In the modern days of TV watching, wires and cords are no longer considered a sign of luxury. As long as you have all the electronic devices plugged in, there’s little need to think about anything else.
TV Cable Management Ideas
In fact, if your home entertainment area looks like a rat kingdom after some time – with cables going every which way on the floor — then this is probably what you wanted when you first started arranging everything together.
When we think about improving our homes, we always focus on those little touches that make a big difference such as painting walls, refurbishing furniture, building closets.
Sometimes, we forget the power of the right placement of items like home theater speakers and TV-ready furniture – all those elements should be placed according to their function so the result is really impressive.
When it comes to organizing our home entertainment system one can easily get overwhelmed by the number of wires and chords – modern plasma TVs and High-Definition projectors require lots of interconnections between devices included in a signal chain: Blu-ray player, TV box, satellite receiver, media player and so on.
However, over time does it bother you that things look a bit messy maybe? Do you want to keep your life tidy and neat without spending too much effort or money to make it happen?
If yes, then here are five simple tips for cable management ideas that could help solve this matter quickly and easily.
Top 5 tips for cable management ideas
1). Cable Boxes
Forget about the traditional hole in the wall because, with this idea, you need to start thinking outside of the box (pun intended).
Instead of hiding your cords behind doors or between cabinets, try investing in creative cable boxes like Quirky Cordies, DekoRRa CableBox, Heckler Design Acrylic Cable Management Box, or even Sterilite 3 Drawer Storage Cart.
These handy little boxes are designed specifically for helping you maintain wires and cables. They come with several tie-down points which can help keep things organized properly while allowing easy access when necessary.
Cable boxes are sometimes difficult to handle because of their shape and size, but there is a simple way to make it easier.
The idea is to attach a PVC pipe segment where the box goes so it can be easily pulled out when needed. In this case, any type will work as long as the connection fits tightly enough. Use connectors – either male or female so everything stays in place securely.
You can even paint them with bright colors just for added fun! Be sure to also color code the cables if they’re all connected to this one spot.
2). Use binder clips
This one is so simple yet so effective – wrap your cords around it and you’ve got yourself a cord-free table.
You can find these ‘cord bunches’ at the dollar store as well, but if you don’t have any luck there then keep checking yard sales and thrift stores because you’ll be sure to find one eventually.
Another option is using binder clips to get things under control. Just get some simple spring ones or Quirky Binder Clips, then attach them to the underside of your desk. Although they’re not really pretty, these clips are very cheap and can help you keep power cords together in one place.
3). Coffee cans
Another idea is using coffee cans for hiding cables behind furniture or appliances. If you have a regular-sized can, simply cut off two sides so that the middle part opens up like a trough.
Then just use some adhesive hooks to attach it to furniture so that it forms an arch – this way, all cables will be kept inside the can without falling behind or under pieces of furniture.
When you need to move things around, there’s no need to “dig” through layers of wires since everything stays nice and organized in one simple container.
4). Use a spreadsheet
Finally, if you have a lot of electronic equipment scattered around your home entertainment area, try using a simple spreadsheet to keep it all organized.
In Windows, open up Excel and add columns for each electronic device that you have – including TV, DVD player, or video game console.
Then when it’s time to set everything up again after being stored away, just follow the same order in which you arranged things previously. It’ll make the process a whole lot easier.
5). Hide it in Your Wall
Don’t forget about this option!! This is probably one of the most popular methods because not only does it hide away your cords, but it also hides away all those power outlets that are starting to clutter up your living room.
Make sure that you know exactly where your TV’s power outlet is though just in case you need to pull it back out easily. Follow the instructions on this ‘ YouTube’ video and you’ll be able to hide those cables like a pro.
A Look at Some More Helpful TV Cable Management Ideas
1). Mount them to the bottom of your stand
This is by far one of my favorite methods which is probably why up until now, I haven’t thought of using TP rolls, toilet paper rolls, or random cords lying around. The best method is to check your local dollar store for some little adhesive hooks. These hooks are usually used to hang up clothing or curtains, but this time they’re being put to good use.
2). Use those old toilet paper rolls that are sitting around your house
If your cords can fit into some old toilet paper rolls (and they’re not the super huge ones) then go for it!! It’s another great option because it keeps everything together and even looks stylish. If you don’t have any TP rolls lying around, go check outside or peek inside of your junk drawer – I’m sure you’ll be surprised at what you find.
3). Flat Screen TVs
This is another example that may be useful in areas where you have multiple flat-screen TVs hanging on your wall or resting on the floor.
The idea is to keep cables under control, but also allow easy access for service calls if needed. Again, using PVC pipe segments with connectors will make this an easy task.
PVC can be cut easily using a rotary saw or even tin snips, making it accessible wherever you need it.
4). Computer Monitor
This one may not be as useful unless your computer monitor happens to sit on the floor like some people do (I personally don’t like monitors on the floor). If that’s your situation then this cable management idea might help you.
All you need are some PVC tee joints and elbows to create a conduit that can run along the wall or into furniture legs near where your feet go by each day. Once again, you can use whatever color fits your personality and for this task, it doesn’t really matter.
5). Entertainment Center
If you have a large entertainment center, then the back is probably filled with different types of cords and cables that we need to connect to our televisions, satellite receivers, DVD players, etc.
Using PVC as in the previous examples will make things much easier because there are no sharp edges like you might find on metal conduits or even wood.
The joints also create fasteners that keep everything firmly in place along with adding an extra measure of security for those components we would hate to lose (like our very expensive new HDTV!).
6). Computer Cables
Computer cables tend to be all over the computer desk and behind computers, but organizing them can be made easier with some PVC connections.
If all the cables are the same size then it makes things even simpler because you can use a single pipe that’s large enough to accommodate ALL of them.
If this is too bulky, then using smaller segments depending on the type and number of computer cables should do just fine.
7). Lamps
Are you tired of looking at lamp cords going every which way? Are they a tangled mess? If so, keep reading about our last entry for great ideas on managing those pesky lamp cords.
This idea is just as simple as the previous ones and requires little time or effort to accomplish. You’ll need a few pieces of PVC cut to fit around your lamp base plus a few connectors to make things even easier.
Again, the color of this pipe is up to you, but if you are repainting them then it may be best to use a solid color so paint won’t drip into areas where it doesn’t belong. If not painting, then just go with white because that’s usually the easiest choice.
8). Ceiling Fan
This is another example of how PVC can work for your benefit when managing cables behind or below furniture.
The idea here is that you can pull down on the two segments shown in this picture and raise your lampshade as needed without having to wrestle with those pesky fan wires every time they tangle or cross each other during rotation.
You’ll have an easy time with this job because most fan wires are small in diameter and don’t take up much room within the PVC conduit.
Conclusion
Of course, there are tons of other cable management ideas out there but these five should give you some good starting points.
So instead of spending hours organizing your life at home this weekend, why not take advantage of one or more of these smart tips? I’m sure you’ll quickly see how easy it can be to keep things nice and orderly without too much effort.