The pros and cons of wall-mounting appliances

A new house is a blank canvas, waiting to be customised by its first owners. And nowhere benefits more from personalisation than internal walls. While windows and doors add points of interest, swathes of magnolia plasterboard can appear sterile until they’re decorated. This might involve paint or wallpaper, photographs or woven tapestries, though it could just as easily entail wall-mounted appliances.

Advances in technology have allowed us to wall-mount formerly bulky floor-standing appliances, from televisions to vacuum cleaners. Where Millennial LED televisions required two adults just to lift them, today’s OLED screens are so lightweight they can be wall-mounted with ease, while tomorrow’s TVs could be hung from a single nail. The question is, should you install electrical appliances on walls? Is it safe, or even advisable?

Understanding the advantages and drawbacks of wall-mounting appliances helps to determine whether this is the right approach across the board, or whether some objects are best left on the ground...

Pro: Frees up floor space. A television can’t stand on the floor – it needs to rest on a unit. Wall-mounting it creates space for other furnishings, while making a room feel bigger.

Con: We’d recommend waiting several months to wall-mount anything heavy on plasrerboard, giving the walls time to dry out, harden up and settle into place.

Pro: Looks stylish. There’s no doubt having a cordless vacuum cleaner clipped to a wall-mounted charging bracket looks good in a kitchen or utility, as well as being space-saving.

Con: Often involves specialist electrical or decorating work. Running cables up a wall may require professional assistance, as might restoring any visual impact or decorative damage.

Pro: May improve practicality. Speaker sound quality often increases with added height, and a TV’s optimal viewing angle is generally higher than low-level furnishings offer.

Con: Can prevent other things being wall-mounted. If a wall is already home to several appliances, there’s less room for shelving or tall furniture, let alone pictures and photos.

Pro: Frees up additional kitchen workspace. There’s a lot to be said for having bulky appliances like microwaves and coffee machines away from worktops and food prep areas.

Con: Power sockets may be absent. It’s unsafe to have cables extending over doorways or along floors, so an absence of power points might necessitate new sockets being fitted.

Pro: Easier to vacuum with less things on the floor. Whether your vacuum cleaner is robotic or traditional, it’s easier to capture dust without having to hoover around clutter or objects.

Con: May make replacement products harder to source. TV brackets tend to support certain screen sizes, and that lovingly-installed bracket might prevent your next telly being bigger.

Pro: Keeps dangerous appliances out of arm’s reach for small children. This is particularly important for motorised objects like blenders, which could cause injury if misused.

Con: Increased risk of damage. Wobbly shelves or badly-installed brackets could potentially fail. This might break whatever’s on them, damage flooring, and leave holes in plasterwork.

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