GreenDesigns, I can appreciate your point of view, but it is subjective. Many designers plan TVs over fireplaces and they look fantastic when properly planned out, which doesn't need to include a lot of black accents. In an ideal set up I would love to have a room where the fireplace and TV were on entirely separate walls, but that often doesn't work, and from my own perspective having the TV and fireplace on the same wall but not stacked creates an asymmetry that I personally don't like. That said, I can see why other people prefer that design and I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of it. Here are some TV over the fireplace inspiration photos: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/orchard-family-room-a-contemporary-family-room-chicago-phvw-vp~213942) [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 [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/orchard-family-room-b-contemporary-family-room-chicago-phvw-vp~213947) [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 [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/c3d-design-portfolio-traditional-family-room-toronto-phvw-vp~30500) [Traditional Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2107) by Toronto Interior Designer c3d design [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/upper-east-side-contemporary-living-room-new-york-phvw-vp~76170) [Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by New York Photographer Alexander Johnson Photography [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/woodvalley-house-interiors-contemporary-living-room-baltimore-phvw-vp~170464) [Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Baltimore Architect Ziger/Snead Architects [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/private-party-contemporary-entry-vancouver-phvw-vp~164210) [Contemporary Entry design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2103) by Vancouver General Contractor Klondike Contracting [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/living-room-and-fireplace-contemporary-living-room-los-angeles-phvw-vp~302373) [Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Los Angeles Design-build Stonebrook Design Build [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rocky-ledge-living-room-with-fireplace-transitional-living-room-boston-phvw-vp~215246) [Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Boston Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/sf-media-room-traditional-family-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~47212) [Traditional Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2107) by San Francisco General Contractor Mueller Nicholls Cabinets and Construction [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/san-carlos-craftsman-2nd-story-addition-craftsman-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~138997) [Traditional Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by San Francisco Architect Studio S Squared Architecture, Inc. At first I considered different solutions as well, however I've decided the TV over the fireplace is my preference when compared to the TV being in a cabinet next to the fireplace, or the TV being on a console table with the fireplace in the corner. TV in cabinet next to fireplace - the furniture is always off center. This may good in a room (like a formal living room) where the TV is seldom turned on, but in a family room where the TV is on for a couple hours most evenings it isn't my preference. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/mahoney-architects-and-interiors-more-than-cookies-in-the-oven-contemporary-family-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~18241) [Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by San Francisco Architect Mahoney Architects and Interiors Fireplace in corner - I don't like the loss of symmetry and needing to use a console table. I suppose built in cabnitry would be possible, but again, I really appreciatte symmetry in design. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/our-home-contemporary-family-room-chicago-phvw-vp~571927) [Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by Chicago Media And Blogs Jiye Lee, Pearls and Green Tea [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-basement-transitional-family-room-minneapolis-phvw-vp~84118) [Eclectic Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2104) by Minneapolis Interior Designer Happy Interiors Though, if I could put the fireplace on a different wall altogether I may do something like this: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eliyahu-berlin-modern-home-theater-tel-aviv-phvw-vp~66329) [Modern Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2105) by Tel Aviv Architect SK Designers - Shimrit Kaufman [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/study-contemporary-home-theater-new-york-phvw-vp~42919) [Contemporary Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2103) by New York Architect Dufner Heighes Inc

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.

So apparently my email notifications still don't work. They never have, actually. Anyway, some replies and thoughts: It's not symmetrical now; there's a door to the left of the fireplace. I had a fixed lens on my camera for that pic, so I'll try to get a wider shot later. I can't do any of those lovely symmetrical built-in ideas we see in bungalow pictures. There's no (good) way to get electricity above the mantel. So a permanent TV there is basically out. On the other hand, there's an outlet in the floor directly under that high window, perfect for wiring a built-in. The chair is sticking 10-15" into the doorway already, depending on the angle. It's not really a problem (it's a wide french door) and it's really worth having a chair there. 6 more inches might make it a problem though. You're right - a shallow cupboard doesn't look as odd because the depth can't be easily seen. The lack of one on the other side of the fireplace gives it away a bit, though. It's not, I don't think, an awkward spot for the TV. The picture above was taken over the corner of an L-shaped sectional. So the sectional is basically facing that corner. I suspect this is an improvement that would be appreciated, not removed, by a future owner. Most people want TVs in the living room, and the over-the-fireplace is going to be difficult for anyone. (It's an exterior masonry wall, plus the chimney is there.) And a well-done built-in would really add to the character of the house. Any sort of sound system is going to be really awkward with the TV in the corner. Probably would have to just deal with the TV's built-in sound. It would be nice if the TV was actually in the corner, at an angle, when in use. I'll have to think about if that can be done with some clever slides or something. I wonder if I'm deluding myself about the occasional-ness of use. Maybe I'd watch TV more if there were one in our cozy living room. Maybe that's a bad thing! (edit, I just measured and the bricks are 9" from the wall. 6" is probably the smallest I could make a cabinet to house a TV but I could go slightly deeper.) This post was edited by elofgren on Thu, Jul 18, 13 at 12:37

Brad covered this well. I had a single duplex outlet installed above all of my fireplaces, as well as 1x coax and 1x cat6 in the another duplex box. True I don't want a TV in every single room over every fireplace, but I wanted the option to. A picture or a mirror over the fireplace covers these. Something Brad posted (and most people miss) is the studs which a TV mount bolts in to. Most TV mounts are 16" wide, but you want the mount centered. If you have a telescoping arm on the mount, they almost never sit centered and are offset. This is why what Brad did is great, as it lets you put the mount wherever it needs to go without modifying anything. True they make very good toggle bolts that just grip the sheetrock, buy why not use wood studs if you can? Also, take good photos of every single one so you know what you working with once everything is done I also ran extra conduit (smurf tube, flexible pvc, etc) from each of these to my unfinished basement. IMO all of my "over the fireplace TV's" will never have any boxes connected to them, but ya never know. You can also transfer HDMI signal over cat6 if you really need to (say for security cameras, not a 4k movie...) so some people run 2x cat6 cables everywhere just to future proof. I didn't Plan an "IT rack" space somewhere in your house. Most use an unfinished basement room, the cabinets can be locked etc so that part is up to you. Yes everything is wifi today, but hardwired is always better and more reliable. Depending on the size of your house, most will do a WAP (wireless access point) system instead of a single bulky wifi router that sits on your basement IT rack or another bad spot. Planning a WAP puts your wifi router in the best possible location in your house, or you could do 2 or 3 WAPs to make sure there's no dead zones etc. Anyway, these need cat6 ran (from your rack) to their location (and sometimes 110v outlet so plan hardware now). Same with security cameras. If you want them or to wire for them, that all needs to feed to your IT box Put your IT box on its own circuit. It might not pull a ton of power on it's own, but you don't want a vacuum cleaner tripping a breaker on accident and killing your data signal for the entire house.