Decorative vases, framed photos, favorite books, knick-knacks, and faux plants are all great finds. Ideas for The Home by Kenarry suggests you lay out everything on a table so that you can see all possible options. Create your own home goods store if you will.

Be sure to set aside items that hold special meaning to you and your family for your entertainment center. It’s always nice to surround yourself with cherished memories such as a jar filled with sea glass collected from the beach resort where you honeymooned, or the plaster mold of your child’s handprint lovingly painted during preschool.

Create Balance

Once you’ve taken inventory of your decorative items, you can start placing them in your entertainment center. You will want to start with the larger pieces first and then build around them, filling in the empty space with smaller objects.

If you page through interior design magazines or websites, you will see that symmetry is important in home décor. Make sure that your entertainment center is balanced. For instance, if you place a large vase on the left side of the TV, then look for something proportionate in scale for the right side. When grouping related items, such as candlesticks, you can add interest by using an odd number. Three candlesticks of varying heights are much more visually appealing than an ordinary pair.

You can also create unity with your color choices. It’s best to keep a common color scheme throughout, such as soft neutrals, and then add in a few pops of your favorite hue. This is a terrific way to tie your entertainment center into the other furniture pieces in that particular space. As an example, if you have blue throw pillows on your sofa, why not place a couple of blue objects in & around your entertainment center?

Go Easy on The Eyes

When decorating, it’s important to remember that the focal point of your entertainment center is the television set. Apartment Therapy recommends you keep the wall space behind the TV neutral and clutter-free. You certainly do not want to decorate with anything that obstructs your vision or distracts from your TV viewing. This includes bold patterned wallpaper & over-stuffed shelves.

If your entertainment center features a wall-mounted TV in the main area, it doesn’t need to be an eyesore. Gallery walls are widely popular nowadays. Consider disguising your TV amongst a collection of black-and-white photographs or a framed collection of art prints.

You can also corral clutter within your entertainment center with baskets and decorative boxes. These are ideal for hiding children’s toys and games, snuggly warm blankets for cooler nights, or your collection of video game controllers.

Although most people use streaming services these days, not everyone has tossed their DVDs. Eat, Sleep, Decorate came up with a clever DIY project to consolidate your DVD collection down to a small storage box. Take each DVD out of its case and slip it and the cover into a plastic CD/DVD sleeve. You may need to trim the movie image cover to fit. Be sure to alphabetize your DVDs so you can quickly find the ones you desire. Card stock and scrapbooking supplies make great dividers in case you prefer to sort your DVDs by movie genre or title.

Change is Good

Once you are all done decorating your entertainment center, take a few minutes to step back and review how it looks. Add some smaller objects to fill in any gaps. Faux plants can add a pop of color and bring a sense of life to your wall unit, while short stacks of books can add texture and interest – especially if you include a special collection of beloved children’s picture books or travel guides to your favorite destinations.

When the holidays roll around, don’t be afraid to switch out a few pieces to bring the festive mood into your home. You can easily incorporate holiday décor into your entertainment center with a grouping of gourds for fall, a glass jar filled with colorful ornaments for Christmas, or a small vase with artificial pink or red roses for Valentine’s Day, and so on.

Conclusion

It seems bigger is better when it comes to TVs these days. According to the technology blog site The Verge, the most popular TV size is now 65-inches. Decorating around this oversized screen can be an obstacle. Fortunately, you can create an aesthetically pleasing entertainment center even with a giant television as the focal point. The key to decorating it is to pick pieces you love, make sure everything is to scale and that your décor does not distract from your viewing – and don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit and bring in new pieces from time to time, especially around the holidays.