TV over fireplace?

7 years ago

I'm working on a living room update and having the great debate: put the TV over the fireplace or in a built-in next to the fireplace. What would you do?

Riskey · More Info

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decoenthusiaste

7 years ago

There's a poll on this currently at Houzz. Vote is to put it on the side and make the FP with art above the mantel the focal, rather than the TV. Better for viewing and fewer chiro bills too. Also extends the TV's life!

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Comments (106)

Gayle
7 years ago
The Taste Police say

no way should tv be over fireplace unless there is No Other Option
redoredone
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
"Taste Police" ;-D. My House, My Taste.
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skiiergal
7 years ago
not in my house.... when looking for homes in CO, I wanted to relax on my couch and enjoy the view, the fire and well, then the tv....
Lake
7 years ago
I prefer it off to the side
Shannon Stockton
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ours is above the fireplace sitting on the mantel. the room is about 13 feet wide...no neck strain
dongracy
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ugh. Completely disagree with putting a TV to the left or right of a fireplace. You go against all rules of symmetry in design. Now that we have new, sleek flat screen technology, a TV looks beautiful and balanced over the FPL. Your neck won't hurt, just be sure to angle the TV downwards a bit and you will get used to it. Plus your room will look like a million bucks. The heat is no big deal either if there is a mantel. It costs a few bucks to figure out the wiring especially with a sound system but so does a clunky additional piece of furniture to put it in or on.
mkulkarn
7 years ago
We had a very similar problem and we wanted our tv to be at the eye level while watching from our couch. What we did is we bought a dynamic mount https://www.dynamicmounting.com/product/swivel-mount/?gclid=CjwKEAiAq8bEBRDuuOuyspf5oyMSJAAcsEyWQJv2lqQCDlWVaNrErc7sho0KkI3w5vY5nD7ixSX-1hoCWsPw_wcB

in texas, we rarely use fireplace but still wanted to keep it. So this option has worked really well for us.
John Harstad
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I think it works quite well if you can find a balanced look with a TV at the right size.

credit: http://houseofjadeinteriors.com/pages/mapleton-build
oceannotdesert
7 years ago
Our TV, trying hard to copy the fireplace :-)
ptmatthews
7 years ago
On a cold winters night, when I like to have a fire, I want to be able to see the fire while watching TV. That, to me, is cozy.
PRO
Kathryn Tegreene Interior Design
7 years ago
Hi Jane,

I have my own TV over the fireplace, but a lower tv is actually better as a viewing angle, or so I have been told by professional AV folks.

