apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would not say that # 1, 2, 4 and 8 are NOT successful layouts. How uncomfortable is it to sit in those chairs or at those angles. Give me a comfortable sofa to sit in with the TV in front of me so I don't end up with an aching B-hind or neck!

It completely depends on the reality of the way you live, not the way you wished you lived. So if you mostly watch tv and only sometimes entertain, why then, put the damn tv in front of your couch. It's silly to "de-emphasize" the tv when you watch it every day.

The living room was always arranged around the television in my house growing up.

I put mine in a corner between a window and wall and angled the seating toward it. That way, it's not the first thing you see when you walk into the room. The wall is covered with a lot of artwork too, so even when you're facing the television, there's something else to look at.

I think it's fine to arrange a room around a TV if you watch it pretty often. The key is to choose a TV that isn't going to dominate everything else and to minimize all the TV-related stuff (audio equipment, stacks of DVDs, wires, gaming systems, and whatever you do, avoid big wall units, which tend to draw attention to the TV).

I don't want to be a bore, but in half of the layouts you're showing, the TV's look more like computer screens or breakfast TV's - there's really no problem disguising those!

Now try to hide a 46" Panasonic in a stylish way, and I am you forever fan!

I like what Maxine did with the TV in 6, It's there but it's not the focal point and it look comfortable to watch when you watch. I went in and read the original post because I was concerned about the tv over the radiator. I would suggest putting a metal plate or some sort of metal siding lining the underside of the TV and the back of the radiator to push the heat out into the room and away from the TV. also putting a thin, but insulated blanket or cloth on the surface to absorb the heat from the table so that it does not go directly to the TV.

@ Petra: I agree! Those televisions look like toys compared to the oversized 52 inch big screen that we have in my 1-bedroom NYC apartment. Most of those designs, I feel are folks that have a den and/or extra room.

I would love to see apartmenttherapy show off a design that showcases tv's that are over 32". The designs, however aesthetically pleasing it may be, seem so unrealistic. And for all those nay-sayers on my large tv, 52" is practical when you're watching football

The only one I find feasible is the third picture - and maybe the fifth. In every other one, the TV is either too small to see from so far away or it's put into a corner that you'd have to sit sideways to see it.

fran3183 -- I have a 32 inch lcd tv and I can watch football on it excellently. But the width of my living room is only 11 feet.

I like #5. #2 looks like it has a high chance of falling, especially if a child or pet lives in the home. We have a 50 inch plasma which is in your face, all the time. I hardly notice it anymore, except when it is turned on...

I was watching a design show, and the designer said something to the effect of "we all have televisions, why should everyone see them?" I say, WTF? We all have sofas/chairs in our living room, why should we see those? We all have ovens in our kitchens, we should we see those? It's ridiculous. It's 2009, a ton of people have televisions. Why go to great lengths to hide it or de-emphasize it? Sure, if you don't watch a lot of television, great! Hide it, buy an armoire for it, hang it on the wall and cover it with a pretty picture, etc. But for regular viewers, why hide it? Embrace the television! Sure, it doesn't have to be the star of the room, but that doesn't mean it should be hidden, like it's completely taboo and forbidden.

I love my 52" TV too much to hide it. And I'm not ashamed to say it. So there!

I hate having a huge TV in our apartment, but we do watch it, and there's really no good place to put it due to the odd layout of our living room. I agree that most of these TVs are already small and easy to hide...what about our 36"? We've considered wall mounting it, even hanging it from our stairs (the vibration from people on the stairs would probably damage it though). *sigh*...it's just there.

The projector idea is interesting - it'd be cool if you hung an empty frame on that wall, which would go around the projected image when the TV was in use, and help the wall be not-so-bare when it's not being watched.

I do watch TV, probably a couple of hours a day, but I feel that a television (and all electronics, really) is just so aesthetically UN-pleasing that I prefer to keep it out of view when not in use.

No TV = No issue with where to put the TV! When we want to watch something, we just pop our laptop on the coffee table. But we're not big watchers (once every week, maybe once every other week), so our way may not work for everyone.

