Media Wall Storage Ideas: What to hide, what to show and what people forget
When people start looking for media wall storage ideas, the TV usually gets all the attention.
Then comes the fireplace, lighting, colours and shelves.
But there is another question that probably matters more once you are actually living with it:
Where is all your stuff going to go?
The router. TV box. Games consoles. Controllers. Chargers. Toys. Books. Spare cables. Remote controls. All the bits that somehow gather around the television.
A media wall can look great, but if it doesn't give those things a proper home, you haven't really solved much.
So before deciding how you want the finished wall to look, start with what you actually need it to do.
What storage should you include in a media wall?
Have a look at what is already around your TV now.
What do you use every day? What would you like to hide? What needs to stay easy to reach?
It might include:
TV or streaming boxes
games consoles and controllers
router and internet equipment
soundbar or speakers
books
toys and board games
remote controls
chargers
spare cables
DVDs or records
things you actually want to display
Once you know what needs a home, it becomes much easier to work out the right mix of cupboards, drawers and shelving.
That is a much better starting point than deciding you want six shelves because you saw six shelves in a photo online.
Media wall storage ideas: cupboards, drawers or open shelving?
Usually, a mixture.
Closed cupboards are where most of the useful storage happens. They hide the everyday stuff you need in the room but don't particularly want to look at.
Drawers can be really useful for controllers, chargers, remotes and smaller bits that otherwise disappear into the back of a cupboard.
Open shelving gives you somewhere for books, photos, plants and things you actually want to see.
The important thing is not to overdo any of them.
Open shelves look great when they are carefully styled, but too many can quickly become another place to collect clutter. They also create a lot more surfaces to dust.
On the other hand, a full wall of closed cupboards can feel too heavy in some rooms.
A good design normally finds the balance.
Hide the everyday stuff. Show the things you like. Leave a bit of breathing space.
You don't need to fill every inch of wall just because you can.
Do you need a full media wall or just a built-in TV unit?
Not every room needs a huge floor-to-ceiling media wall.
Sometimes a bespoke built-in TV unit is enough.
A low fitted unit can hide cables, give you plenty of storage and make the whole TV area feel much more finished without taking over the room.
In a larger space, or somewhere with alcoves and unused wall space, it might make sense to extend the storage higher or across more of the wall.
The point isn't to build the biggest media wall possible.
It's to use the space properly.
If a simple TV unit gives you everything you need, there is no reason to make it more complicated.
Where should the router go in a media wall?
Somewhere you can still get to it.
Nobody really wants a router with flashing lights sitting proudly in the middle of new fitted furniture, but burying it in the deepest cupboard isn't necessarily the answer either.
It still needs:
power
ventilation
access
a sensible position for the internet connection
And depending on your setup, hiding it inside dense cabinetry may affect the Wi-Fi signal.
It is much easier to decide where the router is going while the storage is being designed than to finish the whole wall and then ask, "Where do we put this?"
The same applies to TV boxes, consoles and other equipment.
Can games consoles and TV boxes be hidden?
Yes, but hidden should not mean impossible to reach.
This is one of those practical things that doesn't look exciting on an inspiration board but really matters later.
TV boxes need restarting.
Games consoles get replaced.
HDMI cables change.
Something will stop working eventually and somebody will need to get behind it.
So before the cupboards are built, think about:
where the equipment will sit
how the cables will reach it
how you'll access it
whether it needs ventilation
whether you might replace it later
A beautifully neat cupboard isn't much use if getting to the equipment means dismantling half the unit.
What about all the cables?
One of the big advantages of fitted media storage is getting the cables out of sight.
But again, you want them hidden, not trapped forever.
Power leads, HDMI cables, aerial connections, internet cables and speaker wires all need sensible routes.
And technology changes.
You may want to replace a cable or add another device in a couple of years.
So it is worth allowing for access from the beginning rather than sealing everything behind the finished wall.
It is one of those small bits of planning that can save a lot of frustration later.
Can media wall storage work in alcoves?
Yes, and this is where bespoke storage can really make a difference.
A lot of living rooms have spaces that standard furniture doesn't deal with very well.
