Ask The Decorologist: Where To Put The TV?

It’s a common question. Oftentimes, it’s a struggle to determine just where to put the TV. Especially when you have a fireplace – should you put it above, beside, somewhere else?

I provide ongoing mentoring and advice to the Expert Psychological Stagers who have taken my course over the last few years. We share info and advice via a private Facebook group. A few days ago, one of my graduates posted a great question.

She said:

“I have a new client who wants to update their house and make it more transitional/current. The TV is large due to her vision problem. I’m not sure where to put the TV other than on top of the mantle. She is resistant for many reasons. How can this fireplace be updated without tearing it down? The fireplace wall is brick with the hearth running the length of the wall.”

Here is a picture of her dilemma:

before

There’s no wall space for the TV, and it is H-UGE.  Notice that the fireplace brick wall is the same color as the rest of the walls. Quickly, responses and advice from the EPS™ stagers filled the EPS™ Facebook page. I think these ideas might help some of you when determining where to put the TV:

Carly says:

“If the kitchen cabinets are black, I would suggest painting the brick wall a soft black (like Sherwin Williams Iron Ore) and mounting the TV over the fireplace- it will help the TV disappear. Sounds bold, but it would look great. I’d then place a cozy chair where the TV is and replace the metal around the fireplace with black surround.”

See how the dark paint puts the focus on the fireplace? A TV would blend right in, eliminating its obtrusive nature.

Carly even has a personal experience with this idea! She said,

“I generally don’t like the TV above the fireplace, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. Here’s a recent before and after of a fireplace I painted dark to camouflage the television.“

Carly Ripp

Notice how the fireplace stands out, but the TV doesn’t. It’s important to keep as much focus on architectural details as possible.

Next, Tracie had a suggestion:

“That fireplace looks far too high to mount a TV above it, especially one of that size. I’d suggest moving it to the left, where the sofa currently is, and have the homeowner get a properly sized base to put it on. Get rid of the love seat, center the couch on the fireplace, put the chair and ottoman where the TV currently is, and get a smaller chair for the left side of the fireplace.”

Tracie’s furniture placement ideas were spot on – that’s something we cover extensively in the EPS™ course.  I put together this inspiration board to visualize where to put the TV in this space, and how to place the furniture.inspiration board by The Decorologist

One thing I love about my EPS™ stagers is that they think outside the box! Maggie Settler of Pittsburg Staged Homes had a great idea for where to put the TV. She said:

“This is a crazy, off the wall (literally!) idea- what if you put the TV in front of the fireplace, on the hearth. Remove the screen and use a board to fill the actual hole (painted the same color as the brick),then position the sofa/chairs to face the TV. Since this is not for staging, it might look better if there was only one focal point, since the TV needs to be large for the client to see it.” 

Great idea, Maggie! Kinda like this:

Lifehacker

Stephanie brought up a practical question for this design. She asked, “I like this idea, but how would you disguise the wires that have to reach an outlet or cable box?”

No one wants wires sticking out from their television. They are distracting and make the room feel messy and undone. Maggie had a solution to this problem. She said:

“What about a little (2”) platform for the TV to sit on? The cords could be inside of it and then run off the side to the plugs. Or, just put them inside a tube painted the same color as the brick so they wouldn’t be as noticeable, like this.”

These cord covers keep cords under control and out of sight!

These ideas are great, right? I also added a few ideas, along with some photos of rooms with similar architecture that I have worked on:

I would probably paint all the brick WHITE like the trim, rather than wall color – brick is architectural, and treating it like trim is the way to go. I love a painted brick wall!  And why not paint those ceiling beams beams? Here’s an example of something similar I did in a room much like the problem room:

The Decorologist, Melanie G Photography

A fabulous large piece of art over the fireplace will be important – I’d go big and vertical because the ceiling is vaulted. An iron lantern style light would be great, too.

It’s not exactly the same layout, but here’s a recent project I’ve been working on. We had the beams and french doors painted Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore and installed an oversized lantern in the middle of the room.  A great piece of art is the focal point on the large wall space above fireplace, while the television is tucked into the bookcase on a pivoting stand where it can be easily viewed.

The Decorologist

Have you found interesting solutions of where to put the TV?  If you love creating and recreating spaces, maybe it’s time you sign up for the March 2020 Expert Psychological Staging course and actually make money doing what you love!  Find out more about last LIVE, in-person course here before it goes online.