Open shelving makes a TV unit easier to live with. It lets remote signals reach your devices, keeps consoles and routers ventilated, and gives you a place to show books and objects so the television is no longer the only thing on the wall. It also makes a piece of furniture look lighter than a solid cabinet of the same size, which matters in the modest living rooms common across the UK.<\/p>\n
That single detail changes both how a unit works and how it looks. Many of our modern entertainment units in the UK<\/a> combine open compartments with closed cupboards, and that balance is usually where the best results come from. Here is why open shelving earns its place, and how to use it without inviting clutter.<\/p>\n A TV wall is often the largest single area of furniture in a living room. When it is made entirely of doors and drawers, it can look like a block. Break it up with a few open recesses and the eye has somewhere to rest. Shadows inside the shelves add depth, and whatever sits on them brings colour and texture into the scheme.<\/p>\n There is a practical side too. Open space in a unit means you do not have to open a door every time you change a channel or use a games console. Infrared remotes need a clear line of sight, and while many devices now use Bluetooth or wifi, plenty of set top boxes and older players still rely on infrared.<\/p>\n Consoles, streaming boxes, amplifiers and broadband routers all produce heat. Shut them inside a closed cupboard and that warmth has nowhere to go. Over time, heat can shorten the life of electronics, and a warm cupboard can also affect certain furniture finishes.<\/p>\n An open shelf solves this without any effort. Air moves freely around the equipment and heat escapes into the room. If you use a console heavily, give it an open compartment with some space either side, and check the manufacturer guidance on clearances.<\/p>\n Wifi routers also tend to work better when they are not boxed in. Placing yours on an open shelf, rather than behind a solid door, can help the signal reach the rest of the house.<\/p>\n In many UK homes there is simply no room for a TV unit and a bookcase or display cabinet side by side. Open shelving on the TV unit gives you both jobs in one footprint. A row of paperbacks, a couple of ceramic pieces and a small plant turn a media stand into something closer to a piece of furniture you chose for its looks.<\/p>\n If you have a larger collection of books or records, pair a lower unit with tall shelving on either side. Our range of TV stands and units for UK living rooms<\/a> includes low designs that sit comfortably between a pair of modern bookcases in the UK<\/a>, creating a framed media wall without any building work.<\/p>\n A unit that is entirely open looks airy but shows everything. A unit that is entirely closed hides clutter but can feel heavy. For most households, a mix is easiest to live with.<\/p>\n Think honestly about what you keep near the television. Board games, spare controllers and chargers are useful but rarely attractive. They belong behind a door.<\/p>\n Before you fall for a particular design, measure the things you want to put on its shelves. A soundbar is usually long and shallow. A games console can be surprisingly deep once you allow for the cable at the back. A receiver or amplifier often needs more height than a standard shelf offers.<\/p>\n Look at the internal dimensions, not just the outside of the unit. If a compartment is only just deep enough, the cables will push the device forwards and it will sit awkwardly at the front edge. Allow a few extra centimetres behind anything with rear connections.<\/p>\n Fixed shelves feel sturdy and clean. Adjustable ones give flexibility if your equipment changes, which it tends to do every few years.<\/p>\n Open shelving rewards restraint. A few simple principles keep it looking considered rather than crowded.<\/p>\n Resist filling every compartment. An empty shelf or a single object with space around it looks intentional. As a rough guide, aim for around a third of the open space to stay clear.<\/p>\n Three objects of different heights sit together more naturally than two or four. Try a tall vase, a medium stack of books and a small bowl.<\/p>\n Pick one or two colours from your cushions or rug and echo them on the shelves. Repetition across the width of the unit ties the display together.<\/p>\n Stand some books upright and lay others flat, using the flat stack as a plinth for a small object. This creates rhythm and stops the shelves looking like a library.<\/p>\n Woven baskets or lidded boxes can sit on open shelves and hold remotes, chargers and cables. They keep the look of an open unit while hiding the untidy bits.<\/p>\n Open shelves put cables on show, so a little planning helps. Look for units with cable holes in the back panel or an open back section behind the device shelf. Run wires down behind the unit rather than across the shelf.