This Is The Genius Way People Are Now Hiding Their TVs In Plain Sight

TVs have long been a point of contention in my family. My mum has always shied away from anything too gargantuan, calling any TV larger than a 28” obscene and, for want of a better word, ugly. However, her daily desire to watch Emmerdale at 7pm has always won over any objections she had to the aesthetics. Dad, however, would much rather not have to squint from across the room. But she’s not alone in her rage against this machine. As well as passing on her annoyance at how a TV might clash with the fancy new cabinet or how much nicer a big mirror would look in that spot to me, I find plenty of my interiors-conscious female friends also can’t stand the way they look. Conversely, their male partners push a ‘bigger is better’ agenda and also pose the fact, a la Chandler Bing, that if the TV isn’t there there’s nothing for the sofa to point at. 

So who wins? Should we accept a TV for what is it and buy a big screen that makes a Disney + movie rental feel like a trip to the IMAX, or opt for something tasteful and aesthetically pleasing that won’t disrupt my artistic vision for a Pinterest perfect lounge? Well, both actually.

The Samsung Frame is not only the answer to this popular dilemma but is possibly the best tech idea someone has had in a very long time.

On one hand a state-of-the-art television, the other a masterpiece even the most discerning homebody would be proud to hang on their wall, the Samsung Frame is undoubtedly the best-looking television on the market.

It's a TV that, when turned on, is a simple, extremely high quality and resolution flat screen – the kind for which Samsung is renowned. Housed in a stylish picture frame bezel, it boasts a 4K QLED display* which means you can expect the level of Ultra HD that makes you feel like you’re the final guest to sit at the banquet table on Bridgeton. But turn it off, and the black screen disappears – and in its place, you have the option for Art Mode whereby you can display a piece of art. Literal art. Samsung has over 1,400 digital paintings and abstract pieces to customize with as part of the Art Mode subscription*, from iconic photographs and contemporary designs to classics such as The Great Wave made famous by Hokusai so for once in the history of television, this is a screen will actually fit to the style of your living room. And if you’re worried about it looking too much like a screensaver, worry not – it has Brightness Sensors tech as standard. That means just like a phone screen, it adjusts the brightness depending on the light in the room so you’ll always get a natural-looking picture. There’s even the option to buy different bezel finishes (over 40 in fact!) that would suit your space and colour scheme.

Ok, ok, looks aren’t everything with a TV so for tech buffs here’s what you need to know. As well as the stellar QLED 4K display, you’ve got Samsung’s Smart TV at your fingertips so you can watch as many 4K films and Married At First Sight episodes as you like. Go up a size to the 43", and you can expect virtual 3D surround sound that follows the on-screen action and if, like me, you ever want to project a gym glass onto the big screen for a home workout, you can mirror your mobile screen to the TV or split the screen in two providing you have a compatible smartphone and a decent internet connection. You also get Bixby, Alexa and Google Assistant built in at no extra charge, so you can control your TV using voice assistant and connect it to other devices in your smart home. 

But back to the part that I’m obsessed with: how it looks. Never in my life did I ever think I would look at a TV and voluntarily opt for one of the bigger sizes they do. 43 inches! My mother would faint at the audacity of such a decision but trust me when I hold my hands up high and admit it just looks better. Sitting flush against the wall and at the same thinness as any other painting hanging up around my home, there’s no denying that this is a work of art. Even better, is that the 43" size TV and above adapts to save energy. Leave it in Art Mode and it will activate an internal motion sensor to show your chosen painting the second it detects a person entering the room.* It’s pure magic.

Your entry level 32” will set you back an extremely reasonable £399 while the largest (a cinematic 75", with an 85" coming soon ) goes up to £1999 – certainly not the cheapest, but anyone who has looked into the price of buying a large mirror or attempted to buy a sizeable piece of art will know that these alternatives too come at a price. Plus when buying from Curry's, you can rest assured you're getting the best price possible. All I know is that when I’m done watching Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen in all his Ultra HD glory on the latest episode of Changing Rooms and my television reverts into the perfect painting to match my new cushion covers, it was worth every penny.

*Subscription sold separately

*32” The Frame in QLED Full HD resolution

*Unavailable on 32" The Frame