Good luck with your project,

Kathryn Tegreene

Kathryn Tegreene Interior Design
gghaupt
7 years ago
We have been advised by numerous home designers NEVER to place our large TV over the top of a fireplace (wood or gas, etc.) of any kind - that even the small amount of heat can eventually damage the TV. Due to that advice our nearly completed North Carolina home will have some type of fireplace in our screened-in porch - and Houzz has shown us many options.
Joan Roberts
7 years ago
I love my tv over the fireplace. I have a very open concept home so it can be seen from many directions. For me, having the tv beside the fireplace gave me all kinds of seating and decorating problems--focus on the tv or the fireplace? We have been here 3 years and never had a problem with the heat. Of course we do live in TX where the winters usually aren't harsh.
judithesl
7 years ago
I just had a gas insert installed in my brick fireplace, which generates a lot of heat, so much that I had to remove the art from above the fireplace. My smallish flat screen TV is to one side of the fireplace (flanked by book case on other side), on a table at one end of the sofa/daybed, which works well.
Bill Patrick
7 years ago
Is your fireplace damper open? Does your gas insert have a flame/heat control? Consult your inserts manual and contact the installer. Good luck.
Linda Stacey
7 years ago
Have you done anything yet? I was looking at your photos again. I feel that the corner tv hutch is just out of balance in that room. It would change the feel of that room so much to remove that. I can't see what's on the right side of your fireplace. Hanging the TV above the fireplace would balance your room better and make it feel bigger.
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Sheri Law Art Glass
7 years ago
I put an edgelit shelf across the entire front. Plenty of space for the TV on the right, FIreplace and artwork on the left.
Roger Lewin
7 years ago
Don't forget audio especially with home theater. You will need at least two speakers on either side of the tv. It is very hard to get good sound with a tv in a corner.
Bill Patrick
7 years ago
Or a very good sound bar with subwoofer.
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Joni Koenig Interiors
7 years ago
it really depends on the room. Is the photo your home or just an example?
User
7 years ago
Heating issues on a TV above a fireplace that's a first....I have never heard about that...sounds like that fireplace is not built properly
User
7 years ago
What happened to having a den/family where people can enjoy watching TV instead worrying about some fireplace...whoever is building these things are not using the proper materials for a fireplace
truth hurts
7 years ago
Place it over the fireplace ONLY if you dont plan on using the fireplace. If it is a wood burner, you risk smoke damage to your tv. I dont know how gas burners work because i never had one, only wood burners and they destroy anything directly above when all of the smoke doesnt vent properly.
biggsrc
7 years ago
TV above fireplace. get linear fireplace. mount TV as low as possible. no neck stain. I could care less about ever lighting the fireplace but when we do, don't notice much heat to the TV. pictures taken while sitting in chair and on couch
Bill Patrick
7 years ago
During Fireplace season you could measure the temperature before and while the fireplace is burning Simply place a small room thermometer directly below your HDTV. Great looking fireplace wall.
Laurel Ennis
7 years ago
The trouble with this is where do you put the furniture. Do you face the view, the fireplace or the TV? Our solution is to face the view, group chairs around the fireplace for winter and put the TV in it's own room with the DVD's. Then when we want to watch TV it's an event, like going to the movies. It also means we watch far less TV and read and talk more.
Linda Bilia
7 years ago
A TV above the fireplace is too high for your eyes natural viewing position unless you are practically laying down.....as in bed !
fashioned4him
7 years ago
Biggsrc: What stone did you you for that surround? It looks beautiful!
Do any of you have experience with the mantel mount system that has a handle on the base to pull the tv down to eye level? They state that the handle is supposed to turn red when the it is exposed to too much heat. Any comments?
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Red. Design + Build
7 years ago
We always aim to put the TV beside the fireplace nowadays. We prefer the fireplace to be the focal point and organize furniture around the fireplace in a conversational setting. Often we create built-ins that hide or disguise the television.

in the attached picture; the millwork slides up to reveal a television beside the linear fireplace.
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Our Town Plans
7 years ago
I'm a huge fan of symmetry and I like the idea of putting the tv over the fireplace (disguised when not in use), but in my own home, I won't be doing it. I'm moving to a condo soon and the room is not deep enough for us to sit opposite the fireplace and view the tv above it without discomfort. If the room was deeper, and the angle wasn't as steep, it might not be an issue. As it is, my television will go beside the fireplace.
Eva Lutz
7 years ago
Looking at your configuration my preference would be tv in the buit in on the side.

I could consider the "above" option if the fireplace was an ethanol one and positioned very low.
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Carry Properties
7 years ago
Wow! Lot's of controversy. The neck strain issue is completely dependent on how high your fireplace and mantle are AND on the viewing distance. All are individual to each setting. My living room architecture is quite symmetrical and there are walls of windows on both sides that flank the fireplace. The only place to put a tv would be above the fireplace. But my mantle is over 5 feet high, much too high for comfortable viewing in our relatively small space. Our solution was to create a TV area outside the living room. It doesn't allow us to have a cozy fire while watching TV, but when I have a fire I generally want to watch the fire. That's individual to me and my house. Other that the heat issue I don't think there is a definitive answer to this. It's up to you and your you own viewing habits and design instincts. I like the contemporary low fireplaces with a tv to the side, but that wouldn't work with my cottage style home.
hiccup4
7 years ago
I love symmetry and find the TVs beside the fireplace unnerving. I really don't like the way it looks....it just seems to be trying to hard. Ha! My TV will happily go above the fireplace looking all neat and tidy and with ease. :)
redoredone
7 years ago
Hiccup4, I'm the same way. We spend the weekend at a friend's home a few times a year and it always seems so awkward and unbalanced to me. It's like the TV and the fireplace are in competition.
Maryann Zurbuch
7 years ago
I had this exact struggle when I bought a new house a couple years ago. I hated the idea of TV over fireplace but there was absolutely no other option due to various built ins and doors, entryways and windows on other walls. We considered covering the TV with a pull down or slide over piece of art work when not in use. Ultimately, we ended up painting the room a copper color with shiny black moldings and trim so the shiny black TV (when not in use) actually complements the rest of the decor. I'm very pleased with the result and will update this with a photo later.
dongracy
7 years ago
Don't worry about the neck strain or the heat. Only trick is getting all the cables for the home theater to disappear. Be sure to think that one through and it will be great.
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cottagestaples
7 years ago
over fireplace
Kierra Simp
7 years ago
wireless projector and have the tv anywhere! lol
PRO
NEE Fireplaces
7 years ago
Over the fireplace. You can mount your TV over the fireplace if it's designed to keep your home warm without damaging nearby electronics or artwork.

