Kitchen TV Ideas to Spice Up Your Space

May 11, 2017

The kitchen always seems to be the most popular room in the house. We just naturally flock there. So why not incorporate these kitchen TV ideas into your cooking space? You can watch while you’re cooking, and others can hang out and watch while they “supervise" aka drink wine while they “offer” to help.

An Old Idea With a New Twist

Watching TV in the kitchen isn’t a new idea. Your mom (maybe even your Grandma) may have kept a tiny TV on the counter so she could watch her favorite soap while baking or the news while fixing dinner. Today, slender, lightweight TVs give you more options for placement.

What Are Your Viewing Goals?

The best location for kitchen TVs depends on your room’s size and layout and your viewing preferences:

  • Who will be watching? The household chef? Your kids, from underfoot while you work? The whole family and guests?
  • From where in the room? And are you more likely to be seated or standing? Your kitchen likely has multiple vantage points, and if your house has an open floor plan, the kitchen TV may be visible from a peninsula/island, the dining area or family room. (On the flip side, if your kitchen is wide open, perhaps the most useful placement is a wall mounted TV in your family room.)
  • Will you be using a Smart TV for viewing or using components like a Roku or cable box to view your fave shows? Knowing that will help you determine if you need to store any of those items under or behind your mounted TV. Say no to wasted counter space.

It’s a lot like adding a TV to your bathroom. You have to get creative with both functionality and aesthetics. You might even want to consider a waterproof TV, if you choose a potentially “splashy” location.

Where to Put That Kitchen TV?

  1. You could still use the counter, although in many homes this workspace is limited. If you do choose the counter, a swivel base will give you more flexible viewing angles.
  2. Put it on a shelf, or wall mount it within a shelf system.
  3. Create a “communications center” by grouping the TV with your wireless router, phone chargers, and kitchen audio system.
  4. Hide it in a cabinet. A sliding or pivoting door won’t get in the way of viewing. You could even put the TV on a pull-out tray to bring it farther into the room.
  5. Mount it under the cabinet, as you might do with a small microwave. It can be fixed in position, or you can use a fold-down mount like airlines use.
  6. Place it above or next to your other wall-mounted appliances, where it will look right at home. Or mount it in a corner for a wider viewing angle. Either way, a full motion wall mount keeps your TV smoothly out of the way but lets you tilt and swivel it into the perfect position for viewing.
  7. Hang it on the wall like artwork – perhaps in your breakfast nook.
  8. Hang it from the ceiling, over a door or the fridge. You can counteract the “too high” position with a tilting wall mount. Or use a full motion ceiling mount instead.

Who knew there were so many great places to mount kitchen TVs? Now that you’re inspired, check out how easy it is to tackle this easy home update.