Hm, that never occurred to me to make the whole wall slatted because I assumed the TV needed a flat wall behind it to attach the hardware. What do you guys all think of Patricia’s idea? Do you think it will look better with slats all the way across behind the TV, and not just as a detail next to the open shelves? Originally, the slats were intended to be 40” wide on the left for the cabinet, and 40” wide on the right for the open shelving.

My vote is to stick with your original plan as you show it in your basement design post above. It ’feels’ like if the entire wall is slatted it’s too much. The expanse of flat wood next to the flat stone of FP section gives the eye a rest & I think creates the opportunity to hang art above the TV. Art being either a sculptual metal piece or a framed image. I’ll think about it more & wait for others to weigh in but for now, I vote no slats in that section. I would ask the question if slats could be added later if you have a change of heart. That might give you flexibility. You could also add them in your design plan just to get a better visual - can you do that?

Thanks, KW. I would love to hear if anyone else has an opinion about continuing the slats all the way across or not. Here’s today’s progress. Sides of the fireplace installed! And now they’re gone again. People ask me how it’s possible the renovation is not done yet. Well, when you do tiny bits each day, and only work or once or twice a week…

Boy that’s looking wonderful LB! After seeing the current view just posted I am sticking with my vote to stay with your original plan. The flat wall of wood is pretty - look at the design in the grain. You won’t see that with the slats. Another point that wasn’t obvious to me when looking at your design drawing is the dimensional look of the FP stone. You’ll lose much of that if slats are on both sides of the FP won’t you? The left side has slats on the closed storage doors & the right side stone will sit proud of the wall a bit more - is that right? I would want to keep that look.

ETA: meant to say that your install crew must be the type that needs to let projects ”cure” between phases. My DH is like that - as in when asked why a project for which all the parts have been obtained hasn’t yet been started, the stock answer is that the parts need to ”cure”. 🙄

Actually, that’s a good question, KW. The flat wood wall is set back 8” from the fireplace stone. So the slatted opening shelving section to the right of that will only be set back 7” because the slats are 1” thick. What do you recommend for the left side - should the finished slats be at the same depth as the right side, at 7” depth. OR - should it be set back to 8” to be even with the depth of the flat wall to the right of the fireplace?

KW, I’m going to start using that excuse when people want to know why I haven’t finished something - I need time to “cure”

We did slats all the way across in our basement. No issues hanging an 85" TV on it.

If you didn't have a huge piece of stone for the fireplace I might say it's fine to do both flat panel & slats, but IMO having 3 different wall treatments on the same wall seems like a lot? Not a pro though. I would pick either slats or flat panel but not both.

Regarding facing depths - if you have baseboard, I would think you would want the baseboard to be at the same place, so I would put the front of the slats in the same plane as the flat wood. I would probably do that regardless, TBH.

ETA: assuming you're furring the wall out and will have studs to mount into, you can mount the TV on the paneling.

That excuse has worked for many years for DH while he was busy with career. Now, in retirement, not so much. But, my younger sister’s DH learned to use the excuse too & now it’s become a family inside joke. 🤣

The wall depths question - I think I’d need to see a mockup IRL to know if the 1” will make a visual difference. The separation between the different wall elements may result in seeing the 1” difference only with up close inspection & then a measuring tape. Plus, the flat wood wall will have TV on it so depth perspective skewed even more. If that’s so, & to the naked eye the differences aren’t seen then it’s nothing to change. Even if the differences can be noted, I think that’s okay too since it would add depth / texture/ interest. If any one piece pushes out past the others I think it should be the FP stone section.

LB - can you edit your post & place your basement design plan in with your initial question? I understand what @anj_p said & her slat wall is beautiful but her space is very different than yours with the strong black & the bar. I don’t know that each poster reads or sees all the comments before offering suggestions. It might be helpful if the final design is easy to find…..

The TV shown in your first comment is too high. Use this calculator* to determine the height and adjust the installation height of the proposed shelf appropriately. You can have whatever wall material you want as the TV won't be attached to it.

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*The rule is that the center of the TV screen should be the same height as your eye when seated.

@KW PNW Z8 my point in posting our basement was just to show a TV mounted on slats, as that was a question the OP posted. I wasn't suggesting she do slats across her whole wall. I do still think that 3 wall treatments is a lot.