<\/p>\n Short cables are tidier than long coiled ones. A few reusable cable ties or a fabric cable sleeve will gather everything into a single neat run. If your socket is behind the unit, a slim extension lead mounted to the back panel keeps plugs off the floor.<\/p>\n One pleasure of open shelving is that it can change with the seasons without any new furniture. In spring and summer, a few fresh stems in a simple vase and lighter ceramics keep things airy. In autumn and winter, swap in candles, darker books and a small bowl of pine cones or dried grasses. Rotating a handful of pieces keeps the shelves feeling fresh, and stops them turning into a permanent resting place for things you no longer notice.<\/p>\n The finish you choose changes how the open space reads. Pale oak and ash make compartments feel bright and Scandinavian. Walnut and darker woods give recesses a richer shadow and suit warmer schemes. High gloss interiors bounce light around and pair well with integrated lighting.<\/p>\n Glass shelves appear almost invisible, which is useful in a small room but less forgiving of dust and fingerprints. Metal frames with open wooden shelves give an industrial look that works well in lofts and converted spaces.<\/p>\n If your unit has lighting, open shelves are where it shines. Our guide to LED TV units for UK living rooms<\/a> explains how lit compartments change the mood in the evening.<\/p>\n Sometimes the TV unit is not the right place for everything. If you have a large collection of glassware or prized objects, a dedicated display piece may serve them better. A glazed display cabinet or a slim display stand can sit beside a simple TV unit and take the pressure off its shelves.<\/p>\n This approach suits people who like a very minimal media wall but still want somewhere to show things they love.<\/p>\n In a compact room, the airy quality of open shelving is especially valuable. A unit with open sections looks less bulky than a solid cabinet of the same width, and you can see through to the wall behind. Choose a unit on legs or with a raised base so you can also see the floor beneath.<\/p>\n Keep the display on small units especially sparse. Two or three objects are often enough. For more ideas on making a modest living room work, our piece on Scandi TV units in small UK rooms<\/a> covers proportions and placement.<\/p>\n Open shelving is easy to overlook when you are comparing TV units on width and finish alone. Yet it shapes how the unit handles heat, how easily you reach your devices and how the whole wall feels. Choose a balance of open and closed that matches your habits, measure the kit you own, and style the shelves lightly. You can browse our full range at Furniture in Fashion<\/a>.<\/p>\n They are more exposed than closed cupboards, so a quick weekly dust keeps them fresh. Fewer objects on each shelf makes this much quicker.<\/p>\n Yes, and it is usually better for the console. Open space helps heat escape. Leave room either side and behind for air and cables.<\/p>\n Keep practical items in closed storage or baskets, leave some shelves partly empty and repeat a small number of colours across the display.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Open shelving is a small detail that changes how a TV unit works and how it looks. Open compartments let remote signals reach your devices, keep consoles and routers ventilated and give you space to display books and objects, so the television is no longer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":71666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[4250,1488,2275,7405],"class_list":["post-71664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-stands","tag-entertainment-units","tag-living-room-storage","tag-open-shelving","tag-tv-unit-styling"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why a Few Open Shelves Change Everything<\/h3>\n
Airflow for the Kit You Already Own<\/h3>\n
Display Space Without a Separate Cabinet<\/h3>\n
Choosing the Right Mix of Open and Closed<\/h3>\n
\n
Shelf Depth and Height Matter More Than You Think<\/h3>\n
How to Style Open Shelves So They Look Calm<\/h3>\n
Leave Deliberate Gaps<\/h3>\n
Group in Odd Numbers<\/h3>\n
Repeat Colours Across the Unit<\/h3>\n
Mix Horizontal and Vertical<\/h3>\n
Use Baskets for the Practical Things<\/h3>\n
Managing Cables on an Open Unit<\/h3>\n
Changing the Display Through the Year<\/h3>\n
Materials and Finishes for Open Shelving<\/h3>\n
When Separate Display Pieces Work Better<\/h3>\n
Open Shelving in Small Rooms<\/h3>\n
A Small Detail With a Large Effect<\/h3>\n
Common Questions About Open Shelf TV Units<\/h3>\n
Do open shelves on a TV unit collect more dust?<\/h3>\n
Can I put a games console on an open shelf?<\/h3>\n
How do I stop an open shelf TV unit looking messy?<\/h3>\n