My wife and I are designing a floorplan and she is basically requiring that the tv go over the fireplace.

I like the look of this, but do not like it when the tv is too high up causing neck strain.

I'm currently looking for solutions to this, does anyone have any advice

Here is our floorplan:




Here is a picture I came across that may be a good option, with a relatively low viewing angle:



Any advice appreciated

[Edited on June 16, 2015 at 11:30 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on June 16, 2015 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on June 16, 2015 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

6/16/2015 11:29:49 AM

keep the mantle low, or get a bracket that you can pull the tv out and down

be careful of heat

6/16/2015 1:01:01 PM

I agree with a low mantle; could you do a stepped floor to lower the chimney area? If you're going wood burning, the low area around the chimney could be stone to help prevent fires. Those screens don't catch everything and those front aprons aren't long enough

[Edited on June 16, 2015 at 1:49 PM. Reason : .]

6/16/2015 1:47:58 PM

Quote :

"I agree with a low mantle; could you do a stepped floor to lower the chimney area? If you're going wood burning, the low area around the chimney could be stone to help prevent fires. Those screens don't catch everything and those front aprons aren't long enough"

What do you mean by a stepped floor? We will have gas logs by the way

6/16/2015 3:20:22 PM

Have you asked you architect?

6/16/2015 4:48:41 PM

terrible tv room. put the tv elsewhere

where are your rear surrounds going to go???

6/16/2015 10:16:32 PM

in the ceiling or hanging from the ceiling - should be fine

6/16/2015 10:53:48 PM

Quote :

"or get a bracket that you can pull the tv out and down"

This is my current plan. Keep it tucked against the wall when not viewing, extend down when viewing. Common sense dictates that you're not going to be watching TV at the same time a fire is burning directly below, and gas logs are really more decoration than heat source unless you've got a well-designed blower installed.

6/16/2015 11:52:01 PM

Quote :

"What do you mean by a stepped floor?"

The floor would be lower at the fireplace by a step or two (7-14"). It's a popular design feature for large rooms in some nice homes, though I haven't seen it in years. For your posted floorplan, you could do a half-hexagon surrounding the fireplace and connected to the left wall:



[Edited on June 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM. Reason : mak ebig]

6/17/2015 12:00:30 AM

Buy two
put one on each side
...
Profit

6/17/2015 8:52:59 PM

^^that's a half octagon, btw

6/18/2015 2:12:20 AM

tell your wife no

6/18/2015 8:16:59 AM

JP is right. You have to change your wife's mind.

And, frankly, I'm not sure your wife should be involved in this process at all if she's seriously insisting y'all put a TV over a fireplace. That's not a problem you need to troubleshoot. That's just a disaster that shouldn't be allowed to occur.

6/18/2015 10:38:42 AM

put all of your furniture on like 2 foot risers and have steps to get on the couch/chairs.

that way the viewing angle is better.

6/18/2015 12:32:35 PM

My buddy has his TV mounted over the fireplace and while I don't like it, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. And he has a normal height mantle, etc...

He had a scenario like you where there really wasn't another option. While it isn't ideal, it really isn't that bad.

6/18/2015 4:48:18 PM

i have mine at normal height mantle. I don't like it but its not that bad. plus when the wife wants to walk in front of the TV she can't plus later down the road with kids and shit it won't be an issue.

if you get a good mount, you can angle it down.

6/19/2015 9:07:37 AM

Yeah my previous two apartments I've had to do this. Just make sure to angle it down as most tv's have limited viewing angles from below. I've never noticed any neck strain from tilting your head a couple degrees up. Plus when you lean back on a couch your head naturally tilts upwards anyway. Same thing with a movie theater.

6/19/2015 4:26:34 PM

Before


After


fuck a fireplace. roast marshmallows in the microwave

6/20/2015 11:10:09 PM

^ Is it safe to assume that both you are not married and Hispanic?

6/20/2015 11:25:23 PM

Put the TV against the railing so you can enjoy your fireplace without worrying about damaging the electronics. If you never use the fireplace, just block it with the TV...

6/21/2015 2:08:34 AM

^^^ that's not yours, right?

that shoot looks terrible, whoever did that needs to fire their designer and their tile person. not only is the design fucking god awful, the craftsmanship and execution are shitty

6/21/2015 1:02:56 PM

Yeah they're pretty ghetto...

6/21/2015 1:23:25 PM

our TV is above the fireplace as that is pretty much the only area of wall that isn't either a window, a corner, or stairs in the living room. Luckily we have a low mantle and the TV is at a very natural height for watching. (I can't stand having to practically stare at a ceiling while watching television at some other homes i've been to.)

