I needed to mount a TV above the fireplace because it was really the only place in the room it could be viewed by everyone and not in the way. The mantel of our fireplace is rather high (almost 6 feet) which would put the center of the TV well above a comfortable viewing angle. I spent months searching for a TV mount that could lower the TV to a decent height. I quickly discovered that anything motorized would cost several times what I paid for the TV. Beyond that, there were 2 options: Omnimount or Down and Out by Dynamic Mounting (http://www.dynamicmounting.com/index.php). The Omnimount is cheaper ($200-$300 vs. $400-$500) but an inferior product for my purposes. The Down and Out mount is much thinner (protrudes ~4 inches from the wall) and can lower the TV much farther (~30 inches!). I should also say that I have engineering degrees and tend to do all my own work. I thought about making my own mount but was a bit surprised at both the cost and level of difficulty. The Down and Out was fairly simple to mount on the wall and works VERY well.

Here's what I did nikkidan. I designed the entertainment center, then I had my kitchen cabinet builder build it. It cost me $4500.00. The fireplace is a remote controlled Valor and it heats the whole Downstairs, it is a direct vent fireplace. It have saved us a ton on energy cost, as we rarely use the force air heating system---the fireplace puts out more than enough heat for the entire downstairs of our 2700 sq ft house. The TV is at just the perfect height for us, and many times I stand in front of the fireplace while watching TV. The fireplace elevated like it is, the heat hits you, "Right where it does the most good"!!! Good luck with yours! anyway, here's mine. Good Luck with yours! Gary

I tried to find you some pictures of what I think you want to do, some are in front of windows others on wall. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-practical-budget-friendly-beauty-in-dallas-stsetivw-vs~8192302-of-the-Week--Pract%20ical--Budget-Friendly-Beauty-in-Dallas [Modern Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by San Francisco Photographer Sanneart [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Columbus Furniture And Accessories Black & Sons Furniture Makers [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Seattle Architect MAKE Design Studio [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Portland Architect Kaplan Thompson Architects [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Tucson Design-build Alta Constructors, Inc.

The living room in my current house (1350sf) is 12x16 (so nice after a 12x12 LR with a hideous layout) with a cute window bay with just enough room for a smallish-scaled Morris chair and a table, but the only really feasible layout given the traffic pattern is to have the furniture against the walls. To me it feels natural because it's the most logical and comfortable way to do it - it would feel forced and artificial otherwise. I'm not a fan, personally, of angled furniture because I think it all too often wastes precious space. My TV stand is angled because that's the only way it can be seen from more than one seat, but if I angled the couch across the opposite corner that would only permit three people at best to sit there, while once I get a loveseat if it's placed at a right angle with the couch I can fit five in that same 5x9' area. Since my church-group-equivalent is shortly expected to expand to eight and we're all getting too old to sit on the floor ;-) I need to be able to put eight people comfortably in one room! Function is my first priority, then I work on making the functional pretty. People too often trot out the comment that having furniture against the walls looks "like a doctor's office waiting room" - IMO that is only the case if you have a bunch of too-small, identical, uncomfortable chairs lined up precisely in a row facing another row of uncomfortable identical chairs marching down the middle of the room! LOL The people who point out that itty-bitty furniture in a small room can look very cluttery (and IMO a wee bit timid) are making an excellent point, but at the same time you don't want things over-massy. Tricky if you're shopping new because a lot of furniture is made for the mega-houses with rooms you could play badminton in; this is one spot where shopping "vintage" is a great plan because the average house 50 or 75 years ago was much, much smaller. Scale is definitely something requiring close attention. Same thing with art. One of my decorating peeves is having a whole slew of teeny things on the walls of a small room when a better effect may result from one bigger, b@llsier piece, unless you're aiming for the "old-fashioned filled-up wall look". But again, in total that's a "big impact". One trick I really like to use with a bunch of small prints is putting them in a multiple-opening mat with broad margins in a frame with some heft to it - I've done this several times and every time it looked so much better.