I like the mockup from RL Relocation in this case. Hiding the wires will help.

Just curious...you can't even exchange it? We went through this recently. Our son bought a 75" TV for DH's birthday, Way too big so we exchanged it. Easy to do with Amazon.

I'm liking the the no console look too. I'm visual so if it were me, I'd unplug everything, tuck away the wires just to see how it would look, move everything away then play around with it.

Another vote for no console; and I would learn how to stream beautiful art on that screen :)

I’m not wild about massive TVs but I believe that homes are not museum’s and must accommodate the way you live.The lure of “lifesize” sports and super hero movies is especially strong with husbands and sons. The TV design dilemma has been created by home plans that simply don’t address our plugged in world. Inadequate outlets, improperly placed lighting and not addressing work/play needs are common headaches.

In touring over 90 new developments, we found less than 2% had been designed to accommodate a modern TV (regardless of popular sizes). Ignoring how people really live must meet 21st century needs and desires for beautfuspaced,

Make your space function properly and decorate as needed - then rent a great movie to enjoy.

This happened to me. Hubby came home with TV that was too large. Luckily I was able to return it and get an appropriately sized one. If it had been unreturnable I would have tried selling it. Especially if you still have the box, you can sell it as new/open box.

The new TV is still plenty huge as far as him being happy with it. It sits on a built-in console that is wider than the TV. We had our custom cabinet builder alter the console to create a little "bat cave" for the sound bar, and we ran the cords down into the cabinet below by drilling a hole in the top of the console. If you can hide the cords or let it sit on a console with a hole for the cords, it will look better. Your cable box etc can be in the cabinet below.

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions and the supportive words (yes, indeed, this is a first-world problem, agree with you, Patriceny, not end of the world!). I like the open shelving idea of Kendrah and the armchair/no console ideas from RL Relocation and others. We were always going to get the wires tucked away, so I guess that's something. BUT! I think I've managed to convince my husband to move it to his office upstairs (it may mean footrubs for life). If he puts a recliner (bribery, again) at one end of the room he'll be the same distance as he is in the living room. Wish me luck! He may also be open to the idea of exchange -- PC Richards said it's up to the manager if we can exchange or not ... thanks to Cholebud for the suggestion. I'll try to send additional photos of room -- it's a design dilemma in and of itself -- long room w lots of windows, doors, and fireplace -- awkward, no good place for TV, ginormous or no ...

Turn this into media room. Find drapery to match your wall color. Hang over the TV. No console needed. Move rocking chair and add a couple stools for extra seats for game time or movie night. Close drapes when TV not on. Make it look like this is long window wall. 😊

Replace the wall sconce with more theater room looking one. Final touch. Change out rug to more fun look. Your wood flooring looks beautiful so might not need as big a rug.

Thank goodness husband doesn't care about having a large TV. Our biggest TV is a 55" but it is in our garage.

it looks bad right now because the change is a big shock, and that spot is cluttered. get a nice console that's as wide as the TV. a cabinet style so you can use it for storage.

bury the wires in the wall.

declutter the mantle and bookcase. maybe some of those photos could go somewhere else in the house? looks like there are some movies and magazines that you probably don't really need to have in that very spot. (the movies could be stored in the TV console.)

get rid of the little side tables and all the clutter on and around the rocking chair. (when the magazines and movies are gone from the bookcase, you could fit 2-3 decorative boxes or baskets to store whatever it is you currently have around the rocking chair.)

Move the console to another place in your home, and just have the TV on the wall with nothing underneath it; it will look better that way. Depending how high the console is, maybe you could use it behind a sofa as a sofa table.

I am victorious! TV is moving to his office! But I appreciate everyone's great advice and will use it when I return the normal sized television to this place -- it can definitely use some help regardless of which TV is there (for some reason the area has become the spot where ugly end tables go to die). Thanks again, all!

Woohoo! Sounds great. Post measurements of room and furniture sizes that will be in this room and we can help more!

Great!!!

Cut out cardboard or paper mock ups of standard sized TVs and tape them up on the wall so that in the future you can have a better idea of what the optimum size for a tv will be in your room. Good luck!

