There's no law that says you have to put it over the fireplace. Personally, I'd put my furniture in first, see where we would be most comfortable and where you can walk around easily etc. Then I'd place the TV. If you end up with the TV over the fireplace, you COULD get a rotating stand. They have them where they come out from the wall and swivel and tilt... and they are pretty low profile now so it doesn't look bad. REALLY will anyone really use that bench to sit on? I rarely see people use them unless they are in a breakfast nook or something. I know I like a couch to lie down on. Or are you having all chairs. That makes a big difference. If you have two couches, four chairs or a couch, loveseat, or a loveseat and two chairs... If you are doing entertaining, you need more seating. Who's using the room. These things answer first before placing the TV. Also consider: Glare from windows on TV.

Hi, dahoov, thanks for your thoughts! I edited the original post since we actually don't have any furniture for the room yet. We've put our old living room furniture in the basement, so we're starting from scratch. The approach we're taking is to figure out the layout first and then buy furniture, rather than buy furniture before the layout. For example, if we put the TV in the bench area, then we don't need to get a TV stand.

We want the room to be the primary living space for the family (for now, just two of us + two furry friends). For entertaining, we would migrate to or spill over into the basement. Hope this info helps any future posters.

Yet again, I'd go with two sofas forming an L, with one facing the FP and one facing the wall with the bench in it. Put the TV on an articulating arm on the wall over the benches . That way, when you want to watch TV, you can pull it out into the room at any angle, and when you don't or you're entertaining, you can just push it back up against the wall. And in that case, it's really ideal because of the recessed wall! Add a single comfy chair at an angle next to the FP in the corner by the benches, and you've got a cozy, warm, welcoming setup.

I'd get a square table to go in the joint the two sofas form, a console table for behind the sofa that faces the FP (if you can put an electrical outlet in the floor there so you can easily put a lamp on the console table to give that sofa lighting, that would be really ideal), and a large square coffee table. LOVE the two tall windows by the FP.

I would do exactly as Tribbix wrote, making the chair in the corner smaller in scale with a swivel or light weight so it's easy to turn.

The reason I like two sofas is because I like to lean against the arm when I curl up on it, with a table for my beverage/glasses/etc. Sectionals are fine, but we'd all be jockeying for that spot!

I was thinking exactly what Tibbrix said. I would put the TV in the nook on a swivel/retractable arm. Alternatively, if you think that will make the nook area difficult to sit (because the TV would be in the way), you could put it on the flat wall next to the nook. Then I would put either 2 sofas in an L shape or a sectional facing the nook wall and the fireplace. Looks like a really lovely room and I hope you'll share pictures when you're done.

I would only mount the tv above the bench if you could make built in shelves around it and just give up on the bench function. It's going to be rendered useless as a bench with the tv there anyway, even if it's flat against the wall. There might be enough room for someone to sit, but I think it will make people uncomfortable being backed up to the tv, even when it's off. So, if that's your preferred place, I would make it into a wall unit with other storage, built to match the benches and then choose your furniture. ETA- oops, I just reread your op and see that you plan on adding built ins if you go with the tv in the bench area.

As much as I hate the big black hole look when mounted above a fireplace, (and suffering Tibbrix's rabid opposition ;-), I think it makes the most sense for this room, because you then don't lose the functionality of the extra seating the bench will provide. I can see that bench with a nice upholstered pad and lots of pillows being a cozy reading nook, or a place to stretch out and watch tv.

If I was ever inclined to mount a tv over a fireplace, I would get one of those covers that makes it look like a mirror or painting when not in use. And I'd mount a reasonable sized tv, not a behemoth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cover up something like this

This post was edited by olychick on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 14:20

You can't realistically put the TV on the wall on the right. You'd have to move your furniture too far forward and back some of it up to the fireplace. Your only practical choices are over the TV (which I normally hate but might be OK here) or in the nook).

How wide is that room along the fireplace wall, not counting any part of the bench nook? I doubt you have room for a full sofa facing the FP with end tables and all. You need a lot of room to enter or the space will feel extremely closed off. Maybe 2 parallel chairs, a chair and a half, or a loveseat.

How tall is that bench? Is it even the right height for a seat?

Also, do you have a pic showing the front windows? Those will be covered by a couch.

If I'm understanding the dimensions correctly-- basically 13' x 13'-- if you put a couch facing the fireplace, you will either have to get a small one (6') in order to have an end table on one side, and still have a walkway into the room. If the couch was any longer, one end would have to be pushed right up to the doorway wall.

If you put a bigger couch on the front door/window wall, it looks like it will block the lower part of the windows.

So, you will need to decide which option you'd prefer, and go from there. I don't like TV's above fireplaces, so I'd probably add some shelves above the bench and put the TV there.

I don't see the necessity for a bench. That niche area could have storage below and the TV above. Here's a flexible layout that could work.

Walk-in space is not that important. How much room does a person need to walk to a chair or sofa? What is more important, IMO, is to create a homey, comfortable, gathering area, and creating a somewhat enclose space achieves that.

I didn't notice the front door placement at first, but now I see. I think Beverly's arrangement works best. Since it's just the two of you for now, and when/if you plan to add shelving above the bench, I'd definitely go with putting the TV in that space and plan your shelving and storage around it. Something about looking up above a fireplace at a TV just always bothers me. Putting it in the bench alcove on a moveable arm (the very best and most robust you can get) seems most practical. And having the 2 chairs in the line of sight from the door would make the room seem more open and large IMO.

I would go with Beverly's design with the exception that I would put the end table on the other side of the sofa.

You can mount the tv with hardware that will allow you to pull out the tv and rotate it.

Love Beverly's layout and it makes the most sense for the room. Adapt the bench for audiovisual storage. As seating it is terrible, off to one side of the room and it doesn't relate well to the fenestration. It actually looks to me like it was planned for toy storage.

pps7, putting the table and lamp on the other side of the sofa will cause a constant reflection in the flatscreen. Also, in its current position, both the person on the sofa and the person in the chair get to benefit from it's location for reading.

Beverly, of course that's true! I was just thinking of foot traffic and there seems to be some overhead lighting. Maybe, if foot traffic becomes an issue, a swing arm floor lamp on that side might serve.

This post was edited by pps7 on Fri, Dec 19, 14 at 9:14

Hello, everyone! Sorry I was MIA after the last post -- we're still trying to get settled in the house, on top of the holidays and everything.

Thanks for the feedback! The TV placement was the biggest hurdle for us in terms of layout. We decided to place the TV in the nook, and abandon the idea of having the bench. We plan to build some custom shelves down the line. A recliner is a must-have on the list, so we'll modify your suggestions to make the layout work!

Anyway, happy holidays everyone, and thanks again!