TVs have always created decorating problems. The bigger the TV, the bigger the problem. Perhaps a smaller table? A smaller TV? Make the great room the diningroom? Enclose the TV in an entertainment center on which you have attached decorative panel on the back, and use the TV as a room divider?

My dining room is now a computer room. I'm not a fancy person so it didn't bother me to lose a dining room. There is room to eat in my kitchen.

Homes with limited space tend to end up with rooms that are used for purposes that were not originally intended. I encounter many forum posts where livingrooms or diningrooms have become bedrooms because of extended family situations. The need for a home office is a modern day consideration. Homeowners are creating offices in closets and other areas in the home where there is space to spare. Large screen TVs create decorating and space problems. Modifying homes to meet our needs sometimes requires some nontraditional use of space and violations of traditional decorating rules. I shared your problem with some decorating consultants, and they agreed #1 if it is a problem, get rid of the TV. Or, #2 sacrifice a room where you would like to place it, even though it requires the use of a room that was intended for another purpose. #3 comment was that formal diningrooms these days tend to be nothing but dust collectors.

Have you seen the new plasma tv's that are only 4 or 5 inches thick? People are hanging them on the walls and they are gorgeous. They come in 32 and 42 inch with magnificent pictures. They are expensive and they must be installed professionally but at least they dont take up floor room. You must be into great sounds and pictures to really enjoy this.

I find that it takes about a year to settle into a home. During that time you'll re-arrange your rooms several times.

Our dining room is now a gym, the pantry a bathroom, and a small sitting room became a laundry/pantry room.

Settle into the home a bit. As the sun hits different rooms at different times and you see what rooms people congragate too you'll have a better idea of how to use the rooms and where the tv best fits.

This is a suggestion that has worked marvelously for us - although it's not cheap. We have a projector tv. The screen is mounted on the ceiling in a bay area. My husband made a soffit to go in front of it so unless you're standing behind it in the bay area, you don't see the screen when it's in retracted. We don't have windows in this area because it's actually under the dining room bay window. The projector is attached to the ceiling, but I've seen them on the top shelf of bookcases. We love this solution because then the room isn't arranged around a large object that when 'off' is otherwise useless (and unattractive). I personally don't like entertainment centers because it just makes it take up more space - and most people leave the tv exposed anyway.
The only issue with a projector tv is that you need the room fairly dark when watching so you would need some window coverings or shades that are room darkening.
Man, is it ever great for popcorn and a movie, though! We haven't been to a theatre for a single movie since we did this.

see? one more example of TV ruining people's lives.

do yourself a favor- leave the room alone, and sink that money into a library, or a garden, or something useful. if you're like most people, you've spent more time watching TV than you did studying for your master's degree.

I like the plasma tv idea--it would be like Mr Roger's Picture Picture---though I agree with chinacat_sunflower's sentiment--I'd HATE to give up BBCAmerica! GATeway had a good deal on Plasma tvs not too long ago.

(This from a woman with only two televisons--and who considers a 32" screen BIG)

melanie

Just repurpose the rooms. The dining room becomes the TV den, the Great room becomes the dining room with extra room for casual seating after dinner.
Val

I might be able to help you out if I had a floor plan. I do use my dining room as a dining room every day. You might want to try to think of alternate ways of using corners and possibly doing an arrangement on the diagonal. Again, I can't judge without knowing the floor plan. If the rooms have too much open space and not enough walls, you might consider dividing a room to give you more walls, depending on how large the rooms are. It's hard to have a large TV and a fireplace in the same room, as they both are intended to be focal points.

Lars

I have small dinning room we don't use at all now I try to bring piano put in dinning room, please let me know what I need to do

Start your own thread and try to use regular sentences. Tear down the side of the house to get your piano in!
Shouldn't cost more than $20 grand.

Chinacat_sunflower
I agree with you. Never converted to digital so I can't get signal. I certainly wasn't going to pay cable so that I can watch advertising. I use tv just for dvds. Designing a room to fit a tv...just go outside to watch tv every damn restaurant, pub, laundromat, fast food dump, doctor's office, barber's shop, nail salon just has to have at least one tv. You can't get away from the constant assault on your senses...
I like the English comedies also but not for the money cable charges. If more people used their public libraries(they have DVDs) they would be invested in preventing them from being privatized. IMHO

ROTFL

Think I'll rant about an 8-year-old post.

Naw, back to REAL issue: How to get the piano in the dinning room???