Decorating
Styling: Helpful Hints for Hanging a TV Above a Fireplace
The space above a fireplace is a great location for a TV, but how do you stick it up there without it sticking out like a sore thumb?
It hasn’t always been possible to hang a TV on a wall. Sets used to be chunky, freestanding pieces that hogged a corner of the room, but as their bulk has gradually shrunk, the range of possible locations for a TV has grown. Now, with flatscreens the norm, we can install a TV on the wall. Often the handy space above a fireplace feels like the most obvious location for a set, bringing two favourite focal points together, but there’s still a little art to fitting a screen above your mantelpiece. These stylish rooms show how to pull it off.
Match to the wall
Alternatively, installing your screen against a wall of the same shade will help it to ‘disappear’, even if it has been installed to sit proud of the surface. Texture-rich stone rather than smooth plaster contains lots of tonal detail and helps to draw the eye away from the TV, making it unobtrusive.
See more smart ways to blend your TV into your scheme
Alternatively, installing your screen against a wall of the same shade will help it to ‘disappear’, even if it has been installed to sit proud of the surface. Texture-rich stone rather than smooth plaster contains lots of tonal detail and helps to draw the eye away from the TV, making it unobtrusive.
See more smart ways to blend your TV into your scheme
Tuck behind sliding doors
Being able to hide the TV when it’s not in use allows a living space to morph from somewhere for watching movies into a room for reading, resting or entertaining. Simple sliding doors fitted above the mantelpiece offer this flexibility and help the room shift focus. With the screen concealed, the emphasis falls on the two sofas in front of it, where people can sit and face each other, not the TV.
Being able to hide the TV when it’s not in use allows a living space to morph from somewhere for watching movies into a room for reading, resting or entertaining. Simple sliding doors fitted above the mantelpiece offer this flexibility and help the room shift focus. With the screen concealed, the emphasis falls on the two sofas in front of it, where people can sit and face each other, not the TV.
Fit it flush
If you can, install your TV so it sits flush to the wall. This helps it integrate beautifully with the room, keeps it looking discreet and avoids any sense that it has just been plonked up once all the other decorating was finished!
If you can, install your TV so it sits flush to the wall. This helps it integrate beautifully with the room, keeps it looking discreet and avoids any sense that it has just been plonked up once all the other decorating was finished!
Flank with lighting
Recessed shelves fitted with warm lighting are a striking feature of this wall, and lead the eye away from the TV screen. Flanking the TV with interesting paintings or ornaments is another way to help it blend in and prevent it dominating the space.
Recessed shelves fitted with warm lighting are a striking feature of this wall, and lead the eye away from the TV screen. Flanking the TV with interesting paintings or ornaments is another way to help it blend in and prevent it dominating the space.
Go bespoke
Not the cheapest option, but installing your TV as part of a bespoke wooden unit around the fireplace creates a hugely sophisticated, James Bond feel. It also allows you to build in additional shelves and cupboards for other entertainment kit and technology.
Not the cheapest option, but installing your TV as part of a bespoke wooden unit around the fireplace creates a hugely sophisticated, James Bond feel. It also allows you to build in additional shelves and cupboards for other entertainment kit and technology.
Create balance
Here’s a simple idea: choose a screen that’s roughly the same width as the fireplace below to create a balanced effect. In this room, that sense of symmetry is reinforced by the two identically sized paintings flanking the chimney breast.
Here’s a simple idea: choose a screen that’s roughly the same width as the fireplace below to create a balanced effect. In this room, that sense of symmetry is reinforced by the two identically sized paintings flanking the chimney breast.
Install in the mantel
If you have – or can source – an overmantel that contains a built-in mirror, it can easily be replaced with a screen instead. Or ask a carpenter to build a surround for your TV in keeping with the fireplace for the same effect.
Discover more ideas for mantelpieces
If you have – or can source – an overmantel that contains a built-in mirror, it can easily be replaced with a screen instead. Or ask a carpenter to build a surround for your TV in keeping with the fireplace for the same effect.
Discover more ideas for mantelpieces
Use accents of black
Most TVs today are black, as is any screen when not in use, so let this dark tone kick-start your colour scheme. Weave in accents of black around the room and keep the rest of the scheme muted and neutral. Here, the fire surround, lampshades and bar stools pick up on the TV’s inky tones and allow the eye to hop from one dark pop to another, so the screen never dominates.
TELL US…
What are your tips for hanging a TV over a fireplace? We’d love to hear about them in the Comments below.
Most TVs today are black, as is any screen when not in use, so let this dark tone kick-start your colour scheme. Weave in accents of black around the room and keep the rest of the scheme muted and neutral. Here, the fire surround, lampshades and bar stools pick up on the TV’s inky tones and allow the eye to hop from one dark pop to another, so the screen never dominates.
TELL US…
What are your tips for hanging a TV over a fireplace? We’d love to hear about them in the Comments below.
A crisp white background will neatly frame a sleek black screen, giving it a strong sense of place. There is no attempt to hide the TV in this space, but the room’s all-white backdrop makes it look sharp, smart and confidently at home above this wood-burner.