A pop up TV cabinets can be a fantastic way to hide your TV behind a piece of furniture without sacrificing your room’s design. They’re also a great way to keep your kids from watching TV when you want them to do something else or are trying to avoid screen time in the first place. But if you’re not a professional carpenter, building your own TV lift cabinet can be challenging. Luckily, there are lots of plans and kits available that can make the task much easier.
If you’re looking to build your own TV lift cabinet, the first step is to create a frame for your project. Then, you can begin adding the back and sides of your cabinet. It’s important to follow the cut list and diagram to ensure your cabinet turns out correctly. If you need a guide, check out our How to Use a Table Saw and Learn How to Make Pocket Holes guides for help.
After the frame of your cabinet is built, you can start to dry fit your lift mechanism and mount your TV. It’s important that the TV and lift mechanism have enough space behind them to be concealed when the cabinet is closed. To determine how much space you need, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific TV lift model.
For this project, David used our TY-01 motorized TV lift. It has a built in actuator that raises the TV up and down with the push of a button on your remote. To mount the lift, David drilled holes in his cabinet and attached it using screws. He also mounted the control box inside of the cabinet, making sure that it was out of sight when the lid is open. A wireless remote controller comes with every TY-01 lift, but David decided to mount an extra wired one inside his DIY TV lift cabinet as a backup.
Once the electronics are in place, it’s time to attach the lid of your cabinet. If you want to keep the lid of your cabinet fixed, you can simply attach it to the frame using hinges. However, if you’d like to have the lid of your cabinet swing out like a piano hinge when the TV rises or lowers, then you will need to make some plywood brackets to hold the top of the lid. The slots in these brackets allow you to adjust the distance between the lid and the cabinet to get a perfect fit.
After attaching the lid, it’s time to plug in your TV and test out your new TV lift cabinet. If everything goes smoothly, you can now enjoy a smooth transition between a flat panel TV and its hidden storage location at the push of a button on your remote. With a little patience and the right tools, you can build your own DIY TV lift cabinet for around $1,000, 1/3 the cost of a professionally built one.