Tips for Mounting TVs Above Dressers or Cabinets
Mounting a TV above furniture requires careful planning for height, clearance, and cord management. Here are the practical tips that make these installations look clean and work well.
Getting the Height Right Above Furniture
When a TV goes above a dresser, media console, or cabinet, the furniture height determines the bottom boundary of where the TV can sit. You need enough clearance between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the TV so they do not look crowded together. A gap of 4 to 8 inches between the furniture top and the bottom edge of the TV usually looks right. Too little clearance and the TV looks like it is sitting on the furniture rather than floating above it. Too much and the TV ends up too high on the wall, forcing you to look up while watching. The ideal center-of-screen height is still around 42 to 48 inches from the floor for living room viewing. If your media console is 24 inches tall, you have plenty of room. If your dresser is 36 inches tall, the math gets tighter, especially with larger TVs.
Cord Routing to Furniture Below
One advantage of mounting above furniture is that your cable box, game console, streaming device, and other equipment can sit on or inside the furniture below. The challenge is routing the cables cleanly from behind the TV down to the furniture surface. In-wall cord routing is the cleanest approach. Cables go through the wall behind the TV and come out through a cable plate at furniture height, right behind the dresser or console. Everything stays hidden. If in-wall routing is not an option, a slim surface cord cover running down the wall behind the furniture is barely visible when the furniture is pushed up against the wall. The hiding TV wires guide covers all the options in detail.
Choosing the Right Mount for Above-Furniture Setups
A tilt mount is usually the best choice when mounting above furniture. It keeps the TV close to the wall, leaving more visual space between the TV and the furniture below. The slim profile also means the TV does not stick out farther than the furniture, which looks more balanced. A full motion mount works too, but keep in mind that when the TV is pulled away from the wall on an articulating arm, it may extend past the front edge of the furniture below. This can look awkward in some setups. If you need the swivel flexibility, make sure the furniture depth accommodates the extended TV position.
Practical Considerations for Bedroom Dressers
In bedrooms, the TV often goes above the dresser on the wall opposite the bed. This is one of the most common bedroom mounting scenarios across homes. The dresser handles the storage function while the TV sits cleanly on the wall above. When planning this setup, consider whether you will be standing or sitting when interacting with the dresser. The TV should be high enough that it does not interfere with opening dresser drawers or placing items on top, but low enough for comfortable viewing from the bed. A 50 to 55-inch TV mounted 6 inches above a standard dresser hits the sweet spot for most bedrooms. Book your bedroom TV mounting online with TV Solutions and your technician will help you find the perfect position. We handle installations in Cherry Hills Village , Morrison , Wheat Ridge , and across the metro.