Chimney breast - creating a stylish TV recess

6 years ago

Hi, we have just moved into a Victorian house and have been deliberating over the living room area. The two front rooms have been opened up so that they are one large room but we are looking to have two different feels within each. In the back half we're really going after a 'lounge' feel. A comfy sofa and a place to relax and watch TV. In the back half we have a closed off chimney breast which we initially thought about knocking down but have now decided against it to avoid losing some of the character of the room.

So instead, our grand plan is as follows (sketch attached):

- build a recess into the existing chimney breast to hold a 50" TV (will require a lintel support)

- have enough space to also store a soundbar

- install a channel for cables to feed down to the side and have a plug socket within the recess for the TV itself

- dvd player, sky boxes etc will be stored to the right hand side in a cupboard

However, before we go ahead we were looking for some design inspiration. The chimney breast is 79" wide and as you can see from the picture the ceilings are very high. Given the seating position of the sofa (approx 2.8m from sofa to front of chimney breast) the TV needs to be set at a sensible height to avoid a sub-optimal viewing angle. This leaves a large empty gap at the top of the wall.

This brings me to my 2 questions:

1. Would you design it in any other way? Have seen plenty of pictures where people have an active fireplace and set the TV above. Not a fan of this. Other options are to create a storage shelf below the TV.

2. What other practical considerations are there? Am I missing anything (other than building logistics).

Thanks in advance

Featured Answer

Stephen Edwards

6 years ago

If you do go down the knocking a hole in the chimney route, here are a few thoughts; Is the chimney capped properly, remember to vent it, make sure you I install proper support above the new opening (I'd recommend that you get it checked out by a structural engineer). Any recess will also need ventilation for the TV.

It'll be a messy job, but getting what you want isn't always easy.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (21)

PRO
The Wood Works
6 years ago
I don't know what you had planned for either side of the chimney breast but we have build several units that sit in the side recesses and frame the TV really nicely. (See below for examples)

Eaton Terrace Town House · More Info

Adam & Eve · More Info

If you didn't want to go this route you could always have some low wall hung units below the TV to house things like sky box and DVD player etc with potentially some shelving for display above the TV in a matching material.

If you have any further information please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Hope this helps.

Good luck with your project.

Best,

Josh
PRO
Bathroom + Kitchen Eleven
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi

You could knock a hole in the chimney breast above where the TV will hang - have recessed storage?

(Imagine this is the chimney breast) Depends how minimalistic you are looking to have your room.

Shannon
Related Discussions
Stylish living required ..
Q
Comments (33)
Horay we have only finished the house after 5 years !! ...a couple of pics of the living rm. After all your comments (Thank you x) we embraced the dark! ...we have now sold after 2 days and are off to do it all again!! Have a new design dilemma in our new purchase so will be posting for some help !! :-)
...See More
Chimney breast / Fireplace / Kitchen question
Q
Comments (7)
Here's a few more photos taken when we did the inspection. Might help get a bit more perspective :) It would definitely be a huge hassle to remove. The previous owners had a kitchen table on one side but I'd like a bit of separation and not to be sitting right next to a wall. On the other side they had a ginormous tv (which my Mom is modeling next to) I was thinking that possibly exposing the brick and putting a through fireplace on the other side might make it flow better and give it some character. But then I'm left with the question of where to have the kitchen table.
...See More
Chimney Breast - Yes or No?
Q
Comments (8)
Thank you both. Jen P, we would have loved a wood burner but because of the flue it wouldn't work. We also considered an inset electric but to get one that looks anything close to real we would be looking at £500 plus , basically what would only be used for the visual effect rather than heat we really can't justify such a cost. The budget has already been blown! We also considered creating an opening and filling with logs and fairy lights but that's only possible if we have the false wall. Dog temporarily replaced by child! :) He'll be back.. Minnie101, thank you I think your reference to the roof might have solved why it looks ok on floorplanner but not in the actual house.
...See More
Hiding the Dreaded TV!
Q
Comments (9)
It's certainly not for everyone I agree but we do get clients wanting this as an option - I guess it is due to the fact that there is so much open plan living now and shared spaces needing to perform multiple functions. Tv's are also so huge now so you may want a lovely big screen but it takes over a bit when you're not using it and not everyone wants that.
...See More
rachelmidlands
6 years ago
Also planning on doing something very similar with our lounge. In the early planning stage but instead of knocking a recess into the chimney we plan to have tv wall mounted with low shelf the length of the room. Did a quick 3D mockup, which might hopefully give you some ideas. As you can see we have a window in one alcove which makes things more difficult.
PRO
User
6 years ago
I too would go for something along the lines suggested by Bathroom Eleven. This is a great example:-
I think the T.V in your illustration is set too near to the floor and that's what's making the gap look too large at the top. Move it up a bit so that the T.V is more Mirror height, have storage underneath and leave the top blank ( a clock maybe ?? )
Or have storage at the top too:-
Jonathan
6 years ago
Alternative suggestion
I don't agree that the tv is too high.