6/21/2015 6:47:56 PM

Hey! I have mine over the fireplace and it rocks!

6/21/2015 10:04:05 PM

the tile was a bit of a mistake to cover a dodecagon cut in half. If I had it to do again, I would have done granite. I could still replace the top. I built it in a modular fashion. fuck no im not married, nor hispanic. even if i was either or both, id build it again. tabletop and video games >>>> wood fire place.

6/22/2015 12:40:33 AM

There are some rooms where it really doesn't work elsewhere. In the home that I will (hopefully) be closing on soon, the living room has a fireplace and a window on the front wall. The second wall is formed by the stairway to the second floor. The third wall has another window, and a door to the screen porch. Rear wall has a large cased arch to the dining room. So the only place it would physically fit would be in the rear corner (between a door with glass panes and the archway to the dining room) or on the stair wall. Both solutions suck for various reasons, so above the fireplace is the only one that works. Thankfully the mantle is not obnoxiously high.

These situations happen in homes designed before TV was a thing.

6/22/2015 3:21:02 AM

Quote :

"even if i was either or both, id build it again. tabletop and video games >>>> wood fire place."

I don't think anyone's necessarily disagreeing with you there. It just looks ghetto because you can still see the fire place behind it and the tiling looks like it's out of a 1960's school cafeteria (the small ones).

If you wanted to cover up the fireplace you could have gotten a nice media stand to go in front of it. Hell putting the TV on it's own stand on top of that tile would have looked better because you wouldn't be able to see the top of the fire place frame.

--not to mention there's carpet over hardwood? Rip up that carpet. Plus those lights. You put cabinets above them so bulbs wouldn't fit in them and just left them empty?

[Edited on June 22, 2015 at 11:50 AM. Reason : s]

6/22/2015 11:40:37 AM

i took the lights out of the wall later

[Edited on June 22, 2015 at 11:54 AM. Reason : i had a media stand, but ps3, ps4, xb360, xbone, slingbox, dvr, receiver, and htpc were too much]

6/22/2015 11:53:13 AM

Plus all that work for a tiny-ass TV...

I have a TV mounted over the fireplace, and I generally only get neck strain during a longer-than-usual gaming session. And that's mostly because of the way I sit.

6/22/2015 12:21:39 PM

you need to just tear all that out and start over

6/22/2015 12:44:20 PM

Yeah if you own that place and aren't going to ever use the fireplace just tear that bitch out and start from scratch.

6/22/2015 1:38:33 PM

^not yet built

Quote :

"My wife and I are designing a floorplan and she is basically requiring that the tv go over the fireplace"

on that note, my advice is to not make a fireplace.

6/24/2015 6:17:00 AM

i think that post was in response to the dude with the terrible ghetto tile bar in front of his fireplace

6/24/2015 9:04:30 AM

If the fire place is already there or if you're building a house? A TV above a fire place just means you had to put it there. Designing a room from scratch that way is just a bad idea. Ideally a fireplace goes in a formal living room without a TV. Then a TV goes in a den not a living room.

6/24/2015 10:07:33 AM

fireplaces go in a cozy den, not a formal living room

6/24/2015 10:28:13 AM

Cozy living room.

6/24/2015 10:29:24 AM

there is a name for a cozy living room, a den

6/24/2015 11:08:40 AM

It's just hard to have a nice fireplace setup AND a nice TV setup without putting the TV above the fire place.

6/24/2015 11:14:59 AM

You mean like this?

On the other side of the wall that the TV is on there is a random closet. The receiver, roku, dvd player, wireless router, etc are on racks back there outta sight.

6/28/2015 3:41:18 PM

Quote :

"My wife and I are designing a floorplan "

There's your problem. You need to hire an architect!! If you currently have one, fire them. Now! That's a horrible layout. Tell a good architect what you want, and let them design it, then iterate.

3'10" ish between your island and range. That's way too small. you wont even be able to open a cabinet and have room to squeeze by sideways. much less have two people in your "kitchen".

why is your fridge protruding beyond the cabinets. There's no reason for that in a new construction/ remodel. I don't even begin to understand the two double ovens. not to mention completely open floor plans are soon to be outdated.

finally, fuck a fireplace. TV should always take priority in design these days.

[Edited on June 28, 2015 at 6:16 PM. Reason : .]

6/28/2015 6:15:14 PM

Quote :

"fuck a fireplace. TV should always take priority in design these days."

PSHHHH, I'd prefer to have both whenever possible. A fire place can get you laid. Your 50" Vizio will not.

It is known.

6/28/2015 6:26:27 PM