#8 is my old apartment. Normally I would lay down and watch tv - no weird angle issues, unless my boyfriend/now husband was over and we had to share the couch. In my/our new place, the "baby tv" aka my smaller tv is wall mounted on a retractable arm in the kitchen and his (larger) television is in the main living area. I can watch cooking shows and the news while in the kitchen and the "man room" has the large tv, dvd player, speakers adjusted "just right'. TV watching is different for everyone, I guess. Watching movies with the tv in front IS much better... --Tara :)

We've got a very small black flat-screen tucked on a shelf in our black bookcase. You can't even see it when it's off.

In #2, there is a sofa across from the credenza so it's more comfy than it looks but the TV is still off to the side.

In the Chelsea reno, the way the room is shot, it looks much longer than it may actually be as it is now, it looks like the TV is way across the room and barely big enough for it, now if a 36-42", then I think it'd be OK size wise if the distance is quite great, otherwise, a 32" would suffice.

My living space is roughly 9x11, taken into account the hall and the slider's positions in the otherwise long room, my 32" TV is perfect size wise for my viewing although a 38" might be fine too but anything larger would be simply too big for the space. My couch, BTW, is right across from the TV and the TV is also about the same height as the couch so it's a straight on viewing, which is where I like it. :-)

Here's the wall mounted tv (LOVE it!):
http://cohabit8ing.blogspot.com/2009/01/at-last.html

and the article that inspired me to do it:

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/concealing-electronics?&lpgStart=1&currentslide=1&currentChapter=1#ms-global-breadcrumbs

(Thanks Martha!) --Tara

What about solutions for people with older TVs, i.e. not flat screens? I have my 13" in a microwave cart so I can move it around and since it is not on top of the cart, it is not the first thing I see when I enter the room which made a big difference for me. I do not like having my TV be the center of attention.

I just don't get all this tv anxiety. Most of us watch tv. Lots of tv. So instead of hiding the tv and pretending we sit around reading Proust all evening, why not put the tv in a sensible spot that makes viewing comfortable. The "tv? what tv?" trend is about as annoying as the fake book trend. Set up your house for the way you live, not for the way you want your neighbors to think you live.

Point taken, though perhaps there are some who like watching TV, but don't like how their TV looks. Many of them are just these big, black rectangles that don't really fit into most decorating schemes.

#3 is the only one that really looks comfortable to me. Personally, I love watching TV but don't like the look of a big TV in the living room. We're fortunate to have a small, windowless so-called extra bedroom that we use as our TV room. To me, that's the ideal solution.

PhillyLass - AMEN!!!

It's freaking annoying how many people care so much about how others see their places instead of their own comfort. If people are in my home, they do have to realize it is MY home and I arranged things to be sensible for MY daily life.

Embrace your TV. It's a fact of life for the majority of folks. The new flat screens, even the 52 inches, with some well placed black-framed art around them almost disappear. If you feel you must hide it OK but honestly what's the point. Put it somewhere you can comfortably watch it for goodness sake. Relax and enjoy.

I agree with ricestein --- I don't have a TV. I haven't had one for about 7 years and it works just fine for me. But I understand that it's not for everyone and I definitely DO have my own "brain dead" time that replaces many people's TV time: I surf the internet or watch netflix movies on my laptop.

PhillyLass - your line about Proust made my day :)

Seriously, people should stop acting ashamed of their TV. That would be the first step to admitting that the TV is, for many people, a piece of furniture equally as important as a sofa or a table - and if this could happen, designers might start looking at TVs as something worth improving, to be more beautiful than just the standard black/gray lumps available now.

I don't think the issue is about being ashamed of your TV. Like a few others mentioned, I don't love how our black, shiny box of technology looks among our antiques. This would likely be less of an issue if I had a more sleek, modern style.

But I also don't want to arrange living room furniture in such a way that it discourages conversation. If all the seating faces the TV rather than the other seating, you'll feel like you have no choice by to turn it on. My living room is arranged in such a way that the sofa has a comfortable view of the television (among other focal points) and the side chairs are arranged perpendicular to it. Then if we want to watch, you can turn the chairs ever so slightly to get a more comfortable view.