apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's hard to say, with the angle of the photo, but I'd move the mirror. Leaning on a wall is one thing, leaning into a corner looks awkward.

Can you paint? Maybe painting the wall behind the TV might give that space some impact, without kitsching it up.

And the snake plant isn't helping. It's not dreadful, but it's random.

Great credenza. Your floors are really nice too.
I have a similar set-up. I have a long vertical mask on one side and a small print on the other. I don't think the wall cries out for anything, but if you have a small piece needing a home, it would work.

OMG, I am having the exact same dilemma! My wall seems a lot longer than yours, though. My TV is smack in the middle of a 3 section low bookshelf. Right now, I have a floor lamp in one corner and a plant on a stand in the other. The area above the bookshelf on either side of my TV looks bare, however. Now I have a series of bamboo and a statue on one side, and a *lovely* antenna on the other. I will be interested to see what other people suggest.

I have a similar set up and have not done anything yet, but plan to put a lack shelf above the TV to store DVDs. I will cover all of the DVD cases with white paper and write the titles on them with a black Sharpie. It adds a little something and provides some storage with out being anything too dramatic to take away from the design that is already there.

If you have seen American Beauty and remember the guy's room where he has a wall of his DVDs/Videos you can get a better idea. I definitely don't want a whole wall, but would take that idea and run with it!

I agree w/ Palmetto - Move the mirror so that it's flat against one wall.

For above the TV - Why not place a row of personal 8x10 Black and White photographs identically framed?

Ditch the mirror. Keep the wall calm. Less, less, less.

I like the credenza too.

I would not make the TV such a focal point, juts move it over to the right (facing picture direction) and add some nice sculptures, small statues a few black pieces that you like next to the TV on the left, nothing overwhelming but black seems to work. ..please get rid of that plant! Then move that mirror just because it seems cool to lean a mirror on a wall this is not the place especially at a corner and only to reflect some picture frames.
Find a piece of art that you like and simply position it on the wall left side of credenza and call it a day.

bepsf--or take a lot of photos of different programmes on the TV screen, and then frame those and hang them. Make people guess which is the real TV.

I crack myself up!

I have a similar setup (although, where the mirror is, instead there is a doorway). What I did was put up a long floating shelf with some minimal pieces on it. Not sure how well it would work in your space, but it really hit the spot in mine.

I'd recommend losing the mirror and the plant, painting the wall (if possible), and replacing the mirror with a bookcase or a tall plant on the same wall as the credenza. I don't think art or anything else would work. Good luck and let us see the finished product, please!

NO!

aside from the mirror and/or plant suggestions what about wall mounting the tv?

Very nice credenza.

Color.

Leave it alone until you stumble across art or whathaveyou that screams "I must live over the credenza!"

Honestly it's fine the way it is.

If you're set on using the mirror, remember that it's going to reflect whatever's on the opposite wall. You've got a lot of detail going on with just the reflection- keep it simple.

If it were my space, I would swap the mirror for something a little softer and less harshly angular. A decorative chair? The lower height and curved shape of a chair could allow you to use a large canvas above your credenza- the angles and sizes wouldn't compete. I think that a huge modern piece (maybe even a solid color) would be a great statement. Plus, it would be the focal point rather than the tv- but it wouldn't be a busy backdrop for your fave shows.

Leave it alone. Its hard to make anything look 'special' when it is hugging a TV. Less is always more and you have a very nice arrangement with the cadenza, plant, and TV

I think it looks clean and simple -- but I'd still add a little punch. http://www.flickr.com/photos/70191341@N00/sets/72157614168081456/

I like the idea of putting a comfy chair there which I imagine might round out your seating arrangement. It also would probably be a nice place to admire the artwork on the other walls and enjoy the light coming in.

I think painting that wall would be a good idea if you can.

I like the arrows. ^_^

We have a similar set-up. I moved the TV to the far right of our credenza, then 'decorated' around it: a stack of coffee table type books on the left with a small pot of ivy, and some small framed photos on the right in front of the tv (they are so small they do not block tv viewing at all). It made our tv seem less random and more part of the design of the room.

