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Studio Blog

July 7th

Your Fireplace’s New Friend: The TV

I’ll be honest: When we work with people to design or remodel their homes, we typically deal with the woman of the house. The guys might offer their opinions here and there, but that’s about it.

Until we start talking TVs.

Men are all about their televisions, right? The TV can never be too big, too loud or too much a part of the space. For guys, a TV that is front and center is just fine, thanks.

So when we designers propose hanging the TV over a fireplace, those men we rarely hear from during a remodel suddenly come alive. They are always worried a TV installed over the fireplace will be too high and uncomfortable for viewing. I understand—after years of TVs near the floor, it might feel odd to imagine your TV hanging like a picture over the mantel.

Once I convince them they are going to like the result, we go ahead with placing the TV on that fireplace wall. It’s not an easy process—an electrician has to run the wires behind the drywall and then the wall needs to be patched and painted. But the results are so great that it’s well worth it.

Why? First of all, the obvious: you don’t see the wires coming from the TV when they are neatly tucked into the wall. From a space perspective, though, having the TV above the fireplace creates one focal point in the room. When you don’t need an additional spot for the TV, you open up multiple seating and storage options. Plus you can enjoy the fireplace while watching your favorite TV show or movie.

To avoid neck strain, we always have our clients’ TVs hung on mounts that allow them to tilt the unit up or down. If you don’t like the look of a TV over your fireplace, you can hide it with specially crafted wood cabinets that fold over the TV when it’s not in use.

Something many of our clients have found useful is a new infrared device called RedEye that allows you to store your TV and sound system components in another room or closet. You simply use your smartphone to access RedEye and operate all your media equipment from wherever is comfortable. Pretty cool!

Please contact us at Tracy Lynn Studio if we can help with any of your home design needs.