Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The TV (Eyesore) Placement Dilemma

We have a little, let's just say, discussion going on about where the television should go in the family room.  The room isn't big.  It's about 15' X 15' give or take.  Not a lot of options for furniture and such, so originally we decided to put the TV over the fireplace.  This can be a really nice look when it's done right.
Let's just say that this is not what ours is looking like.  My husband bought this apparatus to hang it on the wall and paid someone to help him put the TV up.  The problem is, it looks ridiculous.  It's making the fireplace mantle, which is already on the small size, look lilliputian.  And it's hung a little too high so I feel like I'm straining my neck looking up at it.  It's like being in the movie theater in the very front row...not comfortable.  Our other option is to  put the TV on a stand on the wall to the left of the fireplace, kind of like they did in this picture.

Shoshana traditional dining room

Here's the room again (from a while back).   That's the wall I'm thinking of putting the TV on.  



 I'm not even going to show you what it looks like right now.  Picture a sectional that is 10 times too big for the room (our temporary solution until we can buy a new more size appropriate sofa) and a ridiculously oversize TV.  It's like a giant's furniture in a hobbit's room.


I would love this set up, but not going to happen.

James Wagman Architect, LLC - Apartment - Riverside Dr eclectic living room


So what are your thoughts on TV placement?  Above a fireplace, off to the side on the same wall, different wall altogether?  Some people think it's sacrilege to put it above a fireplace.  I personally don't mind it, but it's looking really awful in our room:(  

9 comments:

  1. I love that second picture with the built-ins and TV above the mantle. Your fireplace is so pretty, maybe you don't want to dwarf it by the TV? Maybe the TV would be better on the wall to the left...but then how do you handle furniture placement so the fireplace is still the focal point of the room, but you can also watch TV comfortably?

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  2. Delia Ni ChiobhainMarch 15, 2012 at 1:33 AM

    I don't have a fireplace but if I did I'm not sure I'd like to put an expensive flat screen over a heat source. Won't it be really bad for the wires and the screen? But wherever it is it has to go on the wall. I HATE those stands that come with flat screens, so ugly and freak me out that they're gonna wobble. Our tv is 42" and lives on a bracket thing that cost like €15 and we put up ourselves. We measured how high the sofa was so the middle of the tv would be at eye level and ever so slightly angled downward. Maybe yours can live on the wall to the left of the fireplace?

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  3. This was a HUGE topic of discussion for us as we planned our family room reno. Hanging the tv over the fireplace was ultimately the right solution for us. I think it depends on what your seating plan in the room will be like when you replace the couch.

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  4. We have living room #1 above and have our TV on the wall to the left like in #3 above. I struggle and struggle with this room. I can't wait to see what you end up with.

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  5. The key for television placement in my opinion is that it has to be practical or you will curse yourself everytime you sit down to watch it. If you want to have that beautiful fireplace as your focal point I would try to put it above- only if you can do it without straining your neck! The reason the first two pics are so lovely is that the tv was set into a cabinet like structure that incorporated the hearth. If you can pull that off that might be your answer- only if you are still not straining your neck!

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  6. I don't mind them above the fireplace, but I can see that a big tv would make your pretty fireplace mantel seem a bit small. In our living room I just put the tv on a different wall, and the sofa in front of it, so the fireplace is off to the side. It may not be the focal point but it just wouldn't work in our room the other way.

    Will your husband be upset if you take the tv down from over the fireplace, or are you stuck with it?

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  7. Aren't tv's always a dilemma?! I love them over a mantle if they are ultra thin, but y0ur mantle is so beautiful, and such a focal point, I think I would do it on the other wall...can't wait to see what you do.

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  8. I missed this post...sorry I am late to the party. We had a cabinet built above our mantle. I designed custom folding mirror doors that would open and close. After all that...the tv never got put it. It is too high. We would need to lay down to view it comfortably. I am going to put it on another wall, like you are thinking. I like this image even though it is next to the fireplace and not on another wall like I will do
    http://www.classiccasualhome.com/2011/11/new-purchase-changes-our-whole-living.html

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