It’s 2017, so by now you’ve probably been forced to upgrade your rabbit ears television set to a flat screen version whether you liked it or not.

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If you’re like my mother then you were super pissed/borderline enraged until your wonderful adult child gave one to you and then you loved it. (You’re welcome mom.) Anyways it’s not about us right now, it’s about you. We want you to take your flat screen TV to the next level. Here are three steps on how to do that.

Mount it on the wall.

It’s literally as easy as buying a wall mount , attaching the mount to the studs in your wall, and then attaching the TV to the mount. One of the harder decisions is where you want the TV and what type of mount is right for your needs. There are mounts that are stationary, some that tilt up and down, and even full-range mounts that expand and retract, tilt up and down, and turn side to side. With each new year comes new technology and new options, so you dear friend are considering upgrading your TV watching experience at exactly the right time in life. Mounting your TV on the wall takes as little as 30 minutes, and can be done by nonprofessionals so long as you have a few tools in your tool box. Here are a few tools you’ll need to do the job:

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  • Stud finder
  • Leveler
  • Painter’s Tape
  • Screwdriver
  • Drill kit
  • Flat screen TV wall mount kit
  • Socket wrench

Follow the instructions on your wall mount kit, but some cool tips we have that your kit doesn’t are:

  1. Use your stud finder to locate the studs inside your wall. This step is imperative, unless you absolutely don’t care if the weight of your television causes it to come crashing down, pulling the drywall down with it.
  2. Stretch the painter’s tape from hole to hole of where you will be screwing the bracket to the wall (be tedious about this, you want it to be exact), and then use that piece of tape to determine where exactly you’ll be drilling. Use the level to make sure it’s straight. It’s so much easier and accurate than measuring and marking. You can send all gift baskets to our California corporate office… just kidding.

flatscreen3Hide those unsightly wires.

This will likely require an electrician , general contractor who has some experience with electrical, or a super handy person (if you have one of those hanging around). There are kits that you can buy at your local big box home improvement store that make this project a cinch, but you should know that running power cables behind a wall is a fire hazard. To be safe you should probably call a contractor to build you an outlet behind the TV for it to plug into. That’s what we did, and we sleep so much better knowing that our home won’t be going up in flames for the sake of tv aesthetics.

Frame it in.

For an even more tailored look, you can build a frame for your TV that is super custom and impressive. Here are a couple blogs we found that show just how easy it is to knock this out if you’re a bit handy or at least enthusiastic enough to try. Remodelaholic’s version is super simple for the layman, and perfect for people who love the rustic decor look.