I've seen TVs wall-mounted over fireplaces but it would probably be too high for comfort. Our neighbors have their flatscreen on a low stand that is on casters, so it is stowed in a corner and they can pull it out and put it in front of the fireplace only when they want to watch it (probably depending on how often you watch TV).

I would mount it over the fireplace. It's too hard to tell whether the angle would be too high without seeing what kind of furniture you had. There are also mounts where you can swivel it away from the wall and lower the TV, so at least when you were using it, you could lower it a little if you find it too high.

Given the lack of solid wallspace, I think this is the most reasonable option. I get what your friend is saying about keeping the TV off to the side, but to me that's just ignoring that it's there at all and casting it off into a corner. Not to mention that you would still need to angle your furniture in a way so that you could still watch TV. If you don't use it enough to properly make it part of a room, get rid of it entirely. If you do use it enough, putting it off to the side is just going to make it really hard for anyone on the far end of the room to watch the TV, and it's going to look like an afterthought, which would draw more attention to its presence.

I was going to suggest the TV over the fireplace, too. I know lots of people hate this, but I've seen it done in houses with small children, and it worked really well. We have two young boys and have our TV mounted on the wall above a console. I also moved the furniture back against the walls and removed our coffee table, for now, so there's as much floor play space as possible. That might not work in your space, but it does look like you have quite a bit of room for your little one to play. It's a lovely apartment. :)

If you put the TV along the wall to left of fireplace, is there room for a sofa facing it? You would see the back of the sofa upon exiting the elevator. Then the space in front of fireplace could be another sitting/play area. Just get a smaller sofa/settee for that area do some small movable tables instead of a large coffee table. We had the space in front of our sofa empty when our twins were babies, then added a coffee/art/play table when they got a bit older.

If you don't have a sectional, you could fit a play area in front of the windows with some storage tucked to the right of the fireplace. You could probably fit some low, kid-accessible shelving (bench style with pillows on top?) under the windows too.
On the floor plan, it looks like there is quite a bit of space to the left of the fireplace, could you fit an office for your husband there? You could create a low "wall" extending from the wine cooler/closet thing using dressers or shelving accessible from the "office". That would make the office accessible from the foyer but open to the living room and give you a more defined living room space. The TV could sit on a low stand in front of that wall or in the same spot where it is right now (just on a lower stand), visible from the couch but not the office.
Or how about you mount the TV on the wall opposite of the windows and put some chairs in front of it that can be turned around easily to face the fireplace/windows? In that case, the office would have to be in the bedroom.
All if this is so hard to explain without being able to draw the floor plan. Hope it makes sense and gives you some ideas.
I never like TVs mounted above fireplaces, I always think they are too high to view comfortably and they really dominate the room. Plus you will have to hook up all of those random wires (unless you get real fancy with a wireless system) and keep your cablebox, etc somewhere else.

This is a really beautiful apartment, congratulations!
I would personally do as your friend suggests: Make a smaller seating arrangement with TV in the smaller part of the living room (to the side of the fireplace) and have a larger seating arrangement, play space and dining area between the fireplace and kitchen. I'm sorry, I have no idea where your husband's office is going to fit. I like HHRI's idea of the low shelving/bench seating in front of the windows.

Could a tv fit on the wall where the wine fridge and closet are? I am envisioning a sectional in the corner that you face when you walk in that would face a tv on that wall. It seems like it would be cozy and comfortable over there and not compete with the fireplace or glare from windows.

Then, I would set up a large, dining area between the kitchen and fireplace with extra comfortable chairs so it would be nice to sit there too. If the nook to the right of the fireplace is large enough, a custom fit desk could fit nicely there, and then a paired bookshelf on the other side of the fireplace could hold stereo, books, etc and balance everything out. Something along the lines of a couple of these on either side of the fireplace (perhaps with more closed shelving if needed.) http://www.cb2.com/office-furniture/office/helix-white-oak-70%22-wall-mounted-desk/f7542

Are you looking specifically for a TV room? Also is that an island or a pillar/closet in the middle of the living area right by the entry?? Thanks!

I'm looking for a new apt in So. Harlem! Where is this apt? I love the kitchen!