I vote for all slats and put the tv on whatever wall is behind it. I agree with @anj-p that three wall treatments is too much for any room. Love the stone.

Good point about the TV height. If they center it on the plug, the middle of TV will be 51” off the floor, not 42” as recommended here. So hopefully they can mount it lower, and still cover that plug. I did have a professional AV company come in to install the cords and stuff behind the wall, so I don’t know why they placed it so high! .
. Thanks for the opinions about the slats - I do have a lot going on in a smallish area with only 7.5’ tall ceiling, and then another material for the 90 degree shoji screen wall to cover the treadmill to the right of the open shelving. I can’t decide if it will look busier with more slats, or flat behind TV, but maybe it could go either way if there isn’t strong consensus that one way is definitely wrong. In the is photo, it shows slats all the way across the wall in front of the treadmill, but now it’s just going to be drywall. The slats in front of the bench are staying.

"Good point about the TV height. If they center it on the plug, the middle of TV will be 51” off the floor, not 42” as recommended here. So hopefully they can mount it lower, and still cover that plug"

A 55" TV is likely to be the smallest TV you'd use. A TV of this size is about 30" tall. One half 30 is 15. The distance between the plug (51) and center of the TV (42) is only 9. Since 15 > 9 then a 55" TV would easily cover the plug -- and a larger TV (e.g., 65", 75", 85") would hide even more of the wall.

Thanks for doing the math, wdcruise! We requested a 55” TV, but it hasn’t been ordered yet so I’ll measure out what a 65” TV looks like on the wall. The TV part of the wall is only about 62” wide, so I’ll have to see how wide a 65 TV is. There was initially a drawing with measurements, but there contractor seems to be winging it as they build, which is kind of disconcerting, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much I can do at this point. I feel so powerless. They only come do work when I scream at them, and then for just a couple days, and they keep saying soon soon soon

@Little Bird - I’m so sorry your contractors are being so difficult. Unfortunately too many of us can relate. 😩

A few minutes ago I was looking at things I had saved on the computer and this thread is the perfect place to post one of them! I actually sent it to my primary care doc when he was starting a big remodel!

"The TV part of the wall is only about 62” wide, so I’ll have to see how wide a 65 TV is."

Here's the typical width of 55", 65", and 75" TVs. The size of the TV should optimally be based on the distance between the viewer and TV.

TV Size / Width / Optimal Distance from viewer

• 55" / 50" / 66"
• 65" / 57" / 78"
• 75" / 66" / 90"

So you could fit a 65" TV but not a 75" model.

Thanks, wdcruise. The total distance from the TV to the back wall is 11 feet, but there’s a baseboard heater so the sofa won’t be that far back. . .
. . Thanks for the empathy, RedRyder and Chispa. I wish I could pull that on my contractor - oh, the check is in the mail, it will be there in a week or two…

Any ideas for this awkward little spot? It’s between the yoga room and the foyer to the bathroom/sauna. It could sort of be a closet, but not much room for a door. Maybe open shelving? I was hoping to buy something simple like this Ikea Kallax unit, because they’re sturdy enough to put hand weights and other exercise stuff on the shelves. But the closet is only 28” wide, and it seems all premade shelving is at least 30” wide. I REALLY don’t want to ask the contractor to make shelves, as that might take him another 2 months to build. Anyone else have other ideas? We will cut down the pipes sticking out of the floor and cover over

This IKEA Besta cabinet is 23-5/8" wide so it would fit.

That Besta shelf is exactly the right size! I thought I might be done, but then I checked the reviews and people complain that it isn’t sturdy and the shelves separate from the sides, so probably can’t use it to hold weights like with the Kallax shelf, which is super sturdy. Maybe I should consider putting a cabinet with a door into the closet? Wishing for an easy fix for this space

Another idea: Closetmaid and/or other closet systems. You can cut wire shelves to the desired length to fit the wall exactly. You can also move the shelves around as needs change.

Thinking about the 40” depth. Most shelving units are 12” - 18” deep. Will that depth make it a step in type of closet to access the shelves?

What kind of weights are you wanting to store?

I would look at wall mounted options in that space, not shelves.

