apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think it depends on how big the TV is. If there is a small TV (say, 14") that's not parked directly in front of the bed, I can handle that. If it's a 52" plasma that takes up an entire wall, then I'm out of there.

It would certainly turn me off it it looked like that! I could deal with one that is descreet (hung on the wall or from the ceiling hospital style) but the one pictured above if absolutely frightening!

It definitely doesnt bother me that there is a TV in my boyfriends bedroom considering i have a single apartment and my living room IS my bedroom. But i will say that at times the TV and his multiple computer/monitor set up does make the room not only hot, but often an annoying distraction from intimacy.

I would be turned off, unless ofcourse the living situation was that there was no other space for the TV other than in the bedroom.

I do love TV but for me there is a time and a place for it, and that doesn't include the peaceful, restful, and on occasion romantic space I want for a bedroom. Plus, um didn't someone recently direct readers here to a study showing your less likely to use the bedroom for another "activity" if there is a TV present?

I said other - I wouldn't chose one myself, but if someone I dated had one it wouldn't be a deal breaker so long as it wasn't huge or on all the time. I agree with Oneformybaby that the multiple computer thing is worse - messy and distracting and reminiscent of work.

There are benefits to the bedroom TV for sure, sometimes I'd love to switch on the news before I get out of bed or curl up in bed and watch a movie, but for me the added clutter and distraction aren't worth it.

I definitely don't like TVs in living rooms but I don't think I'd be turned off by someone just because they had one in their bedroom. I do concur in that if we're talking a TV like the one in the picture than I'd be a little concerned about other person :)

The hyperbole of the photo example is what's a turn off to me. Most people just have a little TV in their bedroom and that's just fine by me. (I have a little red TV myself)

Incidentally, I wouldn't date someone who didn't have a TV at all or who made claims of it being a "necessary evil". Come on already, it's such a cliché to be so anti-TV. Granted, most of the stuff that's on network TV anymore (reality shows, etc.) is annoying, but there are a LOT of channels now that have some interesting stuff going on. I'm burnt out on the whole I'm-too-intelligent-to-watch-TV complaints of people ... You can read books, go the opera AND watch Charlie Rose too.

And anyway, it's a great way to watch films if you don't want to spend a fortune at the cinema. Personally, I do find it romantic to curl up in bed on a Sunday morning with my sweetheart and watch an old film on TCM, but hey ... that's just the apparently uncouth slob in me, I guess.

Of all the potential reasons why no one is dating me, I never thought having a TV in my bedroom might be one of them. :-/ I can see the issue with someone having a behemoth at the foot of the bed, but I see nothing wrong with a small inconspicuous TV. Watching movies in bed is lovely.

All other things being equal, "turn off" would be too strong to describe my reaction. However, if the bedroom were at some point to become my bedroom as well, the TV would absolutely have to go. I'm not opposed for other people or on principle, but it's something I'd have a very hard time living with, myself.

before I got married I always had a tv in my bedroom. I loved to watch movies in bed before I went to sleep, and to watch the weather and news before I actually got out of bed in the morning. I am not against the tv even now, but the bedroom is just to small to have one.

When I first started dating my boyfriend he lived in a tiny house with 4 other roommates. The fact that there was a tv in his bedroom that we could watch together without someone busting in or talking the whole time was a major turn ON.

Now that it's just the two of us in that house, the living room is the only room with a tv. But I think it definitely depends on the situation. It also wouldn't be so bad if the tv had a way of being hidden in the bedroom (in an armoire, perhaps) or somehow matched the decor of the room.

I don't think that anyone really finds a TV in the bedroom "romantic," but in many situations is is practical. That might explain why so many people actually have TVs in the bedroom, but so few would include them in their ideal romantic bedroom -- their ideal romantic bedroom probably wouldn't come with a toddler desperate to watch cartoons, a living room with no way to set up furniture to incorporate a TV, a lot of outside noise that the dulcet tones of that *chung chung* Law and Order noise are so good at covering up, or any of the hundreds of reasons people opt for a TV.

Personally, I have the white 14-inch TV I got for Christmas when I was 16 on my dresser. Did I want it there? Not really. But my boyfriend, who as a young boy viewed a TV in the bedroom as the ultimate luxury, was so excited by the prospect of being able to watch cheesy movies in bed on Sunday mornings that I could hardly say no! Plus, since it has a built-in VCR and my boyfriend would rather die than part with such VHS-only treasures as "Rad," keeping the TV in the bedroom gave us leeway to donate the free-standing VCR that only contributed to that awful visual clutter in the living room.

Anyway, I wouldn't view a TV in the bedroom as a deal-breaker, as long as its default setting was firmly off. I would view a gigantic TV rising up from under the bed like the Kraken from the sea with a bit of suspicion, though.

If someone had a TV, it would not be a turn off.

If someone had that TV, it would be a turn off.

I think Erin K. sums it up best: a small tv tucked away is fine, a huge 52'' tv is not!

I wouldn't love it, but I do accept that most people have and/or want a TV in the bedroom. So I certainly wouldn't eliminate someone from consideration for the offense (but if we ever moved in together, it would have to go).

i can't fall asleep without the TV on since I was 5 years old and would go into my mom's bed and turn it on and then fall asleep! i was relieved that the b/f didn't mind and in the middle of night, while i was sleeping, he would just turn it off.

ugh--that decor makes me sick! I wouldn't think storing a nice tv under a dusty bed would be the brightest idea. The video in the link is truly frightening.

I'd say it would be a turn off only if they wanted the tv on while the 'magic happened'...

I would probably sleep alone every night if my boyfriend and I didn't have a TV in our bedroom. While I agree that it can be a distraction and somtimes inhibit romance, I would rather be watching TV in bed with him than having him fall asleep watching it on the couch every night.

