Kelly, who lives in Gurnee, Illinois, has quite the living room. Not only does she have an xBox and a Wii, but she's got an old school, coin-operated, Donkey Kong arcade system! What we love about Kelly's set-up is that even though she's got an arcade game, TV, surround sound speakers, two gaming systems, Tivo, 500 gig storage drive, record player, DVD/CD player, and a ton of vinyl, it looks like there's barely anything in the room.
Now things didn't always look so organized and minimalist...
Before, when all she had was a clunky CRT, things were a bit more in your face. DVDs were out on display, gaming accessories were here and there, and everything was out in the open.
Once she got rid of that TV, a bunch of space was freed up to be made into cabinets that could hide all the necessities of a fun media center. We're impressed with the changes. You?
photos: kelly
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I think the real difference is from the custom cabinetry and clearing off the mantel, which could have been done with or without the new giant TV.
I think the posters looked better over the mantel. I agree with the comment above.
Don't get me wrong, I love myself a big ol' flat screen. But that's not what made the biggest difference in this room.
Definitely don't like the speakers where they are. As if if they are the supports for the mantel.
But the after picture does look better!!
whoa, I grew up in Gurnee!! That'd be crazy if I knew this Kelly.
Cheers,
Matt
I think the flatscreen looks great!
My biggest pet peeve is TVs above the fireplace. That is way too high for a television. Who want's to strain their neck watching TV? I will enjoy television at my house instead, thank you very much.
I love it, but I think one of those posters would have been useful over the arcade.
OK well, then, I'm happy to tell you all that I have a ginormous HDTV over my fireplace. I don't strain my neck watching it either. It's not rocket science to get the TV tilted to the best comfortable viewing angle thanks to nicey-nice wall mounts.
Releasing the HDTV from its floorspace prison on top of a giant stand made a HUGE difference in my San Francisco Bay Area-space-challenged house, and it also stopped toddlers from climbing all over the stand and bonking the TV screen with metal trains and other toys.
Seriously, before you judge, you need to see the individual layouts of rooms.
Maybe it's just me but a piece of electronics over a heat source sounds like .... a really STUPID idea. LCD = liquid crystal display.
http://hdinstallers.com/fireplacetvinstallation.html
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv-questions/plasmatvfire_1.html#11109240
I liked it better before with the posters over the mantle, though the bric-a-brac around the mantle wasn't great.
wow . . i have almost the same type of wall . . . except I have a hallway to the right instead of the wall . . . . interesting . . . very interesting . . .
Looks great, however, I've never been a fan of mounting TV's really high up on the wall. It's not ergonomically correct for your neck if you have to constantly be looking up. Imagine sitting in a chair and having to look way up over the mantle at your TV. Your TV should always be at your eye level.
I liked the posters better too. Now it's blah and unbalanced.
I'm pleased to see the Princeton Tiger fireplace decor gone, though.
Where did the movie posters go?? They were the best part of the room.
The idea of mounting a humongous Plasma or LCD TV above my fireplace is anathema to me!!! It is not ergonomically correct. Think about computer screens or other devices that you might watch--they should all be at eve level!!
My friend used to complain about neck cramps after using his computer. The screen was mounted on one of those platforms that made him crane his neck at some unnatural angle to watch it. No wonder his neck wa cramped!! I removed the platform, set the monitor on the desk, and, voila!!!, no more neck cramps.
Unless you are lying down in bed (ala the hospital or in your bed), elevated TVs are unnatural!! I just watched something on H&G TV where the TV was super elevated. Everyone looked like they were watching a UFO passing overhead!!
Do yourself a favor!! Mount that baby at eye level!! Your neck will thank you!!!
She needs a better sound system.