Samsung Frame TV Review & Gallery Wall Update

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I'm really excited to share with you guys the newest addition to our home: the Samsung Frame TV!

For most girls, a splurge means a designer handbag or red-bottomed shoes. Not me! At least, not anymore...

This year, when Eric asked what I wanted for my birthday, I requested this TV.

I've had my eye on the Frame for over a year. It's a TV that can be set to look like framed art when not in use. Thus, solving the age-old quandary of how to work a big, obtrusive eyesore-of-a-television into your decor.

Image via Samsung.

There's no better example of melding form and function!

In case you don't remember, this was our living room TV situation before the Frame:

For more on our previous gallery wall and how we filled it on a budget, check out these posts:

Fast forward to my birthday (okay, a week before my birthday---I couldn't wait):

Part one of my birthday gift was the TV itself.

Part two: Eric installing it for me.

I fancy myself handier than the average girl, but wall-mounting this TV on my own would've been beyond even my imagined abilities. So, Eric did it. Though he's really handy, installation proved somewhat challenging. Ours was missing two components necessary to mount it, so he had to make a trip to Home Depot to find the missing parts first.

Part three: the time to rearrange and update the gallery wall around it. This was priceless...

Gallery wall arrangement (and re-arrangement) is the sort of introverted indulgence I can get lost in for hours.

I spent an entire day blissfully making new holes in the wall, attempting to get the layout of the frames just right.

Can you spot the TV? Beneath these frames, there's a swiss cheese wall covered by layer upon layer of spackling and paint.

We opted for the 43" (smallest) model, as we didn't want the TV to be the focus of our living room and I wanted enough space around it to accommodate a proper gallery wall. (We have a 60" TV in the family room/media room upstairs). I also wanted to use as much of our pre-existing framed art as possible, and they would've been dwarfed by a larger TV.

There are several very clever design tricks that allow the Frame TV to blend in with the rest of our framed art, and set it apart from other TVs:

1. The "No Gap" Wall Mount

The gap between the our TV and the wall's almost non-existent.

The ultra thin 'no gap' mount that comes with the Frame allows it to be mounted flush to the wall...

...or tilted downward five degrees (which would come in handy if you hang yours way above eye level).

2. The Ultra Thin Profile & Customizable Frame Veneers

Image via Amazon.com.

The Frame TV's much thinner and sleeker than most other televisions. But, the naked frame's made of the same black metal typical of most TVs. The veneers to make your Frame look like an actual frame are sold separately. You could get more than one and switch it up from time-to-time, if that's how you roll. They adhere to the TV via magnets, so they're easy to clip on and off.

There are four frame veneer color options:

Image via Amazon.

We went with 'beige wood' (looks like birch) because it bears the least resemblance to a TV frame and it blends in best with the rest of our decor.

3. There's Only One Tiny Wire

Of course, no matter how thin your TV is, you're not fooling anyone into thinking it's a work of art if there are wires and cables sticking out of every orifice. The Frame solves this problem with its aptly named 'Invisible Connection Cable.'

This single, minuscule wire attaches the TV to a media receiver that can be stored out of sight.

This receiver's what's plugged into the power outlet and it has sockets for cable, HDMI, a speaker system etc. Our receiver's hidden under the credenza and plugs into the outlet behind it.

My master plan was to have Eric hide the wire in the dry wall and feed it down through the wall to exit under the credenza and into the receiver. Because, what's better than one visible wire? No visible wires! Maybe I'll put that on my Christmas wish list...

For more on how we hide our wire and electronics clutter, check out these posts:

4. 'Art Mode'

When you're not Netflix binging, you can either turn the Frame off or put it in 'Art Mode.' When in 'Art Mode,' it can display one of a hundred free pieces of art from the 'Samsung Gallery' or you can purchase digital art from the 'Art Store.'

There's also the option to pay a $7.99 per month membership for unlimited access to 'Art Store' pieces.

The Frame comes with a month's free membership, so I'm enjoying a new art piece daily. It's one of those tricky memberships that auto-renews unless you cancel it. So, realistically, I'll end up paying for three months before I remember to unsubscribe...

Something to note about 'Art Mode': it works best in daylight.

Once the sun starts to set, the display makes like Cinderella's pumpkin coach at midnight: it becomes clear the Frame's a backlit screen and not paper or canvas.

But, it still looks better than a black screen, in my opinion:

You can also upload and display your own photos via an app (I haven't tried this yet), but if you've read my last couple of posts, you'll know I'm not a fan of displaying family photos prominently in our home.

Is It Worth It?

I'm aware that for the price of this TV you could get a much larger one. But, a massive TV isn't my priority in our living room.

The fact that this TV doesn't look like a TV is what had me sold!