Hey, guys, I’m here today to share all about our projector screen and why we no longer need a television in our home.
I’ve been meaning to post this for quite a while, but it was one of the hardest home projects to photograph ever! I really hope this post will do it justice because we are LOVING this choice for our new home.
First, a little backstory!
Here’s the layout of our den. It was always very clear to us that this would be the best “TV room.” It’s the darkest room of our home and one of the coziest. And our other living room has a HUGE window that makes it feel much more formal. So this room was the obvious choice for a television situation. The previous owners had the TV set up in the corner between the fireplace and the wall with windows. And the sofa pointing toward the windows.
You can see from this sketch that there’s really no good place for a television. It would either have to be on the wall with the windows, in the corner, on the stone fireplace, on the bookshelves OR on the opposite wall, which would have meant the sofas would face away from the fireplace… that was a deal breaker to me.
We had loved a solution that some friends of ours came up with to mount a projector and have a screen that comes down over the bookcase. It felt really right for this room. So we decided to go with that option!
See the before photos of this room here.
Here’s what the bookshelves look like by day when the projector is up. We built a soffit around the projector screen and added back the original trim from the bookcase on top of it, so it blends in really well! People don’t even notice that there’s a projector up in there until we push the remote to scroll it down!
Here’s the opposite view.
Our projector is mounted up on the ceiling. All the wires to connect our projector, speakers and apple TV are hidden either in the ceiling (attic) or behind pieces of the bookcase.
Initially, I was a little worried that this large projector would be an eyesore, but I never notice it in real life. The only time I ever notice it is in photos.
We purchased a remote controlled projector. So it’s super easy to bring up and down with just the press of a button.
Like many people these days, we got rid of our cable (when we moved), and we just have Apple TV and some monthly subscriptions that we use to watch our shows.
The Office reruns are what we watch when one of us needs some cheering up.
Stuff I used: Sorry guys—I can’t remember the exact projector we bought, but there are similar projectors in a lot of price ranges (just read the reviews!), projector screen (I think ours is 100 inches wide, but what you need depends on how far your projector will sit from the screen), speakers (I got the same ones as our turntable set up because they match, but also the quality is great).
Other stuff: My friend, Sam, has a travel size projector that we used to watch a movie with (you just have to have some speakers to connect it to). It’s a little more affordable (especially if you have a white wall and can skip the screen), and it’s portable, which is neat.
Taking photos in the dark is pretty much my nightmare, but I hope these photos can give you a pretty good idea of how our set up works and why we love it so much!!
In this house it was definitely the perfect solution for a room that didn’t really have a good place for a television. Now that we’ve had it, I would definitely do it again in future homes (not that we’re moving any time soon!). If you have any questions, let me know.
xx -Elsie
Check out Emma’s Favorite Accent Wall Decor to Hide a TV for more tips, and if you love movie nights, check out my movie room tour + home theater ideas.
Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree.Photography: Amber Ulmer.
I absolutely love it! We use a projector on the weekends as a family treat, but it’s such a hassle to pull everything out and rearrange furniture. I’m definitely going to look into a remote screen and the soffit you built is perfect!
Thank you for sharing and for the perfect inspiration!
Oh, and the picture with your dog is soooo cute! ????
LOVE the projector idea!
Was this bookcase there when you moved in, or do you have posts about how you built it? (Praying it’s the latter!) My husband is obsessed with bookcases like this but this is the first one I’ve ever seen that I actually like. It’s usually too cluttered, but you did amazing with styling these!
Love this – we’re in the market for a projector! Can you please share where your awesome curtains are from? x
This is exactly what my boyfriend and I want to do in our room. Love it.
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I love the projector concept because it allows you to have a styled space (those beautiful bookshelves!) without sacrificing movie nights! Thanks for sharing!
I do really love this idea and love the way it looks. Such a great alternative!
Awesome idea, i love it!
This looks incredible and you have done such a wonderful job at disguising it! I couldn’t work out where it was hidden! xx
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I’m in love with this room! I love how cozy it all looks and that the tv isn’t the focus of the area and only comes out when you want to watch! I love that you guys also watch the office when you need a pick me up 🙂 And I love how there is just enough pink on that bookshelf to make it pretty haha 🙂
Yuuuuup! My husband and I have seen the projecter-in-lieu-of-tv in a few different places and decided to implement it in our new house. Can’t wait for movie night! This looks very nice :)))
Love this idea! Definitely want to do this in our new house!
My hubby and I picked up a projector at a local college auction for a great price, it just needed a new bulb. We just project on a wall and love it. Looking forward to hosting movie nights again in our new house. We didn’t have space in our previous rental, which had blue walls.
Yaaaaas! The Office is PERFECT for any time you need cheering up <3 <3 LOVE that you’ve included it.
We also LOVE the projector / remote-controlled screen combo and shall be doing this asap 🙂 x
I love it!
I researched some SHORT THROW projectors a while back and they aren’t that bad if you would be investing in a larger tv anyway. I think a lot of us have ditched cable and are re-thinking a tv-centered space.
I don’t think your project would be in my budget or worthwhile as a renter in this part of my life, but I would love to do something similar down the road. 🙂
For the short throw I’d mount a deep wall shelf or place it discreetly on a deeper mantle and you can get large screens at about 10″-24″
Hi Chelsea!
Yes, I would love to do that. Good idea!!!!
xx- Elsie
I used a guy named David Wilson.
xx- Elsie
Hi Elsie! this is unrelated to this post (sorry :P) but I was wondering if you could recommend the person who refinished your hardwood floors? I’m in Nashville and am looking to do mine 🙂 Thanks SO much!
Your den looks great and this is a very savvy TV solution! On an unrelated note, this plant-lady-in-progress would love for you to do a live stream where you walk your house (or the rooms you’ve photographed so far) and point out which plants are real/fake/lovin’ life. My plants all have to be, like, 2 inches from a sunbeam heaven-sent to warm their little bodies or they turn to dust. I don’t think I could make shelf plants work, but they seem to be doing OK in these photos!
I love this.