Still, companies are racing to make those screens disappear, or at least better blend in with the decor of a room. When a TV is off, it’s just a great big dark slab, sitting there blocking your window or bookshelf. For years, people have found creative ways to hide their screens. Just search “hiding TV” on TikTok and you’ll find a host of hacks showing you how to conceal your TV set.
Max Humphrey, an interior designer in Portland, Oregon, says he’s worked with clients to design rooms that would hide TVs by placing the screen behind rolling doors or other cabinet fixtures. Most of the time, his clients wound up just leaving those doors open, because people just tend to watch more TV than we think we do. Now, he’s moved away from that mindset in favor of incorporating the screens into the environment.
“I don’t try to hide the TVs anymore, but I do really consider them and what their surroundings are and how they’re going to draw attention away from the other things that are supposed to be happening in the room,” he says. “It’s great that the TV manufacturers are thinking about this too. It’s not just my problem anymore.”
He says he’s excited about transparent screens but isn’t yet clear on how to incorporate them into people’s homes. “I’m not designing James Bond villain lofts, which is sort of what this seems meant for.”
“It does seem like it’s almost going to draw more attention in the near term than less attention, because it’s not like you can’t see it,” he says. “There’s just a glass screen sitting on a table.”
Humphrey says a screen that blends in might be more appealing in a secondary room, like a kitchen or bedroom. But it will be a few years still before these less conspicuous screens are inexpensive enough for people to justify sticking them in a side room.
