I would want the TV in the great room. I guess it depends how much TV you watch. DH and I watch TV every night. Well, it's on even if we're doing other things like playing a game or goofing off online. In the winter we like to have a fire. I wouldn't want to have to choose between the fireplace and the TV. I would pick a location in the other room and pre-wire it for TV, because it's nice to have options, but I personally would want to watch in my nice big comfortable room with a fire going at the same time.

You've got a great space for a TV room. A couch along the wall with the small window, a couple of swivel chairs perpendicular to the couch, and the TV on the wall opposite to the couch. The width of the room is sufficient to provide good viewing for a 50" HDTV. If the room is still to be used as a playroom, you might want to have a small game table and tow or four chairs in the lower left corner.

I would want to have the option for a tv in both rooms. I don't know how old your children are but there will come a time when you want to watch something they can't watch and also a time for them to have friends over to watch something. We have a playroom, that now that our children are teens is used for " hanging out" or watching tv. Our teens like our house because they can have their own space, lucky for us we can secretly supervise because the room adjoins our kitchen and does not have a door. This has kept our house popular and I know what they are doing.

First, please make certain that having a television away from the great room fits with your family's television viewing habits because my comment was based on my family's habits, not yours, and I don't want to be the cause of a huge mistake on your part. :-)

Thanks for the feedback everyone; you make good points.

We will also have a TV down in our rec room in basement which is great for our two teenage sons and our 12 year old too (not as easy to supervise as you have lebwhite). We will put their X-box downstairs as well. The TV on the main level will be our second TV. Our daughter just turned 6, so we don't want her watching what the boys do most of the time (although she does get exposed to big boy TV). My husband and I very rarely watch TV (I am too addicted to GW for that LOL) and he is always working. We don't even have cable, and just rent movies on the occasion. I would say the four kids do screen time in one form or another more than I care to admit.

As porkandham suggested, I will be sorry not to have the fireplace in the same room as the TV, but we are to have radiant heat, so it will be cozy everywhere! The fireplace will be used, but is also wanted for design reasons. Also, I agree that it would be nice to watch TV in the large great room, but something has to give (i.e. find a new spot) as I am not finding an easy solution to squeezing the fireplace, TV, display shelves and window seat all into the great room.

Suero, thanks for the sample furniture layout that would work if we use the playroom as a TV away room. When you suggested two chairs perpendicular to the couch, were you thinking having those chairs on the side of the big window, or nearer to the entrance of the room?

If we do put the TV in this smaller room, would you recommend french doors and hall door to keep the TV sound from traveling throughout house. I know the author of Not so Big House is keen on this kind of closed in away room, visable but not heard from main room especially the kitchen (see Fun2Bhere your idea is in line with a famous architect you are not the only one who sees the benefits of a separate TV room). Also I really wonder what to do about the proposed railing between the foyer and TV away room. Should we keep it as a half wall, even though the railing will make the foyer seem larger?

I'd put the two chairs flanking the sofa. They don't have to be swivel chairs, just easily moved.

If you have enough soft surfaces in the room, like curtains, rug, soft upholstery, you might have enough sound deadening material to mitigate noise from the playroom/TV room.

Oh, you might want to add shelves and storage for books and toys. That could go under the TV.

Thanks again Suero. What do you say about the prosed railing between foyer and this away TV room (sorry it does not show in the posted plan)? You had suggested putting the TV against the area that is proposed to have the railing. Should we continue with the railing to visually open up the small foyer, and also switch the location of TV and couch and have the couch (with good looking back) against the railing? Or should we keep our half wall with cut-out and not open up the foyer?

Thanks and other comments welcome.

Carol

When you call it an away room, that means something else to me....that means a room that is quiet and cozy and away from everything else. A place to read, listen to music, have some quiet, private time. Opening up the space even more means less "away" to me.

I agree with the others that form should follow function, and it's all about how are you going to use the room. We have our big TV in our great room (family, kitchen and bkfst nook in one) and we love it because we are always eating in front of the TV and like the short distance and the reduced "spillage" factor when moving food, drinks, newspapers, mags, etc. . We also have a woodstove in the family room part and it is cozy and warm when it counts, as we spend about 90% of our waking hours in the great room. It's also great gathering space for company as everything we need is at hand....when friends come over for movie night, etc. Given our lifestyle, I wouldn't be as happy if the TV was someplace else.

Husband has an office that is his away room, where he has his own small tv set and cozy reading chair...which I love as he can mainline CNBC to his heart's content, without the talking heads driving me nuts!

Hi Annie,

Thanks for your response, and yes we too are struggling with whether to keep this small room open, open if further with the railing, or even close it off. I have never had a home that was open concept before, so I am not sure how I will like having the great room, dining room, kitchen and this small room all open concept. Perhaps one room should be closed off; although DH wants it all open.

I can think of pros and cons of having the TV in the smaller room rather than the great room. I do think that having the TV in this smaller room may very well suit our lifestyle. If we did not have another TV in the basement rec room where teens will hang out and entertain, then I would not consider it. When we entertain, we never have the TV on - so no worries here.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether we should put in a railing between the foyer and this small TV room? If we do put in the railing, how should we arrange the furniture.

Huh...I was looking at your post on my ipad and never saw the location of the playroom...it's nice and close to the kitchen and it's a good sized room.

So I can see this as a "den" or "media room" and put the TV in here and use it as your heavier use space, and keep the LR with the fireplace for more formal space. That would work. But as a den/media room, I would keep the solid walls for noise and light control. It also makes furniture arrangement easier.

Solid walls are great for noise control. French doors would be an added benefit because you could leave them open if you were hosting a party that centered around the television...sporting event, awards show...but close them if you wanted quiet or to listen to music in the great room.