However, I am a resourceful girl and I have figured out a way to strike a perfect balance - at least in our relationship. It is called eyeTV (www.elgato.com). It is a small device (fits in the palm of your hand) that plugs into a USB port and the other end has a cable out-put. Screw your cable into it and You're all ready to watch TV on your computer screen. Plus, you can record shows like you could with TiVo or DVR except there is no fee. Just plug in and enjoy - it even come with a remote. Unfortunately, it is only compatible with Apple computers.

So now all I have to look at in my bedroom is a 17in iMac, which is pretty easy on the eyes.

THAT TV, maybe. Any TV, no, though I'm not a fan myself.

Hate TVs in the bedroom. It's like a thing of mine. They don't belong there, imho.

My significant other has a very small tv in a corner shelf with a lamp on it. You don't even notice it as it's not of central importance in the room.

We used to watch the weather in the morning last year, but now, it hasn't been turned on in 9 months at least. I think we have more fun in there anyway, with it being there, no distraction at all -we just don't turn it on, so it doesn't "exist."

The living room TV with the Tivo, and the bigger screen really are more distracting if you think of tv as distracting at all, from what? Talking? reading? cooking? we do all that.

It's nice to be in a relationship where you are going to have a great sex life, no matter what is going on around you.

peanut, love the Kraken comment.

No tv in our apt. I am a tv savage. I loose all self control and will sit in a stupor in front of one for hours randomly changing the channel every commercial break. Not pretty.

We have a MacBook, a projector, a Netflix subscription and a blank wall in the living room. We might be a little behind the pack when it comes to "Lost" but it works for us.

Also, when the mood strikes to watch a movie in bed it's super easy to just put the MacBook on top of a short dresser opposite the foot of our bed.

TV is just a tool for living. It's about how you use it.
I dated a guy that was extremely stingy. He would only tip 5% at dinner but save up to buy an additional big screen TV for his room. His ideal date would be to watch DVD in his room. He never wants to do anything out. That is a deal breaker.
If you are not slaved to the TV, it can be fun.

Its a matter of personal comfort, I guess. The TV in the photo is a little (a lot) invasive. However, a flat screen mounted on a wall, for instance, in place of a painting would not be nearly as invasive.

I personally find nothing cozier on a cold winter evening, when we have no desire to leave our house, than snuggling in bed and watching a DVD. Besides, like your reading lamps, TVs have this strange thing on them called an on/off switch; you don't actually have to watch them if you don't want to.

slim, i'm with you. besides, you can find lost and most other tv shows online as well, eliminating the need for all tv electronics, paying for cable etc etc.... and watching movies in bed is also easily solved with the laptop.

bf and i have a very small tv on a dresser, yes, in front of the bed. in front of the bed because we have no where else to put it and are lacking in furniture.

also, i like it because, and i'll admit, i get really freaked out at night sometimes. i mean so spooked i can't sleep or move and don't even want to get up to go to the bathroom. probably some psychological disorder of some sort. but i deal with it by turning on the food network and putting the volume on very low. they don't play horror movie commercials so i have nothing to worry about. asleep within minutes.

so i have to have a tv in the bedroom. (preferably small and out of the way)

I have a TV in the bedroom but it's almost never on. BUT I just got over the flu and I don't know what I would have done without a TV in the bedroom during *that* ordeal. What do people do when all they can do is lay in bed, no one wants to come near them and their brains are too fever-addled to read? Or do you just not get sick in the first place?

Rejecting someone outright over a TV in the bedroom without knowing their reasons/viewing habits seems really judgmental to me. That said, I agree that the TV in the pic is hideous and insane.

elizabeth, you may suffer from Night Terrors (not nightmares). It's a sleep disorder.

TV in the boudoir?
first I would check to see if there was porn in the DVD player, then check to see if the sheets are clean....

It definitely depends on what type of porn is showing on the tv.

I'm cool with a TV in the bedroom but I care more about when it's on more than it being in the room at all.

LOL "Release the Kracken!"

The male technophile in me doesn't mind the hidden flatscreen feature. But the Gay in me is insulted that it pops up in the middle of some Ethan Allen showroom-style bedroom. If this were in a sleeker more masculine bedroom I might be able to suspend judgment about a 52-inch TV being right at the foot of the bed. And now the gay technophile in me wants to know if the TV in the living room is bigger (it damn well better be).

After quizzing my "date" on his possible tummy tuck scars to confirm that he was not once bed-ridden and morbidly obese, I'd check for side drawers to see if they contain Xbox/PS3 controllers. If there are no video games in arms reach then I'd be left to conclude this is a guest room that doubles as some sort of weekend "playroom", and well...

Let's just say the other boys on here have already summed it up.

I feel no need for a TV in my bedroom, but if I liked the guy enough to go into his bedroom at all, a TV there won't change that.

What are the people without TVs in their bedroom watching their porn on?

What is the big deal with having a tv in the bedroom??
I would have a problem with that monstrosity in the picture though, Ick!! However, a small nondescript tv in the bedroom is more than alright.
P.S. our digital cable comes with the music channels so it comes in handy to be able to just switch to the "Smooth R&B" or "Jazz" channel in a heartbeat and keep on...well you know.

I'm with all the others who say it depends on the size of the tv and its prominence. If it's smallish and discreet, it's fine.

The bedroom just isn't the place for a TV, unless you will be the only one sleeping in that room, simply because it leads almost inevitably to one person trying to sleep and the other making noise (or light and movement) via the TV screen.

I believe in bedrooms for relaxing, reading, sleeping, and romance, but not TV watching.