08 · Media Walls
Media walls that hide the wires and anchor the room
Built-in media walls for Nashville homes: cabinetry around the TV, a chase for every wire, optional fireplace and lighting wired in from the start.
A media wall is the piece of built-in furniture the whole household looks at every evening, so it deserves better than a floating shelf and a tangle of cords. We design and build the cabinetry around your television, run a chase for every wire, ventilate the equipment, and, if you want one, integrate a linear fireplace with its clearances respected. The result reads as one composed wall, not a TV with things around it.
What is a built-in media wall, and what goes into one?
A media wall is a full wall of built-in cabinetry designed around the television: a recess or panel for the screen, closed storage below for the receiver, consoles and the remotes you never want to see, open shelves or lit niches to either side, and, if you want it, a linear fireplace centered beneath the screen. The finish can be painted, stained white oak or walnut, fluted or slatted panels, or a stone or plaster surround, and it usually runs floor to ceiling so it reads as architecture.
Behind the face, the details are what make it work. We run a chase from the equipment cabinet to the television so every cable is hidden, add outlets and low-voltage boxes where the gear actually sits, ventilate the cabinet so the receiver does not cook, and leave a slot for the soundbar. If the television is likely to be replaced with a bigger one, we size the recess for the next screen, not the current one. Lighting is wired in from the start, never surface-mounted later.
What drives the cost of a media wall?
Size, materials and what has to be built into it. A wall that is mostly painted cabinetry with a panel behind the screen and a few shelves is a straightforward build. Add a linear electric fireplace, a stone or tile surround, a run of fluted white oak, lit floating shelves and doors that close over the television, and both the shop hours and the materials rise. Each of those pieces is a real choice, and we will tell you plainly what it adds.
The other factor is what is behind the wall. Bringing power and low-voltage to a wall that has none is licensed electrical work, and a fireplace has clearance and circuit requirements that we design around from the start. We do not publish prices for media walls because they range from a single cabinet run to an entire wall of the house. During the free in-home consultation we measure the wall, look at the room, and give you a real quote with the options priced separately.
How long does a media wall take to build and install?
Most of the time is in our shop. Once the design and finish are approved, the cabinetry is built, finished and dry-fitted before it ever comes to your house, so the installation itself is usually a short stretch rather than weeks of a crew in your living room. Fireplaces and specialty panels are ordered early, because their lead times are longer than ours, and we do not start on site until everything is in hand.
On site, the sequence is electrical and low-voltage first, then the cabinetry, then the surround, then the television and equipment, then the lighting and trim. We protect floors, seal the room off from the rest of the house, and clean up daily. When we hand it over, the television is mounted, the equipment is in the cabinet, the remotes work through the door, and there is not a visible wire on the wall.
What makes a media wall look right in the room?
Proportion. The screen should sit with its center a little above seated eye level, not at the height a builder put the old cable jack. The cabinetry should relate to the room's ceiling height, its trim and the width of the wall so it feels like it was always there, not parked in front of drywall. We draw it in 3D so you can see the balance of open and closed storage before a single board is cut.
Then restraint. A media wall is background more hours of the day than it is foreground, so the best ones are quiet: a warm finish, a few well-lit shelves, everything else closed. In older homes in Belle Meade or Forest Hills that means matching existing millwork and casing profiles. In a new build in Nolensville or Spring Hill it usually means giving a plain great room the one piece of real millwork it was missing.
The look
Media walls we would be glad to build again
How much does a media wall cost?
It depends on the size of the wall, the finish and what gets built into it. Painted cabinetry with a panel behind the screen and a few shelves is the simplest build; a linear fireplace, stone surround, fluted white oak and lit shelving each add to it. We measure the wall during the free in-home consultation and price each option separately so you can choose.
How long does a media wall take to build?
Most of the time is spent in our shop, where the cabinetry is built and finished before it reaches your house, so installation is a short stretch rather than weeks of disruption. Electrical work happens first, then the cabinetry, surround, equipment and lighting. Fireplaces and specialty panels are ordered early because their lead times run longer than ours.
What materials do you build a media wall from?
Plywood boxes with hardwood or MDF-core doors and panels, finished in catalyzed conversion varnish. Faces are painted, or stained white oak or walnut, with fluted or slat panels, stone, tile or plaster surrounds where the design calls for them. Hardware is soft-close, and equipment cabinets get ventilation and infrared passthrough so the remotes work with the doors shut.
Is a media wall worth it?
If the living room is where the household spends its evenings, yes. A built-in media wall hides the equipment and wires, adds closed storage a floating shelf never will, and gives a plain great room a piece of millwork that reads as part of the house. It is built to the wall, so it also solves the off-center-outlet problem builder walls tend to have.
Can a media wall have a fireplace?
Yes. Linear electric fireplaces are the common choice because they need no gas line or flue and can sit beneath the screen with the clearances the manufacturer specifies. Gas is possible where a line and venting exist or can be added by a licensed installer. We design the clearances, circuit and heat path into the cabinetry from the start rather than retrofitting.
Can you hide the TV wires and cable boxes in a media wall?
Yes, completely. We run a chase from a ventilated equipment cabinet up to the screen, place outlets and low-voltage boxes where the gear sits, and leave room for a soundbar. Cable boxes, streaming devices, consoles and the receiver live behind doors with infrared passthrough, so the remotes work with everything closed and nothing shows on the wall.
Free in-home design consultation
Let us design the room you actually want to live in.
Tell us about the space. We come out, measure, listen, and bring back drawings, renderings and a written quote. No cost, no obligation.