Alcoves are the obvious example, but you might also have:
an uneven chimney breast
a narrow gap beside a fireplace
walls that aren't quite straight
awkward corners
sloping ceilings
existing sockets or radiators in inconvenient places
Made-to-measure cupboards and shelving can work around those things rather than leaving odd gaps.
It doesn't have to be perfectly symmetrical either.
If one side of the room needs more storage than the other, that is fine.
It is your living room, not a furniture showroom.
Should media wall storage go all the way to the ceiling?
It can, especially if you need a lot of storage.
Full-height cupboards are useful for things you don't need every day and make good use of vertical space without taking up more floor area.
But more storage isn't automatically better.
In a smaller room, taking heavy cabinetry right up to the ceiling can make the wall feel quite imposing.
Sometimes leaving part of the wall open, adding a few shelves or changing the finish helps break things up.
It comes back to the room itself.
How much storage do you genuinely need, and how much cabinetry can the space comfortably take?
How do you make media wall storage feel less bulky?
Proportion makes a big difference.
A few things can help:
keeping some areas open
mixing closed cupboards with shelving
using lighter finishes where appropriate
avoiding cupboards that are deeper than they need to be
not filling the whole wall simply because there is space
keeping the number of finishes and materials under control
Sometimes removing something from the design makes it work better.
If the room already has a lot going on, the media storage doesn't need to compete with all of it.
How do you future-proof media wall storage?
You don't need to predict exactly what will be in your living room ten years from now.
But it is worth remembering that things change.
The games console gets replaced.
The TV gets bigger.
The children stop needing toy storage.
You add speakers or a different TV box.
If every shelf and cupboard has been designed around one exact piece of equipment, you don't have much room to adapt.
A bit of flexibility helps.
That might mean:
adjustable shelves
sensible cupboard sizes
accessible cable routes
some spare storage capacity
avoiding recesses that only fit one exact device
Bespoke doesn't have to mean designing everything so precisely that it can never change.
What should stay on display?
Whatever you actually like looking at.
Books. Photos. Artwork. Plants. Something you brought back from a holiday.
The shelves don't need to look like a showroom.
In fact, they normally feel better when there is something personal on them.
And you don't need to put something in every space.
A bit of empty shelf can look much better than trying to create a perfect little display everywhere.
The shelves should give you somewhere for the things you want to see, not another job to keep perfectly arranged.
Media wall storage mistakes worth avoiding
Most of these are easy to prevent if they are thought about early.
Too much open shelving
It can look fantastic when it is empty and very different once everyday life takes over.
Not enough closed storage
If the things you want hidden don't fit, they'll end up back on show.
Forgetting the technology
Decide where the router, consoles, TV boxes, plugs and cables need to go before deciding exactly where every cupboard sits.
Making everything too specific
The equipment you own today probably won't be the equipment you own forever.
Copying somebody else's media wall
Their room, their belongings and their storage needs probably aren't the same as yours.
Trying to use every inch of wall
You are allowed to leave some space.
Sometimes that is exactly what makes the finished design feel right.
Is bespoke media wall storage worth it?
It makes the biggest difference when the storage needs to do more than simply sit underneath the TV.
Maybe the room has awkward alcoves.
Maybe you need a lot of hidden storage.
Maybe standard TV units leave gaps or don't quite fit.
Or perhaps you want the TV, shelving and cupboards to look like they have always belonged in the room.
That is where made-to-measure furniture comes into its own.
Instead of choosing a unit and then working out how to fit your life into it, the storage can be designed around what you actually need.
Good media wall storage should make the room feel easier
That is really the point.
The TV can still be the focal point.
The shelving can still look good.
But once you are actually living with it, the thing you might appreciate most is simply that everything has somewhere to go.
No controllers sitting permanently on the coffee table.
No router balanced behind the TV.
No pile of cables in the corner.
No cupboards full of things that don't really fit.
Just a room that feels a bit calmer and works better.
Thinking about fitted media storage?
Before deciding on the finished look, have a look at the room as it is now.
What do you want to hide?
What would you like to keep on show?
What needs to be easy to reach?
And what currently doesn't have a proper home?
From there, we can work out what combination of cupboards, drawers, shelving and TV storage will actually suit the space.
If you are still at the beginning of planning your media wall, have a read of our Complete Guide to Bespoke Media Walls as well.
