A quick tutorial to make any smart TV display art to mimic the Samsung Frame TV + 6 free art images to use as TV displays or to print.
You miiiiiiiight have noticed this little thing called a Samsung Frame TV floating around blogland and Instagram the last year or so.
It’s pretty snazzy. I have no idea if the picture quality is all that or not, but its ability to morph into a framed piece of art has definitely made me think to shell out a couple thousand bucks to replace the big black hole above our fireplace.
Buuuuuut then I think of a thousand other things I’d rather spend a couple thousand bucks on. Like… a mortgage payment.
So I fiddled around with our own smart TV and decided to whip up my own art for display, which is the next best thing.
Art: “Landscape with Sheep” by Louis Pierre Verwee
There are several different ways to display art on your TV, depending on what type you have. Here are the steps below to set it up.
How to Display Art on a Smart TV:
Chromecast
1. Upload photos or art images to a gallery in Google Photos.
2. Choose that Google Photos Album in Ambient settings.
3. Open the Google Home app and find your Chromecast device.
4. Click on Chromecast > Ambient mode > Art Gallery
Apple TV
1. Upload photos or art images to an album in iCloud.
2. Turn on iCloud integration in Apple TV settings.
3. Do not turn on Photo Stream when prompted.
4. Go to screen saver options in Apple TV’s settings.
5. Click Photos > iCloud.
6. Choose which album you’d like to use.
Roku
1. Upload photos or art images to a gallery in Google Photos
2. Install the Photo View channel.
3. Open Photo View and follow the prompts to sign in with your Google account.
4. Choose an album with the images you want to display.
5. Set Photo View as Roku’s screen saver
6. Adjust the amount of time before the screensaver starts from Roku’s settings. Click Settings > ScreenSaver > Change Screensaver > PhotoView option. Settings > ScreenSaver > Change wait time.
FireTV
1. Download the Amazon Photos iOS or Android app, or sign in on the web browser.
2. Log in, upload the photos or art images you prefer, and create a folder for them.
3. On your FireTV, click on screen saver settings and select your album.
4. Customize the timing you prefer for when the screen saver will display.
Art: “Pieve sul Taro” by Oreste Carpi
That’s it!
Once you set it up, you can play with your TV lighting and dim it to make the art look more realistic, but that’s up to you.
If you want to use the 6 public domain art images I formatted for display on TVs you can join the Bless’er House subscriber list to get access to the Printable Library by clicking here or the button below. (It’s free.)
(If you’re already a subscriber, access to the printable library is at the bottom of every email I send.)
Or if you just want to print them out and stick them in a frame without bothering with a TV display, you can do that too.
Which is your fave? I can’t pick.
Art: “Coastal Landscape” by Edvard Munch
Art: “Potsdam” by Lange Brucke
Art: “Landscape Study” by George Inness
Art: “Landscape” by Orson Pratt Huish
If you want to see more free printables from the past, you can check out all of them here.
And now, at least, we won’t be lusting after a new TV anytime soon. As long as I can still have Netflix, I’m a happy camper.
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Lauren, thanks for the information. What a great idea. I’m not real computer savvy when it comes to electronics and TVs. But I’m going to try it on the Roku. I will let you know how I make out. I really like the sheep, that’s the farm girl in me.LOL. But they’re all beautiful (yours). You’re right it beats having a big black hole. Hoping you and yours stay safe and healthy. Have a great week. Blessings, Patricia
You are so clever! I just love this!
Lauren, you rock!! This is SO cool and helpful! ❤️❤️❤️
Lauren, I just wondered what happened to your Ikea sofa?
Perhaps I missed a post..
Great idea! We are in the market for a new TV and I really want a Frame but my hubby doesn’t think the TV itself is all that great so this is a perfect compromise!
Though it doesn’t seem that the link to the Oil Paintings is working.
Thank you so much for this Lauren, I was thinking about purchasing a frame tv in the near future but I think that I can do the chrome cast option instead! Yay for money saved.
All the art looks lovely in your room, but my favourite is “Pieve sul Taro” by Oreste Carpi followed by the landscape with sheep. Keep safe 🙂
Can this be done with Dish service?
Umm, not too sure. We don’t have Dish, so I can’t speak to that directly. Sorry!
Is there any way to lock on one image instead of having it stream multiple pictures?
Hi, Sarah. great question. You should be able to choose an album with one picture in it to stay on one image.
Wow!! This is amazing. I used the instructions for the Roku tv & it worked perfectly!! THANK YOU for the techy post today & the photos to use too. 🙂
I am looking at your post and would love to know where you purchased your ceiling fan? It is gorgeous.
Thank you in advance
Janie S
This is great we have a smart tv and I love the sheep. My only problem is I am not tech savy at all and dont have a clue when reading your instructions 🙁 I would be doing it through chrome. Thanks for sharing.
You are brilliant! You keep amazing me, with each post. I love this idea. I hope I will be able to download later, because my computer I have at home, for some reason will not print. Since I do not leave my home, I will not be able to go shopping for a new computer until I feel safe to go out shopping. Now is not that time, at least for me. Especially since there is no vaccination yet.
Stay safe and healthy!
My DIL, Angela Lanter, introduced me to your blog a few weeks ago and I wasn’t surprised when I took your house tour, that several of your rooms were pinned to my boards already! Soooo last night when I couldn’t sleep, I got your latest email for this post. I was beyond excited!! I tried back in December researching to see if turning a smart tv into a “painting” was possible. Well, apparently my TV was smart, but I was not…cause I could never figure it out. I jumped out of bed last night and quickly followed your instructions. Although it took me close to an hour to figure out the whole uploading your prints to my google photos…..once I completed that….S.U.C.C.E.S.S.!!! I am beyond excited. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your home is beautiful, your posts are so professional. Your talent and creativity shine brightly. Looking forward to viewing your past and future posts.
Lauren, I am loving everything you have done lately. I am taking baby steps to catch up to you. After my success in just now turning my roku tv and my fire tv into *awesome* TVS – well what can I say, this is ALL DOWN TO YOU! Perfect art and perfect directions! Much appreciated 🙂
This is brilliant! I hate having a TV over our fireplace. I’m going to try the Roku instructions.
I was excited to see these art pieces on my TV but I was disappointed after downloading the image files. All the files provided for download have been cropped so that they no longer fill the whole TV. The art looks great in the staged shots, but we can only download the art pieces with the sides cropped away.
Lauren would you be able to provide the full resolution images?
Thank you.