I am having the same difficulty. I would like to put the fireplace in a corner (I personally don't like having the TV off to the side on the same wall. In theory I would like it on a corner, but my room is all windows on one side, an a straight wall that joins a hallway so I'm not sure how that would would. As for it being too high, my current plan is to get a very comtemporary low fireplace. Currently we have a similar set up and while the TV is a bit higher than I like it (maybe 6 or 8 inches) with it tilted downwards it has never felt uncomfortable. Some inspiration pics: I'd prefer this without the inset TV as you never know what size you may buy in the future. [contemporary family room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by chicago interior designer Michael Abrams Limited The below option could be made much lower. I like the fireplace closer to the floor! [contemporary entry design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2103) by vancouver general contractor Klondike Contracting This one doesn't have a TV, but you can see that it is low enough that it would end up at the right height. [modern living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by new york architect Chelsea Atelier Architect, PC

I put the TV on a separate wall than the wall which will eventually have a wood burning stove. (The mantle and backdrop is already in place. Right now I am dealing with homeowners insurance that doesn't want me to have one.) I don't watch much TV at all, and I really dislike - for me - having an ugly black box being the center of living room attention. When I have guests over, we're here to talk. I can think of exceedingly few occasions I'd be watching the idiot box with guests. Probably if they were here several days, we'd rent a movie or two via Amazon Prime. (Moot point right now, COVID and all.... but hopefully that won't last...) And with a wood burning stove, the exhaust pipe will go up and bisect the view of any TV over the mantle. I sat down on the couch to figure out the best viewing height - which is well below what the mantle might ever be, at least on this couch. It would be fine if I could lean back and rest my head, to have something over mantle height - assuming I'd go with a regular fireplace. But at six feet tall - there just isn't a couch or sofa like that. Plus as others have said, what about decorations? I enjoy decorating my mantle for various holidays! After all, that's really what mantles are for, right? The thing is off to the side, and it does not get glare there, either.

Hire a local designer.

Are you planning a wood burning or gas fireplace? If wood burning this one seems like a great option for linear without being too modern - we looked at it but concluded we needed more height (and we're not dealing with the constraint of a t.v. over the fireplace, as we're generally not a fan of that, aesthetically or functionally). http://www.heatilator.com/Products/Longmire-Wood-Fireplace.aspx That said, I would really consider an arrangement as in your first photo, with the t.v. next to the fireplace.