That is an awesome idea. Live and learn. What sucks is that now I'm the bad guy who has to make amends when he's the one getting a $3,000 TV!!! How did this happen? I didn't even want a new TV! Sorry -- just venting now. :)

Paint the wall a very dark colour. It will camouflage it quite nicely. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/real-life-design-solutions-tv-camouflage-ideas-that-actually-work-244851

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-keep-a-tv-from-standing-out-like-a-sore-thumb-in-a-room-218000

Get a transmitter to send the signal to the TV wirelessly so that all the equipment can be elsewhere. https://www.screenbeam.com/learn-more/wireless-video-hdmi/how-to-connect-cable-box-wirelessly-to-tv/

I may be a voice of minority here, but I think this TV is a perfect size (tiny TVs look ridiculous anywhere except maybe your porch or garage where you may not have the wall space, almost as if someone mounted a monitor on a wall, plus you can barely see what’s being played). We have several 85+ inch TVs and they all look perfectly proportional. It’s all about the design elements around it and placement. Sure, the size of the room helps too, but you can still successfully place a very large TV in a small room and call it a media room. The problem is not the TV size - it’s that the rest of the furniture pieces around it in the room are not to scale, plus it’s not centered on a wall and has no visual anchor to grab on to. I’m with your husband - the TV size is perfect, it’s just the placement that’s off, you could easily decorate around it and still be able to watch a movie.

I need to see the whole space IMO that cluttered corner with all the stuff on the sjelves is a bigger issue for me than the TV you do however need a longer cabinet under the TV . Post pics of the whole room and better yet a to scale floor plan .

I know the room looks like a mess right now -- we're having some work done and had to move a bunch of stuff to the living room -- general state of upheaval. That said, we do need a place to store DVDs and the like. Here are some photos of the rest of the room -- like I mentioned before, super awkward even without the giant TV (which is now being moved to another part of the house-hallelujah!). The TV that will go there is about 3.5 ft wide -- so need a stand for that (hate the one that's there right now). The rug is probably non-negotiable. It's a good rug and I can't see my way clear to buying a new one.

Have you purchased the TV yet? If not, you should consider a Samsung ”Frame” ,that’s what I bought for our living room. ”Art” when TV not on. comes in a wide range of sizes. I purchased a bezel to frame ours, looks surprisingly good , flat against wall.

This chart only goes up to 70" but you can do the calculation and see that between 10-11 feet away would probably be optimal viewing if you lower it so the bottom 1/3 falls at and below eye level. Your other wall items are hung too high, so lower them while you're at it. Should center 5' above the floor if alone, or be 5" above pieces of furniture to make a visual vignette.

Wow

"the lady who gives you GPS directions"

I worked with a guy who refused to use the GPS because he couldn't stand the sound of a woman telling him what to do. Yes, he was divorced. And was fired, for cause, for sexual harassment.

Just sayin'.

You know can change the voice on your gps?

Staying off topic, in the 1990s BMW redesigned its 5 series cars in Germany to replace the female voice with a male version because the German drivers did not like taking directions from a woman.

I don't agree with the TV chart at all. we have a 40ish TV in a 14' wide living room and it's plenty big. We had a 32" before that and it was fine also. my husband talked me into a bigger one when it broke and for the record he didn't want a huge one either.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - " Tastes like selfishness to me", proved by the OP's plan for a smaller TV in the living room so she can view in comfort. Sometimes I despair of "my sisters".

@aziline the TV charts are based on resolution and optimum viewing. Your opinion about how close you want to sit to your TV may be different but optimum viewing based on resolution is what it is. If you want to sit 14' away from a 40" TV that's fine, but I wouldn't bother spending money on anything HD.

We have our 85" TV in our theater space is about 10' from our seating and it's awesome.

Joseph Corlett, LLC chiflipper , So, the wife must always allow the husband to have what he wants, or she's selfish ? Really ? Where did the Op mention that the office was small, or that they have sons ? I must have missed that. I suppose in your opinion it's okay for one person to feel stressed about the way their home looks, as long as the other person is happy with it.

IMO, couples should work together to solve problems and not cause unnecessary stress for each other. The Op and her husband did work together to find a solution, and I think that's great.

For me, the visual "clutter on the bookcase, mantel, and that corner needs a redo my eye goes there every time I pop in here. What is the storage that is behind the french door by the rad? can that be used for DVD etc?

joseph-corlett, you have always been the most consistent advice giver on houzz. You are the absolute go-to guy for anything sink and counter related. Im chalking that post up to a sick and tired of the s**t kinda day.

