What to Look for in Furniture That Hides Your TV Clutter
A living room can look perfectly organized until attention turns to the TV area. A cable box may sit beside the screen, a game console needs a home, and cords have a way of becoming visible even after they have been tucked away.
Furniture can help, but simply choosing a large media unit does not guarantee that the clutter disappears. Door type, shelving, cord routing, and ventilation all affect what can realistically be stored out of sight.
The goal is not necessarily to hide everything. A practical setup gives electronics and everyday clutter appropriate storage while leaving books and decorative pieces where they make sense.
Knowing what each section of a media unit actually does makes it easier to create an organized living room without turning the entire space into a home theater.
Know Which Doors Actually Hide What’s Behind Them
Not every closed section of a media unit hides what is stored inside. Opaque doors fully block contents from view, glass doors provide enclosed storage while leaving items visible, and open shelving offers display space with no concealment at all.
The Martha Stewart Living Room Collection is a modular storage system from Flash Furniture, available in the Bedford and Lily Pond lines, that combines cabinets, hutches, and TV stands into a custom built-in look with solid wood frames, soft-close doors, and adjustable shelving.
That gives homeowners modular storage that looks like custom built-ins with no renovation, no contractor, no DIY project.
The two fluted wood cabinets in the Bedford 6-Piece Modular Media Center fully conceal what is stored behind them, using opaque fluted-wood doors with soft-close hinges. These are the sections that can keep cable boxes, streaming devices, and gaming consoles behind closed
doors when enclosed storage is appropriate.
The rest of the configuration serves a different purpose. Two glass-door cabinets keep items enclosed but still visible, while two open hutches provide display space. The White and Gold version uses White, one of the collection’s six curated finishes, paired with gold hardware.
Putting the Right Things Behind the Right Doors
Items that genuinely need to disappear from view should go behind opaque doors, while glass-fronted and open sections are better suited to things that can remain visible.
With glass-door cabinets, books and decorative objects benefit from some protection while remaining visible. Open hutches are suited to objects intended for display and easy access rather than anything the buyer wants to conceal.
In the Bedford 6-Piece Modular Media Center, the two fluted wood cabinets provide closed cabinet storage rather than open shelving. A cable box, smaller electronics, controllers and accessories can go behind those opaque doors when enclosed storage is appropriate, while
soft-close doors and adjustable shelving make the interior easier to organize.
Choosing storage by door type creates a more organized arrangement than simply putting items wherever space is available.
It Should Look Like Furniture, Not Like a Media Rack
Storage affects the room visually even when it organizes everything successfully. In a living room, a media setup often works best when it feels connected to the rest of the furniture. Details such as coordinated cabinetry, decorative door fronts, consistent hardware, and a balance between closed and open sections can help with this. The Parker House Catalina 7-Piece, at around $1,573, offers a coordinated entertainment-wall format with an approachable aesthetic that can suit family living spaces.
The Bedford 6-Piece Modular Media Center uses solid wood frames, bases, and legs alongside fluted doors, glass-front cabinetry and open display areas, helping the storage read as living room furniture, not as a media rack. That same furniture-led approach carries across 2-piece through 6-piece configurations, allowing the wall to remain visually coordinated whether the arrangement is relatively compact or fills more of the room.
It Should Give the Cords Somewhere to Go
A clean cabinet front only solves part of the problem if cords remain visible around the furniture. Before choosing media storage, it is worth checking where cables can run from devices to outlets and other components. For the Bedford 6-Piece configuration, the open hutches have rear cord management openings that give cables a route through the back rather than forcing them around visible edges.
Buyers can identify outlet locations first and consider how the TV, power connections, and devices will relate to the openings once the furniture is positioned. Shorter, planned cord routes are generally easier to keep visually contained than cables stretched between distant sections.
This is also why cable-management claims need to be specific. An opening confirmed for one component should not automatically be assumed to exist throughout an entire modular wall.
It Should Match Your Electronics’ Airflow Needs
Concealing electronics is useful only when the storage remains appropriate for the equipment. Some devices produce little heat, while others need much more airflow during operation. Buyers need to consider what equipment they own and whether enclosed, open, or purpose-built ventilated storage is appropriate before deciding where each component belongs.
Devices that run cool, a streaming stick, a cable box, a router, a soundbar remote, sit fine behind closed cabinet doors. Game consoles under load and AV receivers generate real heat and need either a vented cabinet or an added fan; BDI’s Corridor line and AC Infinity’s cabinet fans are built for that case. For everything else, the Martha Stewart Bedford pieces keep components behind soft-close doors on shelves built for AV equipment, with rear cord management openings for routing.
This is an area where specialist furniture has a clear advantage. At around $4,399, the BDI Corridor 8179 incorporates airflow-focused engineering intended for AV equipment.
An Organized Living Room Starts With Storage Choices
A well-organized media wall starts with knowing which items need concealment and which can remain visible. Opaque doors, glass cabinetry, open display areas, and cord-routing features each solve a different problem.
The Martha Stewart Living Room Collection is manufactured by Flash Furniture, a Ubique
Group company, with Bedford and Lily Pond using solid wood frames, bases, and legs alongside soft-close doors and adjustable shelving. The system spans 2-piece through 6-piece configurations and offers six curated finishes.
For buyers seeking modular storage that looks like custom built-ins, the coordinated approach can create a finished appearance with no renovation, no contractor, no DIY project required.
FAQ
Will Closed Cabinet Doors Actually Keep My Gaming Console or Cable Box Out of Sight?
It depends on the door. An opaque door blocks the contents behind it from view, while a glass door creates a physical enclosure without visually concealing what is stored inside. Open shelving provides neither type of concealment.
Before choosing furniture, consider which devices and accessories genuinely need to disappear from view. Door type can then be matched to that purpose instead of assuming every enclosed section provides the same result.
Where Can I Buy This Kind of Media Storage?
The Bedford 6-Piece Modular Media Center is part of the Martha Stewart Living Room Collection, manufactured by Flash Furniture. The collection is available through approved retailers including Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Availability can differ between retailers, so buyers can check the exact configuration, dimensions, and finish before ordering.
How Do I Keep a Home Theater Setup From Making the Room Feel Like a Media Room?
Balance functional storage with elements that belong naturally in a living room. Closed cabinets can contain accessories and visual clutter, while glass cabinets and open sections can hold books, framed objects, and decor.
Keeping visible cord runs to a minimum also helps the technology feel less dominant. A combination of storage types generally creates a softer residential appearance than filling an entire wall with exposed equipment.
Does Modular Media Storage Require Assembly?
For the Martha Stewart Living Room Collection, adult assembly is required, and pieces ship in multiple boxes. Modular furniture should therefore not be confused with furniture that arrives completely assembled.
The distinction is that creating the coordinated built-in appearance requires no construction, cutting, trim, or painting. Buyers can create a larger arrangement without commissioning cabinetry or altering the individual furniture pieces.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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