I would keep the tv at a good height for viewing and then put the storage in each alcove. Personally I don't think you need to knock a hole in the chimney
min266
Original Author
6 years ago
All, thank you for your ideas and inspiration. In terms of the logistics of doing the work we have spoken to a number of builders/chimney experts and it's great to see they all mention the points being raised around capping, vents etc. So thanks.

In terms of the alcoves:

- to the left there is a set of french doors which only leaves space for shelving (not a cupboard at the bottom). This is ok.

- to the right we will build a cupboard at the bottom and shelves at the top as a lot of the pictures people have posted show.

- we don't want a shelf at the bottom going all the way across as in jonathan's second picture (given there will be no cupboard on the left) but we are thinking we open a smaller section up under the TV and turn this into a bit of a feature. Something like the picture below (albeit with the TV recessed, not hanging from the wall).
Stephen Edwards
6 years ago
Just looking at the photo above gives me another thought. Rather than knocking a hole in the chimney breast with the attendant cost and mess, you might consider just adding a very slim false wall to the front to build the recess and hide the cables etc.
min266
Original Author
6 years ago
That was considered as an option but the problem we see is that we would essentially end up covering the coving at the top.

The coving is still the original one and in normal light looks very nice. This is why we then ended up in recess land. The room is empty the moment and will be repainted afterwards so the mess isn't such a big issue for us at the moment. Thanks
Rose Williams
6 years ago
Sounds really nice. I personally wouldn't have gone for the built in shelving all down the side/s, as it would detract from the chimney breast itself being a feature, to have shelving/cupboards top to bottom with things on them may turn out a bit imposing and make it look a bit crammed?

Biggest thing to not forget is to make it so you can get to and change out things like HDMI cables, make it so the wires can be pulled through not fixed in forever more. Could you not build in the devices (bluray etc) into the chimney too? since if you are recessing the tv, you NEED it to be ventilated anyway. Perhaps build in some nice smoked/tinted glass doors? Best recess the soundbar too. Big thing is to make sure you have all the power sockets in right quantity, plus a couple, and network points are a big bonus these days. I think it would look great with a bit of mood lighting in there.

I think I would have the whole front of the breast opened up ceiling to floor, then make a more versatile stud formation in there, plaster and paint it... Makes it much easier to change things later as anything structural will be out of the way.
min266
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks Rose some really useful tips there. Never thought about opening up the whole chimney and boxing in for future flexibility. That's an interesting one and would certainly reduce any future mess. Going to add additional socket points and the phone line has been installed right next to the chimney breast so that's all good.

Re the sound bar I was planning on having that within the same recess as the TV as opposed to its own. Agree some nice mood lighting would have a great visual impact.

Re the doors to house a DVD player we kind of don't want them on display but part of the reason for thinking about creating a second opening at the bottom is so there's future flexibility.

Good point re the shelving too. Its certainly not an aim t make it feel overly full of cramped so something to bear in mind.
nadiafayoom71
3 years ago
I am also renovating Georgian house and planning to make glass shelves in the chimney breast. Not sure it will work or not 😊
nadiafayoom71
3 years ago
Hi please update me about your chimney breast recess. 😊Thanks
min266
Original Author
3 years ago
Hey! We never did it! We just bought a very thin TV and pulled the wires through the chimney breast into a cabinet on the side for the sky box etc. It a lot less work and totally the right decision. I think recesses can be avoid in some cases given how flat TVs are these days!
Ounal Bailey
3 years ago
Quick question. I am doing the same in London and wondered if you had a recommendation on someone who could do the work?
PRO
Room-by-Room (UK) Ltd
3 years ago
Hello,

It seems to me that the chimney sticks out about 350 - 400mm into the room. That's a lot of potential space. The TV is probably 50mm deep. That leaves 300mm of space doing what? I would suggest removing the chimney breast completely throughout the house. This should not cost more than about £5,000. Then I would build a bit of stud for the TV and any other elements I wanted and gain additional space on the ground floor and first floor. If you remove the chimney on the ground floor get an engineer to design a suitable support and remember any structural supports have to be signed off by building control.
Denise Chenery
3 years ago
I take it you are in a detached house, otherwise you may want to rethink. We had a semi and previous owners did what you are planning on doing. The noise transfer from next door was incredible as the physics of the chimney acted as an amplifier. The day we reversed the damage was a very good day indeed.
min266
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks, we never did it in the end. We got an ultra thin tv and worked out a way of concealing all the cables in the chimney breast and have a built in cabinet on one side for sky box etc. So glad it worked out.
cazie6
3 years ago
Would you mind posting a picture please? As I'm interested in doing something similar
Rucha Dixit
last year
Min266 please can you share a picture. Thanks
drpepe101
last year
I did something like this last year. As it is an unused fireplace, I drilled through into the fireplace from inside the cabinets, and routed av and power. Then I knocked half a brick out of the face of the chimney to get the cabling to the tv which is mounted on the face of the chimney breast.