Create your own TV wall

Want to make a TV wall yourself? That is a nice challenge for handymen with some experience. A nice TV wall is a real eye-catcher in your interior. And the great thing about designing and making your own TV wall is that you decide exactly what it will look like. In this article, we will explain step by step how to make your own TV wall.

In this article:

How to make a TV wall yourself?

A TV wall not only provides space for your television. It can also accommodate audio equipment, game consoles and laptops, for example. Moreover, a large TV wall often offers space for beautiful decorative elements. It really enriches your interior. And the best thing about making a TV wall yourself is of course that you decide exactly what the furniture will look like.

But, making your own TV wall can also be a big and perhaps overwhelming DIY project. That's why we at TOSIZE.it will help you get started. How do you tackle it? How do you make a good drawing and what materials do you use? We answer that in this article. And of course, we will take some of the work off your hands by providing you with perfectly cut-to-size MDF or other wood material for this job.

At the bottom of the article, we share with you beautiful examples of TV walls from our handymen. With that, get inspiration for your own project.

Ready to get started on your project? Read on quickly.

What items do you need to make a cut-to-size TV wall?

Before you start working on your TV wall, you will need a number of items and tools. In general, you should consider the following materials:

  • Graph paper, pencil, eraser, ruler: for an accurate sketch of your TV wall
  • Cordless drill: to easily pre-drill holes and screw screws into your material
  • Hole saw: to cut neat holes through which to run cabling
  • Wood glue and possibly dowels: is often needed to firmly glue various parts of your TV wall together
  • Primer, edge sealer, lacquer: if you choose a type of wood that still has to be finished - primer first, then lacquer
  • Sandpaper: always handy to have on hand, with a coarse or small grain
  • Tape measure: you will need it to measure the dimensions and mark off your wood
  • Spirit level: to mount your TV wall nicely level
  • Screws, dowels or jack screws: to connect the different wood materials together and possibly to fix your TV wall to the wall

Also check out the accessories you can order along with your project.

How to make a drawing or sketch for a TV wall

Before you start working on a TV wall, you need to make a sketch and a drawing. In the sketch you give shape to your idea and in the drawing you work out this idea in a precise overview of all the sizes and materials you need. You need this overview of materials to order the perfectly cut-to-size wood for your job. 

To determine the outer dimensions of your TV wall, you can cover the wall with masking tape. That way you can see exactly how big the wall is going to be.  

So you start by sketching out your idea. You probably have a vision of what the TV wall should look like. Roughly determine the dimensions and sketch the different compartments, beams and uprights. For example, do you want to put doors or drawers in it and where should they go?

Once your sketch is ready, start working on the final design. Of course, you can just do that on paper. With a pencil, graph paper and an eraser. But, you can also use a 3D programme, such as SketchUp

In your design, also consider how you want to shape the structure. Will you work with a load-bearing structure of pine and clad it with MDF for a solid look? Or will you choose to make the board material directly load-bearing?

Furthermore, you can think about questions such as: will you put your television in the cupboard or hang it on the wall? How will you work away the necessary cables? And is there a power socket nearby? 

This is also the time to think about how you will mount your TV wall. Will you use screws, corner anchors or glue and dowels? In which places do you want to work with blind, mitred corners? And is it necessary to anchor the TV wall in the wall? 

Once you have all that figured out, you can order exactly the wood material you need in our web shop. 

Tip: provide each plank with a unique mark (you can indicate this in our ordering process), which will save you a lot of puzzling when the wood is delivered to your home!

Put together your TV wall with our configurator

Finding it hard to draw a picture of your TV wall yourself? You can also use our configurator for custom-made compartment cabinets. You will then also get an instant indication of the price of the material. 

First, download our sketch sheet. Here you can sketch your idea yourself. We also indicate what to look out for when drawing and provide a sample drawing of a built-in cupboard. 

You can then enter the dimensions and elements of your drawing in the configurator. 

You enter the height, width and depth of your TV wall. Then you choose the number of open compartments, the number of compartments with low single doors or high single doors and you do the same for the double doors. Finally, you also travel the number of compartments with a flap and the number of drawers you want to see in your TV wall. 

You also indicate whether you want 1 or more compartments with a TV niche in your cabinet. The TV niche is made of plywood with the visible side coated with MDF Oak Dosse Veneer. The niche is 11.0 cm thick and can be fitted at the desired depth.

You can also play with the thickness of the uprights and beams in the configurator and select options for shelves and recesses for spotlights. So you can easily create a complete design for your TV wall. 

You will immediately see a price for the material and can also opt for on-site assembly. That's a bit of cheating of course, but convenient!

What is a good viewing distance for a TV wall

When decorating your interior (if possible), also consider the viewing distance to your television. You can determine the ideal size of your television by dividing the distance between the sofa and your TV wall in cm by 2.5. The number that comes out is the ideal diagonal of your TV. 

Is your sofa 350.0 cm away from your TV wall? Then the ideal TV diagonal is 350.0 / 2.5 = 140.0 cm.

What is a good viewing height in a TV wall

Another important element in your TV wall is the viewing height of your television. A rule of thumb for placing or hanging your TV is that the top of your television should be at eye level. The moment you sit in front of the television, on your sofa or chair, your eyes should be at the same height as the top part of the TV.

