Maybe it's just me experiencing this, but ever since flatscreen TVs became light enough to mount on a wall, everyone seems keen on placing it above their fireplace mantle. Mixing tech with fire isn't always the greatest idea in the world, but if you are thinking about this placement plan, consider these tips from pros who have seen it all...
We sat down with a couple of our good friends from a home theater installation company in Denver, Colorado and asked them what they've learned from installing the hundreds of TVs above fireplaces. Here's what they had to share:
1. Focus on reducing neck strain. "Folks often fail to realize how high up the TV will be. Even if you have a shorter fireplace, it may be less of an issue, but you're likely to be way above the recommended eye-level for viewing.
We recommend getting a TV mount with tilt capability. It might not look as good tilting downward like that, but you can always just push it back into place when the TV's not on. Or, if you're really looking to get fancy, you can grab an automated mount that tilts when the TV is turned on and retracts when not in use. Chief has one for around $350."
2. Blend the TV into the room. "Most folks don't realize that throwing a giant TV up there really turns the space into a sports bar rather than a cozy living room. That is, unless you try adding a couple of bookshelves, paint, and some nick-nacks to even out the wall's focus from 'just the TV.' It's amazing what a few aesthetic changes can do."
3. Don't force placement when there are better options. "There are people out there who want a TV above the fireplace, even when it makes no sense at all. Unless you have plenty of wall estate, or an indent that allows for easy installation, sometimes you just can't force it. More often than not, there's plenty of nearby areas that can serve as a great spot for a wall-mounted TV."
4. Sketch it all out. "You'll probably want a quick checklist of all the things you'll need in order to pull it off. We break it up into a categorized hit list: mounting equipment, wire management, proper power allocation, sound equipment (if you're putting speakers into the walls, this gets super complicated), and the TV itself. Like most things, it's often better to plan it all out and check the list twice before jumping into the deep end."
Got a tip to share for mounting a TV above a fireplace? Let us know in the comments...
(Images: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times, Today's Creative Blog, Hilton & Hyland)
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I just bought a house and have been pondering this. I actually live in Denver! What is the name of the home theater installation company?
Having just renovated an old (100 yr old Victorian) house, including the living room, we thought long and hard about how to place the TV, and ended up with it above our (unused) fireplace. Got a tilt mount to minimize neck strain, and so far (3 months) no issues on that front. BEFORE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47937624@N00/5419672702/in/set-72157628321336779/; AFTER: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47937624@N00/6471296707/in/set-72157628321336779/
Another idea for NOT turning your room into a sports bar is to hide the television with artwork or a mirror. There are lots of options for both, though often the artwork has to be customized. The mirror solution is very easy to execute and there are many available versions.
The best reason to place the TV and fireplace together is so that your furniture arrangement suits them both... in that last image, how comfortable is it going to be to watch TV with your head turned all the way to the left? (Not to mention that any surround sound placement would be way off, which in my family would be seriously, seriously unacceptable.) We're stuck with a situation like this now and went with seating centered only on the TV, so the fireplace is basically unused.
Looks much better, KDIFFILY - nice work!
gross..hate this trend...people have been watching too much HGTV
well sadly when this is your only option, like mine, you make it work and make it look good. for me, not having a tv in the living room is not an option.
Due to limited square footage and even more limited wall space, I finally caved and placed my tv above my corner fireplace, which was already a challenge for furniture placement. Pros threaded the component wires behind the wall and into my closet where cable box, dvd, wii-fii, ect, are hidden. My fireplace is short so my tv isn't very high.
I second on how not-to-look-like-a-sports bar. I added beadboard behind the tv to "connect" the fireplace to the crown moldings and trims. Then I created an artwork by painting a foamboard and used styrofoams that look like crown moldings and turn them into frames for the artwork. Attached self locking hinges to the artwork along with velcro and ta-da, tv is hidden when not in use.
This is a trend I wish would die. Damn tv's are everywhere and to plant one above a fireplace seems a bit obscene.
I recently saw a home where the flat tv was IN the old (and not used) fireplace. it looked really great, and they had an endless movie clip with fire and crackling turned on. it's not the same of course, but way better than an empty, cold and dirty unused fireplace...
One should also be sure to recess the TV wall so that the heat coming from the front of the fire doesn't melt the screen.
my house was built with power and cable outlets above the fireplace. That's the only place I can mount it without running new cables. I do not use my fireplace so I was thinking into converting it to store all the tech components and run the cables up the fireplace behind the wall. Should be an interesting project.
"for me, not having a tv in the living room is not an option." So what would you do if TVs weren't wall-mountable? I find it hard to believe that over the fireplace is any room's ONLY place to put a TV.
We are TV-free and happy that way. Having gone without for so long (10+ years) I don't know where we would find the time to fit it back in, and I definitely don't miss it (no, we are not old and grouchy, and we like technology... just not TV)! It makes me sad to see pretty fireplaces with big ugly TVs above them. I can't help feeling like it really does make a home look like a sports bar (no matter how artfully done) when the TV is the center of a living space. What about putting the TV in a nice cabinet so it can be closed away when not in use, like in hotels? Since they are so flat now it doesn't even need to be a very big cabinet... The velcro-canvas art solution seems decent, but how far does it end up projecting from the wall? Is it pretty obvious that it's just there to cover a TV?
Hate it, i always wondered how people could recommend that for working and used fireplace. It just seems like it would be really bad for the TV.
My TV is hidden in a book case and arranged so it is only comfortable for me to watch. I do not belive in watching TV with friends or family, if there are more than two people in the room you should be doing something other than watching TV. TV is not a group passtime, nothing aggrivates me more than when i go over to a friends house and you cannot even carry on a conversation because the TV is blaring. Very rude.
