An age-old interior design dilemma has finally been solved! What to do with that ugly black box that ruins the look of any space…your TV! We finally invested in a Samsung Frame TV and we love it so much. Wondering how to add art to your TV to make it look like a painting? I’ll show you how to put art on your Samsung Frame TV or any other smart TV for free!
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
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Table of Contents
Why we love the Samsung Frame TV
I was so excited a few years ago when the Samsung Frame TV first came out! FINALLY, a TV that wasn’t a complete visual distraction in a room. A few things that I love about the TV…
- It sits completely flat against the wall with no gaps so it 100% looks like a picture frame. (It comes with the slim-fit wall mount).
- It has one small translucent cord (which I left visible here so you can see what it looks like even if you can’t run it behind the wall). The cord is really long so it gives you a lot of room to hide the control components somewhere close by.
- It has one small black control box that can be easily hidden in a cabinet or wouldn’t even be that noticeable if it was left sitting out.
- The TV itself is SMART and has good image quality.
- You can choose the frame colour… it comes in white, black, silver and dark or pale wood (what we chose).
- Even the remote is pretty!
It was definitely pricey compared to a regular TV, but I’ve been so happy with it. I won’t be putting one in every single room ( I wish), but as the TV in our main living space, it’s perfect and worth the price in my opinion.
Ours is the 43″ size and it’s perfect for our small living room where the TV is not the focal point. You can also find 32″, 49″, 55″, 65″ and 75″ models.
There are some pretty great hacks out there to make your own frame TV, but they never sit quite as flush to the wall or look as sleek.
How to add art to the Samsung Frame TV
Adding art to your frame TV is easy!
- Download the SMART THINGS app to your phone and connect to your TV.
- Go to ART MODE. There is an art store that you can buy a monthly subscription for, but I like to customize and load my own images, either family photos or art I’ve chosen myself!
- Choose ADD YOUR PHOTOS+
- Once you have your photo selected choose “NO MAT”
- Hit “SET” and you will see your TV transform into a beautiful art piece!
How to display your art without a mat
I like the look of the screen without a mat added, but it’s a little bit tricky to get the Smart Things App to show you the full-screen display option. The photo/art you are adding has to be 3840x2160px exactly in order for it to allow you to remove the mat. I resize any images I want to use in CANVA and then put them in a folder in my photos on my phone so I can find them quickly when I want to change my art!
How to make your art look realistic
If the screen is too bright the image may look too illuminated to be real. To make it look more realistic, turn down the brightness on your TV and make your digital art look more like a painting!
Where to buy art for your Samsung Frame TV
The Ginger Home Print Shop!
If you don’t want to worry about creating and sizing your own art I’ve got you covered! Visit my new PRINT SHOP for beautiful, easily downloadable art for your TV. I just updated the shop for fall and I’ll be adding new prints regularly. Here are a couple of the latest beauties!
Samsung Art Store
The art store that is directly accessible on your TV has tons of options if you want to keep it simple and just pay for the monthly subscription. They have partnered with some pretty awesome brands like Minted to offer a huge array of fun options to display!
Digital Art Stores
There are lots of online stores offering beautiful artwork for the frame TV. A couple of favourites:
Some of the art displayed on my TV in this post is available from my friend Emily, a photographer based on Vancouver Island who takes stunning photos and converts them to beautiful painted images!
Gorgeous original art and lettering pieces!
There are so many options to choose from on Etsy! If you are looking for something specific this is a great one-stop-shop to search!
Where to find FREE art for your Samsung Frame TV
Your Own Photos
Family Photos
Just had some beautiful family photos taken? Instead of paying to have them printed or framed, you can just display them on your TV!
Kids Artwork
My kids get such a kick out of displaying their art on the TV. Just take a picture of their masterpieces on your phone and upload to the app (Don’t worry about resizing it, just display it with a mat to keep things simple).
Public Domain Art
If you are willing to get a little bit creative, you can find almost unlimited free art for your TV in the public domain. Public domain art, which can be accessed through sites like the National Gallery of Art is free for anyone to use and download. This is where I find vintage-style art to add to my TV like the beautiful painting shown below!
Where to Buy a Samsung Frame TV
You can find frame TVs so many places now. When I first bought mine it was hard to find! Now you can try:
TIP: The frame is sometimes sold separately so make sure you check the details of your order!
How to Add Art to Any Smart TV
So what if you don’t have a pretty frame TV? You can still add art to your TV! And it kind of looks exactly the same as if you had the black frame anyway! There are a few ways to add art to a regular smart TV:
Samsung
- If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone you can use the Samsung Gallery App!
Apple TV
- Upload your images to an album in iCloud
- Turn on iCloud integration in your Apple TV’s settings options
- In the screen saver options in your Apple TV’s settings dialog, choose Photos> iCloud, then choose your album (Note: Apple will display a slideshow of your images so only upload one if want it to remain static).
Google Chromecast
- Upload your images an album in Google Photos.
- Open the Google Home app and find your Chromecast device.
- Choose your Google Photos Album in the Ambient settings.
Roku:
- Upload your images to an album on your phone
- Open the Roku app, and tap Photos+
- Choose the screensaver option and then the album you created
Fire TV
- Open the Amazon Photos App and upload photos to a new album.
- Go to screen saver settings and change the source to your album
3 Free Digital Art Prints for your TV
So there you have it! A way to make almost any TV look beautiful in your home! Looking for some quick and easy art to upload to your TV? Here are 3 of my favourite public domain art prints that I’ve sized to fit the Samsung Frame TV (or any other smart TV)!
I hope you found this tutorial on how to add art to your TV helpful. It really can make such a huge difference in a space!
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hi Amanda..I don’t have the framed tv, but I do have a Samsung smart tv. What I’m not understanding is, with putting the artwork on your tv, does this mean your tv is turned on all the time in order for the art to show up? How does this work?
Yes your TV is on to display the artwork!
Where is your console table from???
It’s actually Ikea 🙂
Thank you for your helpful tips on The Frame. I’ve downloaded a personal photo but when I select it, it does not fill entire screen, even tho it is a horizontal photo. Is there something I need to do to make that happen? I’ve tried more than one photo. Thanks in advance
Yes, it has to be the correct size and you also have to choose the “no mat” option when you upload it make it full screen!
Bummer that Samsung charges us $5 a month for the app – does anyone know a free way to upload art?
Hmm, I don’t pay for the Smart Things App itself, I believe you only pay if you have a subscription to the art store…
Amanda,
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong! I’ve got a couple of vacay pics that I’d love to display however, the resizing tricks are not working. 🙁
I’ve made them the 16:9 ratio and changed pixels to 3840 x 2160. But I’m still not given the “no mat” option. And the pictures never fill the frame.
I’m hoping you can help?
You do have to choose the no mat option when you originally upload the photo to your TV. If you upload the image and then try to look for the no mat option it won’t be there. Hope that makes sense!
Amanda,
We purchased the Frame TV and are going to put it on a batten board wall like you have. Because the tv is supposed to be flat against the wall, we are trying to decide if we should install the tv over the batten board, or cut the boards so they end right at the frame and don’t actually go behind the tv. Wondering what you did?
Thanks
We cut the boards! The TV is flat against the wall.
Hi! What frame do you have on your tv?