TV Above Fireplace?

[louiswinthorpe111]

need opinions here. what do you guys think of TV's over a fireplace? I want to do a family room reno this fall, and love the idea of the TV over the fireplace, but have a couple misgivings about it.

Pros:
much more room fo furniture
i can see it from the other side of the kitchen, 24ft away

Cons:
nothing bigger than 47" will fit there
am I going to regret it later/get neck cramps from looking up?

does anyone else have their tv above the fireplace? do you like/hate it?

maybe I'll post some pics of the room this weekend.

[McJag]

You know, you could try it & move it if that doesn't work for you.
Do you ever use the fireplace anyway?

[KrisNine]

We had ours above the fireplace in our last place. I think our room was too small, so we had to look up a bit. You do get used to it. This house has a much higher fireplace mantle, that sticks out too far, so the tv would have been way too high. I prefer it over the fireplace because you have much more room in the area.

[twitchy2.0]

Do you ever use the fireplace anyway?

Nope. That's why in our old place I actually stuck the TV in the fireplace. Put a nice firescreen in front of it when not in use. Nobody ever noticed that it wasn't a fireplace.

Like this:

You don't even need a fireplace to build a mantel around your TV either!

source: http://www.thelennoxx.com/browse-by-...c-and-elegant/

[Belt Up]

I personally hate to see a whacking great TV over the mantelpiece, gives it far too much prominence and tends to make it the focal point of the room. I am boringly traditional about that kind kind of stuff though.

The TV IN the fireplace is genius though.

[sputnik]

I personally hate to see a whacking great TV over the mantelpiece, gives it far too much prominence and tends to make it the focal point of the room. I am boringly traditional about that kind kind of stuff though.

The TV IN the fireplace is genius though.

same here. i personally wish televisions could disappear into the wall when not in use because they're ugly to look at.
but you say this is for the family room so does that mean that you have another living room? if so then yeah, stick it above the fireplace, it will save you space.
i also like the idea of having it in the fireplace, unless you actually use it for fire.

[Novice]

Nope. That's why in our old place I actually stuck the TV in the fireplace. Put a nice firescreen in front of it when not in use. Nobody ever noticed that it wasn't a fireplace.

Like this:

You don't even need a fireplace to build a mantel around your TV either!

source: classic white fireplace hide tv in fireplace mantel » theLENNOXX

Nice Twitchy. A friend of mine stuckit in the fireplace but he didn't have the big fire surround etc so it was flush with the wall.

I hate TVs above the fireplace for some of the reasons mentioned above. I also hate the massive tv screens (tbh probably anything over 40") because they dominate the room. If you use the fireplace you run the risk of the heat rising, plus the heat coming through the chimneybreast.
There's the neck-tilt-angle thing too.

I understand the placement idea - is it not possible to put it lower down in a less obvious position?

[LynnieD]

Not that it really matters, but is it a gas fireplace or a real wood burning fireplace? Wondering if that makes a difference possibly? Smoke/shit might seep up....

[louiswinthorpe111]

right now, it's a wood burning. and i do use it in the winter, because that room gets especially cold. i am looking into coverting to gas. the fireplace wall is all brick, so it would require us to run wiring, etc.... and mounting it would be a bitch. but i get all jazzed when I think of the extra space, because another wall has a sliding glass door.

Ah, large TV's. I am the only female in the house, and the tv is a big deal here. Right now, we have an old projection that's 55-58", so the boys are getting hives about going smaller. right now, Tv is on the opposite side of the fireplace, and it's a monstrosity. I really can't wait to get rid of it.

I do have a living room, which doubles as my home office because I work from home. and there's a modest 32" in there. most of the time the tv is off during the day if it's just me. I like the silence.

I will work on pictures to illustrate my point.

[Novice]

Oh! I understand your problem with the tv!

Interesting about the fire, we can't wait to have out wood burning stove as its going to save us a sh1tload of money in heating costs & I won't have to drag the trash can 1/2 mile to the end of the lane to be emptied.

[southernbelle]

We have a similar issue with our TV placement. The previous owners of our house had theirs above the mantle of the fireplace, and I would have been fine with putting ours there as well, but my fiance hates that setup.

He wants to build an entertainment center. He thinks the TV above the fireplace makes the TV the focal point of the living room, but I think that an awkwardly placed entertainment center is a lot more distracting. We have a small living room and we already have oversized furniture in there. I prefer really clean lines and I don't like things jutting out from the walls, so I'm all for saving space by mounting the TV on the wall or above the fireplace. I could not care less about having a huge entertainment center to accommodate fancy speakers, record player, computer, etc and in fact I think it will be an eyesore.

So, for now, the TV is sitting on the floor, sans entertainment center, with a stack of DVDs next to it and the wires all over the place. So attractive!

[Bellatheball]

Would love to see the photos. My problem with a TV over a fireplace is it gives too much weight to that side of the room. Hopefully that makes sense. If you have a big breakfast bar with 3cm granite or something on the opposite, that might balance it out. Hopefully that makes sense. LOL

[louiswinthorpe111]

Ok, this is the fireplace in question. This room actually has groovy 1970's paneling on the walls that I covered with paintable wallpaper 10 years ago; but that's getting pretty beat up. So the plan is the fall we will rip the paneling out and drywall. So if we need to run wires anywhere, we will be able to do it.



this is the other side of the room with the massive TV. I could also keep the TV there, but would have more space if I got a flat screen. We will also rip up the carpet and take the laminate in kitchen through the family room.

thoughts?

[McJag]

That mantle is so high! If you could take it down & hang the tv not-so-high, it would be batter.

[Just Kill Me]

You need to lighten that wall! Painting A Brick Fireplace Is An Easy Way To Makeover Your Entire Room- Here's A Fast Tutorial | Young House Love
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