After reading @anj_p comment I searched “storage ideas for exercise equipment”. Lots of free standing shelving at reasonable prices to store weights, mats, balls etc etc on Etsy, Azon etc etc. Take a look at that LB. Maybe that’s the way to go & would more efficiently use the 40” depth of that space. It looks like the space is hidden from view so maybe it doesn’t need a door. Finish the floor with extra carpet cut to fit & either paint or wallpaper the walls. Run the shelving along the 40” depth on one side & have hanging hooks on the other side for towels, bands etc.

@KW PNW Z8 Yep, we basically have a wall mounted gym in our house, so I'm very familiar with searching out storage solutions that minimize floor space! Our free weights are in a floor rack (DH lifts stupid heavy weights so we have everything up to 75 lbs I think?too many for a wall rack) but the rest of our equipment is mounted to the wall.

@anj_p Yikes - heavy weights! I imagine the wall needs extra supports to hold those weights - more than making sure the hangers are bolted into studs. I was looking at free standing weight racks such as seen in gyms. Both ideas give options other than standing shelving which might make it hard to find items on the shelves if each shelf isn’t given lots of head room to see what’s on the shelf. Heavy weights would need to be on lower shelves too.

Hi anj_p and KW. Thanks for the weight rack ideas. That might be the most sturdy option for my husband’s weights. I haven’t even asked him what weights he wants to use at home. I only use those little 2, 4, 6 pound weights during aerobic fitness, so mine would be small enough to fit on a shelf. We completely ignored the existence of this space while planning, but when they removed the broken bi-fold door I realized that it’s actually a pretty big closet that we should make use of. I wish we could just knock it down, but there is a lot of plumbing and about 5 different cement floor heights around it. Thanks for all the good tips!

Don't try to hang a weight rack on the wall. There's a tendency to sort of drop a free weight on a rack when returning it. That could rip a rack right off the wall.

I don't know why you'd want to put free weight in there. You can't exercise in that closet -- it's too narrow -- and it would be inconvenient to have to carry weights from the room, use them, and then return them.

The room may be too narrow for shelves on a 40" wall. If shelves were 12" deep, you'd have only 16" in front of the rack to move. You'd probably have to slide into the room sideways!

I'd mount an outswing door with a left-side hinge.

The LG OLED65C3PUA is a CR-recommended 65" TV. It has excellent reviews elsewhere too.

Thanks, wdcruise. Hm, if that isn’t a great place to store weights…maybe I should put a drink fridge in there? I feel like I should make use of the space, but it might be too tight to walk into. I suppose I could put a book shelf right in the front, so it’s not a reach in anymore

LB - make some mockups with tape & boxes for shelf units & styles that might interest you. With the mockup you can get a better feel for how much wiggle room you have with the various options. If it’s equipment storage each person in your family should try it out for size. Literally! 😊

Haha, KW, my kids and I can shimmy into the tightest places, but I’ll have to get my husband try it out too

LB - I know the results of being the one who can get into - & back out of - tight spaces. Not good feeling to have all eyes on you! 🤣 Thing is though that at 5’4” I don’t have a really long reach. You don’t have that either I think.

I really don't think those wall mounted weight racks are a bad idea. I mean, look at how heavy TV's are. I asked about what weights you're going to have because obviously the heaviest ones won't work on those, but most of the normal sizes would. And they shouldn't stuck out more than the size of the weight. Food for thought.

Yes the hardware will be massive and you better have a decent stud finder.

anj_p: "look at how heavy TV's are."

I checked a few 65" TVs and the heaviest was <60 lbs. But that's static weight, not dynamic weight that's going to be repeatedly lifted off and dropped back on the rack.

"obviously the heaviest ones won't work on those, but most of the normal sizes would."

There would be multiple weights and the rack would have to support all of them simultaneously and not fail under the stress of dynamic weights.

Maybe the solution is to open up the left-hand or right-hand wall to make this a 40"-wide closet accessible from one side or the other -- and then close up the <28" doorway from the hall.

Ok, so TVs are a bad example.

We have a pullup bar installed on the wall - that goes into 2 studs but DH weighs 220 so you're getting 110 lbs dynamically plus eccentric load on it. We also have this plate rack from PRX.

So YMMV I guess, or your comfort level for what you want to install on your walls, but 3 years in we have had no problems.

I agree, though that opening the closet up from another direction would be better than anything else.