Nah, under no circumstance would I mount a TV where I have to look at any angle other than directly in my eye line while I'm sitting or slightly lower. Its the only comfortable neck position to hold for a couple of hours.
I keep thinking of that scene from the office where Michael has his 17 inch tv mounted really high on the wall, cause its the only place the missus would let him mount it I think.
"I can literally stand here for hours and watch TV"
I also hate the over the fireplace thing. It's not art, people, it's an appliance! We did have our TV wall mounted for a few years since we could not figure out where to put it in an oddly shaped room. Turned out to be a bummer to crane the neck, so we pulled it down and put it on the built in bookshelf. Much more civilized viewing and much less a focal point of our family room.
This is an article about how to mount your TV over the fireplace tastefully. However, all of the responses are "I would never do this - it's ugly."
It's like the lactose intolerant being on the board of the dairy association. If it's not your cup of tea - move on people! Next post....
Citysarah
I think the company you are looking for is called Listen Up.
Thanks. Interesting read ...
What would be the minimum depth for a gaz fireplace ? I'm asking because I'd like to add one to our existing appartement but the wall I'd like to put it on is an adjoining wall to our neighbor's apartment and our room is already quite narrow ... I wouldn't want to loose too much on that room's size ... I was thinking of putting our plasma TV above ... Thanks for any replies ...
Anyone know where that motorcycle rug in the first pic is from???
@tonshouse - a quick google image search brought up this site for the rug. Seems it's all about transport: school bus and excavator/tractor... even a station wagon are options!
Aha... the original link: http://www.thenoughtcollective.com/
I have always detested TVs over mantles. Not only does it not seem ergonomic, and not only does it damage the TV (my parents have lost a TV or two this way) but it's just plain ugly. In my opinion, TVs look much better when integrated into a bookcase where they do not appear to be the sole focus of a room.
My parents' main TV in the '70s was in a built-in nook with louvered doors, putting it roughly at hearth level (not above the mantel). The set was originally a stand-alone "furniturey" TV console, with legs and a real wood case; the movers were aghast when they saw my father using a plane to shave off some of the TV's molding so it would fit in the cabinet. It sat about 6-8 inches off the floor, which seems like it would have been uncomfortably low, but directing your eyes downward is not a huge imposition and doesn't involve moving your neck. It's not that different from what your eyes have to do when you read a book. Plus, when there are five kids, most of the viewers were lying on the carpet anyway -- these mantel-mounted TVs guarantee that nobody can sit on the floor ...
don't do it. put a TV where you can actually watch it comfortably, at eye-ish level.
why did this trend ever happen? *scratching my head*
My solution is to put the TV into a cabinet that has a decorative face. Take a look:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101785167818786487183/Pandora02?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGz2cmg9Mu0fQ
@Bee For Bryan,
I have the exact same problem as Zenezie, a corner fireplace, with very short stub walls on each side with a doorway to the left and a 10 ft opening to the dining room on the other side. With windows on the far wall that leaves EXACTLY one and only one place to put the TV and it is above the fireplace. Not ideal, as it highlights it too much, but without blocking traffic flow or the fireplace and choosing to actually have a couch in the room, it really is the only logical solution. Corner fireplaces are difficult period when it comes to room design. Anyhow trust me, its certainly not that difficult to imagine, particularly in old houses that weren't built with TVs in the picture.
In our old house we had to place the TV up high because the previous owners built built-ins (no fireplace unfortunately) and the spot for the tv was at about 5 feet up on the wall. I do wish it had been lower, but I don't have neck problems because of it. In this house we have the TV in the playroom (we carved out a family room in the sea of toys) and just don't have a tv in the living room at all (just the fireplace).
If it's the *only* place you can find to put it, I guess I understand mounting it over the fireplace. But I would be very hard-pressed to actually do it myself.
My tv's go in armoires. When the tv isnt on I can close the armoire doors. I have never liked the tv to look like it is the entire focus of a room, like it is some "god" and all the seating turns towards it. I dont believe that the tv should look so important.
Many a mistake has been made in putting a flat screen TV over a fireplace, some of the commentators have already mentioned the height issue, where you would nearly have to be lying down to avoid neck strain.More often people are frying the TV with too much heat, heat rises and if it is too strong or too close to the TV it will cause damage. As a rule of thumb, do not use a h/e or glass fronted gas fire; use an open multi fuel or an open gas fire. Better again and the safest option is to use one of the new flat screen electric fires; the gap between the two can be reduced and you have the option of having the flame effect with no heat ( and therefore at a much reduced cost).
Connections Dublin Gas&Electric Fire Sales
Another great solution that I recommend for my clients is a TVCoverup. It allows you to cover your TV with a piece of art and at the press of your remote or just a few fingers it lifts up revealing the TV.
As for neck strain, look into tilting mounts. They allow for a perpendicular viewing angle no matter the elevation of the TV.
Check out TVCoverups.com for a better idea of what I mean.
I wanted to put our TV over the fireplace, however the handyman said it would be a really bad idea because I would regret it once the neck pain set in. I did a ton of research, and found a tv mounting system that actually allows the tv to come out from the wall and travel down in front of the mantel so it is ultimately at eye level. We just had it installed and it seems to have taken care of the problem perfectly. I still have to figure out what to do with all the cords (I may have to drill a hole in the wall, or maybe I'll just get a cord wrapper and put a big plant to hide the passage of the bundle along the wall). The company that makes the tv mount is really small and doesn't distribute (yet, at least) through any big box stores. Their site is http://www.DynamicMounting.com . Only have had it for a couple of weeks, but it works smoothly. The handyman said it was incredibly sturdy and was capable of holding a huge tv (ours is average - 47").