@anj_pn But according to who? And for what? Theatre viewing? Fine but I don't need/want that in my living room.

I'd guess it was made up by those who sale TV's. Plus the chart is old enough that it doesn't include the REALLY big ones. I would bet that "optimal" would be even bigger TV sizes if that chart was created today.

@aziline It's based on pixel size and what your eye is capable of discerning. As I said, your preferences may be different and that's fine for you, but no sense spending a bunch of money on a UHD TV if your eye can't tell the difference. If anything, if you follow the charts and you sit farther back you should get a cheaper TV, not a more expensive one. At your distance a 720p 40" TV would be fine. Not sure you could even find that resolution these days. Deco includes that chart because s/he has it saved and it's easy to post but there are plenty of others. Here's another handy guide that goes more into detail: https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship

I've seen that chart several times and never looked at the distances at the bottom. They do seem ludicrous. Five feet away from a 40" TV? In practical terms it means that you only get two people viewing unless you buy something bigger. In our room, we sit around 11' away from the TV, which the chart suggests would mean something bigger than 70". That would dominate our room.

Some of this might be due to opinion/preference, but some is down to practicalities.

“I never expected a mental health diagnosis for responding to a television placemnent thread, but hey, I appreciate it.”

.

I’m sure the OP never expected to be insulted, have her marriage analyzed, or get a bizarre anti-woman diatribe on her TV placement thread, either.

If it feels overwhelming in his office, a trick is painting the wall a dark shade so it draws the eye, making the tv much less prominent.

I'm glad the OP and her husband found a mutually satisfying solution. Perhaps an idea for anyone else contemplating a massive television is to tape up a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the proposed television, maybe cover it in black paper or fabric, and tape it to the wall. That will provide a good idea of how a huge television would look there.

That is such a good idea, Maureen!

@anj_p Interesting link! It does look like those distances is for having the "movie experience". We get absorbed into TV to much as it is. I don't need "The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers recommends sitting at a distance where the screen fills up a minimum of 30° of your field of vision for a good experience" in my front room.

Edit to add

@Nick Right?? Thank you.

Aww, someone feeling fragile this morning? Your post was way out of line, not a little ”thread drift”, girlfriend.

Save it. Not interested in your spewings.

FYI to anyone reading: he’s trying to downplay what he posted. Trust me, it was vile — several paragraphs of off-topic rantings of how women have done him wrong and ruined his entire life and will ruin every man’s life. On a TV placement thread.

ETA: Before your fan club gets here: I don’t give a rat’s chipped granite a** about your popularity here — great, whatever — if I see BS posted and an OP being unfairly insulted, I’m calling it out no matter who it is. Too bad your post is gone, and you aren’t owning what you said, so now you can pretend it wasn’t as gross and weird as it was.

I personally admired and agreed with what you said in your post Jinx. Not sure why Joseph is so upset.

Ak, thank you. He can sure dish it out, and does often, but can’t take it when the tables are turned. ;)

❄️❄️❄️

Congrats on the TV solution!
You seem open to general decorating advice, so I will suggest that when you redo things, work on hanging the artwork better. Right now everything is too high and too scattered about. I was looking for a good “hanging artwork 101” article for you, but I surprisingly couldn’t find one on houzz. But they are available elsewhere on the net of course. Good luck!

Also, instead of all those framed pics on every surface, which contributes greatly to the cluttered look, consider a gallery wall of pics (in the hallway or on the staircase wall maybe?)

"I forgot that men aren't allowed to fairly criticize women any more. Just like if you were white you weren't allowed to have policy differences with Barak Obama, because if you did you were racist."

Those are some of the most insensitive, unaware, and inappropriate words I have seen posted in this forum in some time. And from a Houzz "pro", no less. Shameful. And sickening.

Jinx and Jen, I used to look forward to Joseph's professional contributions but all I see from him lately is bitter hatred. He also tried to derail a thread of mine by calling Californians nasty names and then deleted his post when I said I'd prefer to discuss the issue I brought up. He seems very angry at life, which is such a waste. He could contribute so much if he chose to do so.

Sounds like this Joseph character needs to be banned.