So, I may have mislead you guys into think that I am doing those kinds of weights, just because I used to be a firefighter. This is more of a wellness center in my basement - we are talking ballet barre, light hand weights, treadmill, yoga studio. So don’t worry, I will take proper precautions if it turns out my husband actually wants to use real weights (which we don’t own yet). . . .
. . . I just saw these stackable boxes from Ikea. The width of 2 boxes side by side is 27.5 - just shy of the 28 space I have, so it might help the sides to not separate if I push them right against the walls and also use a half inch spacer to brace them. Then I could store things like towels, mini weights, aromatherapy type of stuff in a display sort of way. Not sure yet if I will pull these to the front, and waste the storage space behind, or push to the back and my husband will just have to shimmy in if he wants anything!

Great idea LB! Assume these are stackable with no issues. If you push the boxes to the back you could install hooks on both sides for towels, bands, clothing etc. You’d also have floor room in front of the boxes for some kind of stool to use reach contents of top boxes depending on how high you stack them.

KW, good tip about the stool! You know I’m a tiny person, so I can never reach anything! But if the firefighters needed someone to crawl up those little ceiling attic access holes, I am the one!

We have one of those that we use for towels that we wall mounted, so that's an option too (in case stacking isn't sturdy enough).

So they applied whatever stain to make the wood veneer panels less pink, and I think it truly is not as red now. BUT! The left panel is still pinker than the right, and there’s that weird light stripe from sanding. What do you guys think? This looks kind of terrible, right? Especially if this section of the TV wall wasn’t supposed to have the wood slats over it. I am thinking…there’s no way they will ever make the left side match the right side. What to do?? To make it even more complicated, the contractor is out of town this week, and it’s just the painter subcontractors there. It took them like 2 days just to put the wood veneer boards up, so they’ll probably refuse to do it over again. But at the same time…I can’t accept this as the finished wall, right?

Actually, now that it has dried overnight, there light stripe is not as apparent. So maybe the problem solved itself! Now I’m questioning my original design of putting that heavy wood beam across the bottom of the TV and overlapping the open shelving area. Is it too heavy looking? Instead of an 8”x8” beam, should I just have a skinnier 8”x1” plank going across the face? Not jutting out 8”?

What size will the 2 shelves on right of the slats be? The 8” tall x 8” deep plank under TV is meant to mimic a look of console & ’ground’ the TV? Is there a thought to sitting items on it anywhere along its length? Maybe at least under the 2 shelves section?

Oh good, I’m so glad you’re here KW! So the two shelves are meant to be just hefty enough, so maybe 2” height? Unless you think something else would look better. Yes, the wood beam is intended to tie together the flat TV section and the slatted shelf section, and to visually have a “base” for the TV. The fireplace is 8” forward of the TV wall, so we were originally thinking an 8” wide beam to bring it to same level as the fireplace stone. But now I’m wondering if that’s too much bulk? We weren’t going to put anything on the beam. Is an 8” tall flat plank enough to serve the purpose of tying the two sections together and “ground” the TV? Or will that be too flimsy looking? There is another purpose for the beam - the slatted section under the open shelves will be a removable face - behind it is a cavity for the Xbox. . . Oh! Just thought of something - should the wood beam be the same skinny height as the 2 shelves, and not 8” tall?

Hm, skinny looks flimsy?

Agree that skinny looks flimsy. The long beam matching the depth of the FP stone makes sense IMO. I think it will be a ’cleaner’ look for that edge where the stone & wood plank meet. I think the addition of the beam will do exactly what you want it to do ”wood beam is intended to tie together the flat TV section and the slatted shelf section, and to visually have a “base” for the TV” The Xbox cover will be the slatted section below the beam? Just checking I understand that. The beam on the shelf side creates the nice odd number decorators favor - looks like 3 shelves. The 8” depth of the beam & the height of space between it & shelf above also gives you options for sitting something tall & decorative or pot of greenery in the space.

Thanks, KW! I think you’re right; I’ll go with the thicker beam in the original plan. The painters are here this week, and ideally they would stain all the wood at the same time, but as you can see, the cabinet and shelf section aren’t built yet. Really hoping the contractor will return next week to finish building this wall! I ordered a sofa that was estimated to take as long as May, but it’s already in production so could arrive in a month. So they need to get a move on it and install the carpet too so the furniture has a place to go!

LB, I’ve learned that when working on projects requiring depence on others to meet deliverables and deadlines the appropriate expectation is to ”Hurry up and wait”. 🤭