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Home Decorating Design Dilemma Fireplaces

TV's over fireplaces

zephyrgal pacific nw

3 months ago

Why put a TV over the fireplace?! Is it a design feature or no where else to place one? Please, just don't do it if you don't have to!

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Comments (10)

chispa
3 months ago
Some people actually like it there and some people don't.

For some people that is the only wall space available for a TV.

Some people, like myself, don't even include a fireplace when they design and build their house!

Do what works best for you and your family.
Jennifer Hogan
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
Personally,, I would not place a TV over the fireplace, but it isn't my place to tell anyone else where to put their TV. Their house, their choice. Just don't do it in your home if you don't like a TV over the fireplace.

In my last home I had all of the TVs mounted high on the wall. Not because I necessarily liked the TV that high, but I adopted a 120 lb dog that attacked the TV when there were animals on the screen. Broke 3 TVs the first weekend he was in our home.

Every home needs to function well for the way people live in their home. For me, giving a 4 year old dog who was slated for euthanasia a loving home was more important than having the TV at a better viewing angle.

My house, my choice.
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Where is your family room TV? Over Fireplace TV?
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Comments (15)
I have one over a fireplace, and I love it. the rest of that wall is windows, so it was the only spot. My fireplace is gas, and there are clear guidlines about the clearence from combustibles and the like. There are heat concerns. It's commonly stated that you can't have the TV on when the temp there is 95 degrees. Easy for me to monitor, I just keep the fireplace remote there, sometimes programed to turn off the fire when the area hits that. If the fireplace is woodburning, controling the heat could be a problem and you might simply have to turn the tv off sometimes. I suspect that the 95 is a purely random number, though. Lots of homes get that hot, and we haven't heard many reports in the media about flat screens failing from it. To me, watching the fire or watching the tv are different activities that I rarely want to do at the same time. I love having the fire on for conversation, reading, playing a game, and those are times I'd rather have the TV off anyway. We do burn the fire to take the chill off the room on movie nights, but at a pretty low level. As to veiwing angle: it's about 5 ft above the floor, and the seating is about 12 feet back. It seems a little odd if you are used to a conventional set just inches off the floor, but you quickly adapt. It isn't at all uncomfortable for me or any of my family [so far as anyone has ever mentioned], and the kids and dogs don't block the screen everytime they walk by. Overall, I think its a good solution for many rooms. Just be sure to plan for power and signal up there: you don't want a lot of visible wires.
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Comments (15)
I ran 120 outlet and next to it a good size conduit for everything else. And that is what I recommend if you are keeping entertainment devices in an alcove near the TV or within 15'. We had composite, component and one HDMI going through the conduit, but when our new TV came with three hdmi we switched cables in the conduit. If you place connector plates for HDMI, you may as well place three, and that is expensive, can introduce problems signal degradation (yes even digital signals can have problems from too many connections, and HDMI is famously hinky sometimes) We have cat5e from our home server and network distro going to our alcove next to our fireplace where a switch then distributes to WDTV Live, wii, and xbox. they variously feed audio to our receiver and a/v to the TV. we also have wires coming though the conduit to the TV for wii bar, center speaker, and RG6. there is also optical from the TV to the receiver to move 5.1 for live TV. For example if i was installing plates, a couple of years ago I would have needed composite to feed video camera and now I do that DNLA from my phone to my home network to the WDTV to watch videos I shot from my phone on the TV. Without a conduit we would be saddled with regularly changing needs and permanent obsolete hookups. Conduit for non 120 applications is code, and gives you flexibility. Just make sure it is wicked wide (ours is 3" diameter) so you have no trouble fishing cable heads through. It will be behind the TV and no one will ever see it, if you or future owner want to remove the end and cover it with a drywall patch a 3" hole is pretty manageable. I echo the thoughts against expensive cables, they are mostly overpriced and almost never better. I use monoprice.com
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Comments (18)
Would you consider at least getting a smaller TV? It's massive for your room. If you're keeping it, then please don't put it over the fireplace. You need another focal point. Instead, find a beautiful square art work for over the fireplace to pull the eye away from the screen. Get drapes for the window, again to balance out the huge dark pieces taking up almost all the visual space: TV, big leather sofas.Beverly's layout seems the best since it opens up some space for your passageways on the right.
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Comments (22)
We have our TV mounted over the mantel, which is pretty high. We just tilted it downwards fairly steeply, and it works for us. None of us have had any discomfort. We also use the fireplace, and there's plenty of room to make sure the TV doesn't feel the heat. I'm not sure we'd make this choice permanently for aesthetic reasons, but it works for the few years we'll be here.
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PRO
JAN MOYER
3 months ago
Are you watching tv in the home of another? No? No worries!
arcy_gw
3 months ago
TV have become sooo LARGE it's about the only option people find "easily". I think it says more about the NEED for the fireplace in the room than the TV. I don't think people who really use their fireplace find this a working solution.
la_la Girl
3 months ago
Frame TVs and excellent mounting systems can help it look a bit more refined and be lowered for easier viewing
Lake house · More Info
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 months ago
IMO frame TVsdo not fool anyone they place what is supposed to be art at the wrong height over a TV. I never like TV and the FP in the same space so when helping clients with new homes i try to have a FR and LR ond the LR has the FP for a nice adult conversation visiting space and the kids can still use the FR. The ram TV below negates the use of the FP BTW. We have never had a TV in our LR always had a space for TV somehwere else even a spare bedroom once .
Kat M
3 months ago
No one ever mentions the heat from the fireplace. Not good for any electronics.
PRO
JAN MOYER
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
The tv and fire have been competing focal points for decades.

Everyone wants to sit facing dead on to both

Everyone wants the couch to essentially be a bed

Everyone wants the so called family room, to be the MEDIA room.....or your local 10 venue movie theater.

The mantel diverts heat from the tv. Don't wring a hand.

The art tv, for the &^%%$$ LAST time P.C, is not and never was, intended to fool anyone. It's to avoid a big black hole staring back at you when no programming is desired. Please get on to this fact..

Live how you want to live.....and

Personally? I've been watching 42 inches for a couple decades, it fits the room. The programming and news is the same on 142 inches. Most of it, not great. lol
PRO
Sorell Interiors
3 months ago
Too broad of a statement. Generally, I don't think it is a good idea to install a TV over a fireplace but it really depends upon the space and the inhabitants requirements/needs.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
I'd never want to do it because I've experienced bad neck pain from trying to watch the one @ my sister's house. Their fireplace isn't a working one, and they rent, so it isn't going anywhere, and yes, there didn't seem like any other place for them to locate it.

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