This Bellfires Horizon Bell XXL (and other units in this product line) gives you the best of both worlds one on top of the other:

Horizon Bell XXL 3 · More Info
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Our Town Plans
7 years ago
A question for those of you who feel the television MUST to go over the fireplace - Do you feel the same way about smaller spaces, where the wall opposite the existing fireplace is perhaps 14' at the most, away from the fireplace and the hearth is raised? I'm talking about a situation where the lowest the bottom of the television could be is 6' above the floor.
Kiya T
7 years ago
I always vote no tv over the fireplace. Enjoy the fireplace as a focal point!
PRO
cottagestaples
7 years ago
I agree with you but I wasn't the one making that decision.
westegg10
7 years ago
In my house, the living room is for the piano and fire place. TV is in the adjacent library/den.
Ellen Friedman
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I've had the same plasma TV over my wood-burning fireplace for 12 years and the TV has not been damaged yet. Since there's a window on either side of the fireplace there were not a lot of options but it's been perfectly fine there. We do have a wood stove insert in the fireplace and we do make a fire nearly every cold night--and we have a lot of those in New England.
CLC
7 years ago
Interesting to read all the opinions!

I am in the "I don't like TVs above fireplaces" camp.......I feel the fireplace should be the peaceful focal point of the living room, and a TV towering over the fireplace not only interferes with that, but it can look tacky.

That said, I don't like having a tv in our main living room at all. We moved it to another room about 8 years ago and I don't miss it at all. We talk more and we read more. We listen to music. I love the atmosphere in the living room without the tv! I don't see myself ever bringing it back in.
J Corn
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
So interesting, the responses! I don't like a tv over a fireplace. I can't focus on the fireplace- let alone a crackling fire- with the distraction of that tv above it. If both are being used, they compete for attention. If the tv is off, it looks like a hole.
redoredone
6 years ago
I enjoy reading these discussions with differing opinions. It's interesting and informative to see things from another point of view.

For me, our TV over the fireplace is perfect. When the TV and the fireplace are in different places and both are in use, that's when it seems like competing focal points to me.

We deliberately do not have a formal living room as we have had in past homes and find that a casual lifestyle suits us much better.
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TVCoverUps
6 years ago
The fireplace is usually the focal point of the room, And when both are in use, I agree with redoredone. In response to jcorn1 , that it looks like a hole when the TV is off, is just what the TVCoverUps product is for. When the TV is off the artwork is down and the ambiance of the room is quickly transformed, with no evidence of a TV anywhere.
J Corn
6 years ago
If I had to put a tv on a fireplace wall, I'd use a tv cover- up option. It's an appealing choice.

But I do have a bias, having grown up in a mid-century home fireplace stone work was lovely and tvs came with no wireless and smart tv options. Antennas were the norm and only 4 channels available. Things have changed so much but I've never lost my love of a stone fireplace wall, with little but the stone and fireplace.,
Shawn Taylor
6 years ago
I don’t know here if on top like I have or to the side with nice built ins because it’s corner fireplace

TV over fireplace?

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