How I Created a Cleaner Gaming Setup by Hiding Lights in Plain Sight

Install a lighting strip on the TV

Installing a lighting strip on your TV is a must to achieve that game room feel you’re looking for. This brings out the game’s action when you sync it to the game’s audio or set the perfect ambient color scheme. We’ll be taking the TV off the wall or mount to install the strip. The light strip we’re using is meant to fit a range of TV sizes (55- to 65-inch) and is split into short and long LED sections, with a cable connecting them. This keeps the lights flat on the back and close together, without causing the strip to raise up and bunch in the corners.

• Disconnect the power from the TV and carefully take it off the mount. Set it down on a soft surface with the screen flat — use a blanket or towel to protect it from damage.
• A controller block is attached to the strip near the power supply plug, with a connection cable running to the first LED section. The sections alternate short, long, short, long around the TV. The short sections run the vertical left and right sides, and the long sections run the top and bottom. Only one short section has the plug that connects to the controller, so that short section is always your starting point. From the back, stick the controller block in whichever bottom corner is closest to your wall outlet, using the double-sided tape attached to it. Set it about four inches in from the side and bottom so the block doesn’t overhang the edge of the TV. Either bottom corner works; it just sets your direction of travel — start in the bottom left, and you’ll work clockwise, start in the bottom right, and you’ll work counterclockwise.
• Plug the strip into the controller and start with that first short section, running it right along the outer back edge up the vertical side of the TV. Use a couple of the included white adhesive clips to hold it in place. Keeping the strip close to the edge is what lets the light spill out and glow onto the wall behind.
• Working around the perimeter, attach the next long section along the top edge, then the next short section down the far vertical side, and the final long section across the bottom — short, long, short, long, hugging the outer edge the whole way.
• For the small section of plain black cable between the LED strips at the corners, tape it to the back to hide it and keep it from popping out the side of the TV. Each section is connected with a short four- to six-inch plain black cable. On smaller TVs in the kit’s range, like my 55-in., that cable will bunch up at the corners, so tape it down using adhesive mounts and zip ties to keep it from poking out. On a 65-in., it won’t bunch.
• Mount the TV back on the wall and connect all cables — TV, HDMI, optical, and light strip power supply.
• Do a test by going into the app, connecting to the light, and turning it on and off. For the controller, manually press the on/off button to confirm it works.

Lighting the floating shelf

Lighting your entertainment center or floating shelf is the perfect pairing to your TV lighting. Unlike the fitted strip we used on the TV, this one is a single continuous run of cuttable LED lights, so you can trim it to fit your shelf exactly without measuring out the run ahead of time. I also pulled the shelf a bit off the wall, using a few spacers, so the strip wouldn’t get smushed against the wall when I reinstalled it. Depending on your shelf and the amount of clearance your strip needs, you may or may not need to do this.

• Clear everything off the shelf — cables, components, and any decorative pieces.
• Unscrew the shelf from the wall and lay it on the floor, back facing up.
• Place the controller block inside the floating shelf, stuck to the top of the inside wall behind the door. This keeps it within reach for manual access but hidden from view when the door’s closed.
• Just like the TV, peel and attach the strip starting from the left side, then work your way around the edges of the shelf. I ran both the TV and shelf lights on the left to keep everything uniform. You can mirror it to the right if that suits your layout better.
• At the corners, use the included black clips to hold the strip in place. Because this is a continuous strip, it wants to rise up and won’t lie as flat around corners. Setting a clip a few inches out from each corner pulls it down flatter and keeps it from peeling.
• When you reach the end of your run (when the strip comes back around to where you started), find the scissor line on the strip closest to where you want it to stop. Cut on that line, then peel and press the final length into place, securing the last corner with a clip. Cutting anywhere other than a marked scissor line risks blacking out that whole nearest section, so stick to the line. Discard the leftover strip.
• Reinstall the shelf on the wall and reconnect the light strip to its power supply. To test, open your app, connect to the strip, and turn it on and off. Then push the on/off button on the controller to confirm manual control works too.

Install smart LED bulbs (optional)

This optional step lets you bring your floor lamps or other light sources into the setup to round out the gaming atmosphere. These bulbs work best as a steady ambient light while your TV and shelf strips do the active, synced lighting. You can sync the bulbs to the same system, but running everything in motion at once tends to look busy — keeping the lamps on a calm, fixed color is what makes the whole setup feel intentional rather than chaotic.

• Screw a smart bulb into your floor lamp or chosen fixture in place of the standard bulb.
• Open the bulb’s app, connect to the bulb, and set it to a steady ambient color that complements your TV and shelf lighting

Cable management

Cable management keeps everything organized and looking clean. It’s the difference between a polished setup and an obvious tangle of wires. The simplest fix is a set of stick-on cord covers, which are easy to install and hide your cords against the wall.

• Sort your cables into sections — TV cables as one group, shelf cables as another. Don’t overload a single cord cover; too many cables and it’ll bulge and won’t close properly.
• Place one cord cover centered on the wall between the TV and the floating shelf. Peel the backing and stick it to the wall, tucking the top behind the TV and the bottom behind the shelf so both ends disappear.
• Open the cover, lay your TV cables inside, and close it. Repeat with a second cover for the floating shelf cables.

Syncing

Now the fun begins. Sync the TV and floating shelf lights to your gaming audio or a color scheme. If you installed smart bulbs, set them up as ambient lighting that complements the rest.

• For the TV, open your app and connect to the TV light strip. This brings you to the control window for that light.
• From here, you can build your own color scheme, pick a preset, or sync the lights to your TV audio. Choose to sync it to TV audio.
• Exit and repeat for the floating shelf strip, but rather than syncing this one to audio, set it to a steady complementary color. We found the audio sync didn’t look great with older games that don’t drive the lights well, and a static shelf color keeps the whole wall from getting too busy.
• For the smart bulb, open its app and select the bulb. As with the strips, you can choose a preset, enter a custom color, or sync it to your entertainment system.
• Set the bulb to a color of your choice and leave it as steady ambient lighting alongside the TV and shelf.

FAQ

What’s a good LED color for gaming?

Honestly, any color you like works. This is your game room, so if you find a shade that fits your space and your gaming vibe, go with it. If you want a classic look, the retro gaming colors are hard to beat: neon blue, purple, pink, and green.

Do LED lights get hot enough to start a fire?

LEDs do give off some heat, but far less than traditional incandescent light bulbs. As long as you’re using a quality product and you’re not covering or enclosing the power supply, they’re very low-risk. As with any electronics, avoid damaged strips and don’t overload outlets.

Can you put LED lights back together after you cut them?

That depends on the type of cuttable strip you bought. Many strips can be rejoined using solderless connectors — small clips that clamp the cut ends back together to extend or reconnect the run. Some budget strips, though, are designed for a single cut and aren’t made to be reconnected — you can attempt it, but it may not hold. Check your strip’s packaging to see which type you have before you cut.

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