We have a 6 fooot teak credenze very similar to yours and we mounted the TV above it and then have a vintage globe and some framed photos on the credenza and everything else inside. It looks clean and simple. I think art would look awkward with the TV - just my opinion. Oh, and I agree to move the mirror, it looks odd leaning in a corner.

God, I was going to write and ask the SAME thing. I mean, it's not hard to imagine that with everybody having flat-screen tv's and low credenzas that we all have the same problem. I even have the salon style pictures on the opposite wall too! Just means we all have great taste.

I think you should rest your mirror against the flat wall and use the corner for a big plant (palm) w/a low light for a large affect. Maybe move the tv over and place sculpture/vase. Finally for the problem wall, perhaps a long shelf to display artwork, vase, basket for added storage. Hope this helps.

Personally I think it looks fine now. However, if you want a change, I would paint the wall a bold color, move the television over to the right a little and replace the mother-in-law's tongue with a tall, architectural-looking plant like bamboo or a tall zz plant. (I do like mother-in-law's tongue; it's supposed to be one of those houseplants that works particularly well at cleaning the air.) I don't think the mirror in the corner looks bad at all, but I would soften it a little by putting a big/tall, soft looking plant in front of it like some kind of palm.

Or you could just re-pot the plant you have in a bold, creative planter for a spot of color.

It looks ok to me as is.

However, if it feels empty to you, you can use the rectangle of the tv as one component in a grouping. Either hang things symmetrically on either side (moving the plant) rfor absolute balance, or move the TV off center on the credenza and put up at least two or three smaller things in a grouping to fill up an approximately equivalent space next to the TV. (One of the things could also sit on the credenza, but if so it needs to be strong enough to make a visual statement -- maybe at least half the height of the tv and dark enough to stand out.)

Since you already have a grouping in the space, though, you might just leave some breathing room there.

oh, we definitely have the same problem with the low credenza & tv. I don't like hiding my tv & media equipment but they are so huge & unaesthetic. I used larger scale art to minimize the big honking speakers, sub & plasma. Here's some photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35613862@N02/
please ignore the clutter & dust on the coffee table. I snapped these photos today very quickly before our weekly cleanup.

And I too have a similar setup. I have a row of three circular, bevel-edged mirrors in a row above the tv table, with the row of mirrors being slightly longer than the tv table. http://www.flickr.com/photos/idontdobeige/3297744853/in/set-72157614189096143/ My room is very small (which means it's hard to photograph) and the mirrors face the window, so they also make the room feel bigger. The mirrors are round kolja mirrors from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40133531).

If my room was bigger I'd have the curtains and the wall contrasting colours (instead of all white) so then the mirrors would reflect a contrasting colour to the wall they're hanging on - this might be an option for you.

I've had a lot of compliments on them, the main one being that they look so good because there are three of them - as if I hadn't noticed that LOL

idontdobeige -- love the colors on the other side of the room! The sofa contrasting pillows curtains art are terrific together.

Did you ever consider pulling some of that color over to the mirror side? If you had sufficient space on the wall, you could hang the mirrors a little further apart, trace them with a pencil, take them down, expand the circles 2 or 3 inches out and paint them in with red, tangerine and blue...like a painted-on "frame" for the mirrors.

Thanks amandacollier. Unfortunately the room really is small, 2.72m by 3m (a bit smaller than 9ft by 10ft), so those three mirrors can't be spaced out any more than they are, and painting the wall itself the kind of colour I like would be too overwhelming in the space. However the mirrors do reflect the coloured pictures on the other wall, which takes the edge off the white.

But I agree that that area needs a colour hit, I think I'll just have to do it with something more colourful on the TV table than the things that are currently there. I've been hunting for a while now, but so far it's proving elusive...

looks lovely as is but what about hanging a very vertical mobile to the right of the mirror?