Am I reading your apt layout correctly? Your fireplace is both gas and wood burning? If it's wood burning, putting a TV above it may not be a good idea for fear of smoke or temperature damage. Also, it would be hard to hide the wires not to mention mount it since you'd have to work around the chimney . I'm also going to assume that the cable connections and outlets are are to the left of the fireplace since the previous owner had their TV there. I say keep it to the left of the fireplace. If you can find a storage unit that is baby/kid friendly (i.e., keeps wires and equipment out of reach of curious little fingers), even better. I've seen units where you can pull the tv out and swivel it. I would then place a sofa facing the fireplace and two arm chairs in front of the windows. The sofa will act as a barrier between the living area and kitchen (to help guide baby/toddler/kid away from the kitchen when mommy or daddy are cooking). The playroom will be your entire apartment (ha!) ... Good versatile toy storage is key. I'm not sure what kind of tech equipment your husband requires but the corner to the left of the fireplace would be ideal if the Internet cable is there as well as in the bedroom if he needs privacy when working.

Really beautiful apartment - love it! One thing that has helped us keep our condo child-friendly (we have a 2.5 year old and lots of small children near-by) is placing a bookcase on either side of the fireplace. The higher shelves are for videos, dvds, and books we like to read. Lower shelves are for toddler books, puzzles, and baskets of other toys. Ikea has some great bookcases with many different looks, according to your taste. I agree with keeping the T.V. in the corner away from the windows. Some small bean bags or pillows that can be thrown on the ground will make for comfortable viewing for the kids. Do what works for you (functionally speaking) and it will come together, with a little tweeking here and there. Best of luck!

South Harlem? Where is that pray tell?

Don't mount the TV over the fireplace unless you have no plans to ever use the fireplace. Personally I'd put a small table with a couple chairs close to the kitchen for a dining area. I would likely keep the TV to one side of the fireplace (maybe the opposite side) and try to arrange furniture to feature both to make for comfortable viewing and showoff the windows. On the other side of the living room (opposite of elevator) I'd do a home office. A cabinet/hutch/bookshelf with some baskets of toys should fit fine in the foyer......then the living area is just also the play area as long as you keep the toys picked up. There's no reason why extra toys can't be in the kid's room.

Thanks to Regina for posting my question. Thank you also to everyone who left comments and suggestions. This apartment is a condo and we are renting it for a year so most likely we won't be mounting the TV above the fireplace especially since it'll be too high for us to view comfortably. We almost went with positioning the TV against the wine/closet wall but unfortunately there are no outlets. Since it's a rental we don't want to spend a ton of money on furniture so first things first; we'd like to purchase a large dining room table and chairs. We currently eat off little benches that double as a coffee table so having an actual eating area will soon be a luxury. We are located right near Morningside Park so if you have kids and are looking for a new spot, it's a great location especially for the value of the amount of space we have in relation to how expensive Chelsea is getting where we were previously. The fireplace is both gas and wood. We also thought about adding a small kitchen island, then have table and chairs next to it in the living dining area. It's a full floor so our baby has plenty of space in his own room although for now we want the play area in the living room so I can keep an eye on him. Thanks again for all the helpful comments.

posting the floor plan really is helpful (we wonder about the architect of a gut rehab who manages to do/keep a wbfp but neglects to place the kitchen across from the elevator). this type of layout may do better with 2 loveseat-sized sofas flanking wbfp instead of one big sofa, and a table, maybe oval, that has leaves, rather than a big immovable table. the bookshelves flanking the wbfp w/the tv in one of them may work, esp if the loveseat facing the windows instead is 2 swivel club chairs. rugs would define zones. it's harlem, btw; south harlem & soha are inventions of real estate agents, not residents, it's bushwick, too, not williamsburgh east, and when agents refer to south brooklyn as bo-co-ca, well, just sound that out!

I asked for comments on the floor plan and layout of where I should place furniture ; not comments on the political aspects of Harlem by AMISDOTTIR. If you are going to complain about neighborhoods in Manhattan who have been overtaken by real estate developers go somewhere else; not on a friendly design oriented site where I asked for feedback on placement of furniture rather than hearing your negative thoughts on a neighborhood.