How deep is a TV wall

Of course, you want your television to fit properly in your wall unit. That's why it's important that you use the right dimensions. On average, a TV wall is between 30.0 cm and 40.0 cm deep. 

But, be sure to measure the things you want to put in it to make sure.

What wood to use for a cut-to-size TV wall

To make your own TV wall, you can use different types of wood. At TOSIZE.it you can choose from a very wide range with, for example, concrete plywood, MDF, plywood, OSB and furniture and joinery panels. 

Each type of wood has its own qualities and pluses and minuses. For instance, you don't need to finish concrete plywood and OSB is structurally very strong. It is up to you to make a choice that best suits your specific requirements for your TV furniture. In TV walls made by our handymen, we often see the use of MDF.

MDF

MDF boards are the absolute all-rounders in our range. Moreover, we stock it in many variants. MDF is easy to work with and does not splinter. We ensure that the boards are cut-to-size with millimetre precision. You can also choose MDF with mitred corners, rounded edges or a board with mdf lakdraagfolie (which saves you time finishing). Just what you want for your TV wall!

What you should also pay attention to with a TV wall

There are a number of other things to consider when making your own TV wall.

leveling feet

Will you put the wall on legs or place the TV wall directly on the ground? If your surface is not completely level, you can choose to use leveling feet to easily straighten the wall.

Rear panel

Is your wall against a neat wall? Or do you want to make a back wall in your TV cabinet yourself? Then choose thin material, such as hardboard, which you attach with small nails, screws or glue.

How to anchor a TV wall in the wall

You can anchor a high TV wall into the wall at the top for safety reasons. This prevents the wall from toppling over. Especially with children in the house, this is advisable. 

You can anchor the wall in different ways. You can do it with an ordinary plug and matching screws. Then put a wide washer under the screw head so that it is not pulled through the wood. But, you can also choose to use wedge bolts. Remember that you need to anchor a wide TV wall in several places (1 anchor point per running metre).

How to connect the sheet materials in the TV wall

In the TV wall, you use beams and uprights. How can you connect these elements? We give you four options.

Screws

You can fasten the sheet materials together with screws. Remember to pre-drill the wood first and finish the screw holes neatly with putty.

Corner joints

A simple, but less beautiful way, is to use corner joints. With these, you screw different elements firmly together.

Dowels

If you use dowels, you create a strong, invisible connection. Draw the drill holes carefully and use a dowel drill set to drill the holes in the wood. Use a little wood glue to connect the dowels and the boards.

Lamellos

Thanks to the larger glue area, you can create even stronger joints with lamello than with dowels. To do this, though, you need a special milling machine.

Remember that we can mitre-cut your sheet material for you. See our finishing options for more information.

Routing cords in the TV wall

An important part of the TV wall is neatly concealing the cables and cords of your television and other equipment. Keep this in mind in your design as well. Make sure you drill holes of 5.0 to 8.0 cm in the compartments where you want to run cables. You can use a hole saw for this, for instance. 

For a tidy finish, work away all cables neatly. Make sure you drill holes of 50 to 80 mm in all compartments through which you need to guide cables. This allows you to guide the cables to the nearest socket. You can make a double wall in the back wall to run the cables behind. This way, the cables are neatly concealed and invisible from the visible side of the TV unit.

What does a cut-to-size TV wall cost?

You can, of course, order a cut-to-size TV wall from a furniture manufacturer. The cost depends on many factors, such as the size, material and finish. If you make the TV wall yourself, you will save considerably on costs. By ordering the material from TOSIZE.it and assembling the TV wall yourself, you choose one of the most budget-friendly options. But, it does involve a bit more work. No problem, of course, if you like a nice job.

Examples of our handymen

Check out self-made TV walls by our handymen below and get inspired by their creativity and dexterity.

Wall cabinet of wrapped MDF

This handyman made a nearly 5-metre-wide TV wall, containing space for the television and computer, among other things. The MDF was wrapped by the handyman, making it a very stylish whole.

TV wall made of MDF film

Nathan turned his first timber project into a success. He ordered from TOSIZE.it MDF film to make a TV wall. For assembly, he used dowels. Handsomely done!

3D drawn TV wall made of black MDF

Handyman Bregje used 3D software to create a drawing of her tv wand. The result was a pinewood construction clad in black MDF. She attached the MDF to the pine construction with a nail gun.

Homemade TV wall cabinet made of MDF, by Bregje

TV wall with adjoining seating area

That you can also make a seating area for the kids on a TV wall is proven by handyman Mees. He describes his process himself as follows: 'Draw, order wood, assemble with glue and screws, paint.' It can be that simple!

TV cabinet with integrated cat box and cable storage

Very creative is this DIY project by Arjan, a TV cabinet with integrated cat box and cable storage. At the project, you can read how he tackled it.

Home-made TV cabinet with superstructure, by Arjan

Wall cupboard with MDF natural

Jos ordered cut-to-size MDF natural for this wall cabinet. He treated the MDF with primer and painted it twice. The result is a seamless whole that looks very cool.

Get started with your cut-to-size TV wall

In this article, we got you started on how to get started with your own cut-to-size TV wall. At TOSIZE.it, you can find perfectly cut-to-size material for this project. 

Have you completed your project? Then we would appreciate it if you would share the result with us. That way you can inspire other DIYers! 

Have fun with your homemade TV wall!

Start ordering now!