Layout Ideas for a Living Room with a Fireplace and TV

Having a fireplace in your living room can be a great way to warm the room up, create a cozy atmosphere, and stay comfortable in the home. Along with this, your fireplace can be an amazing feature in your living room, with lots of different designs and looks to choose from. Whether you have a log burner, an electric fire, or a gas fire, it can quickly become a key focal point in your room along with having practical benefits.

However, for many homeowners, especially for those who have a small living room or a living room with an unusual layout, arranging the living room furniture so that the fireplace and the TV don’t visually clash can be tricky. There are a few main things to consider when doing this, including the design and layout of the room, and the angle of the TV screen. Keep reading for some ideas you might like on arranging your living room with a fireplace and a TV.

Choose One Wall as the Feature Wall

For many homeowners, the fireplace wall is an obvious choice for a feature wall. However, a TV can also take up a full wall in the room, especially if it’s a large screen. Depending on the fireplace you have and how you want your living room to look, it’s a good idea to pick either one or the other to be your feature wall. If you have a traditional chimney breast and fireplace with alcoves on either side, then this is usually the most obvious choice for the feature. On another wall, you can then place a TV stand and your TV. To keep the attention on the feature wall, keep the wall that the TV is against as simple and clutter-free as possible. Add more to the feature wall to make it stand out in the room, such as pictures or shelves in the alcoves, a large mirror or artwork above the fireplace, or paint in a contrasting color.

Utilize the Alcoves

If you have a traditional fireplace with a chimney breast and alcoves in your living room, then a common option is to utilize the alcove space when it comes to where your TV is situated. This is a popular choice as alcoves are often too small for other types of living room furniture, and it’s often easy to watch TV from wherever you are sitting in the room when it is placed here. That being said, it’s important to consider the size of your alcove before placing the TV here. If you have a large TV, then it might look silly if it’s bigger than the alcove space, or cluttered if it is on a stand. One option is to attach the TV in the alcove to a wall mount that offers full range of motion.

Consider a Media Wall

Media walls are one of the biggest trends in home décor right now, and for good reason. They can look amazing and allow you to combine both your fireplace and the TV on one wall. You can create a media wall in a living room that has an existing chimney breast and alcoves. Most of the time, this is done by building shelves into the alcoves and a recess for the TV and fireplace. Electric fireplaces are the best choice for a media wall, since the heat is blown out of the bottom, therefore they are less likely to cause any damage to the TV hung above. Along with this, many electric fires have the option to turn on the fire effect or lights without any heat, making it easy to create a comfortable ambience in the room.

Wall Mount Your TV

Wall mounting your TV is a good option whether you want it to be on the same wall as the fireplace or on a different wall. Wall mounting your TV above the fireplace can be a great option for smaller living rooms as it utilizes the space as much as possible, allowing more room for other furniture like armchairs from VidaXL. However, there are a few things to consider before wall mounting the TV above the fireplace. First of all, consider the type of fireplace you have and how much heat it gives off. A mantle is usually the best way to block heat from the fireplace from reaching and causing damage to the TV. Another factor to consider is the height. It’s worth avoiding mounting your TV above the fireplace if it’s very high up, as this will be uncomfortable to watch.

Fireplace TV Stands

If you have a newer home that does not have a chimney breast or fireplace but want the coziness and ambience of a fireplace in the living room, then a fireplace TV stand can be an ideal solution. These are electric fireplaces that also double as a TV stand. They include shelves for storage and can be placed along any free wall in the room, allowing you to enjoy a cozy and warming fireplace while having the TV on the top.

Hiding the TV

If you want your fireplace to be the main focus point in the room and the TV to barely be noticeable unless you are watching it, then there are several options to consider when it comes to hiding the TV in plain sight. Some TVs come with the option to add artwork screensavers to make it look like any regular picture hanging on the wall, which can be worth considering. A TV frame might also be worth considering if you want your TV to look more like artwork when you’re not watching a movie or show. You can make a basic TV frame if you are a creative person who enjoys DIY projects. Some TVs also have TV frames designed for that model that you can purchase and use. This can be an ideal choice whether you decide to wall mount your TV above the fireplace or on another wall.

A TV and a fireplace in the same living room can definitely look great with the right layout, even in small or unusually shaped spaces.

 

Five Essential Elements of a Great Home Theater Room

An opulent home theater room isn’t just the ultimate way to enjoy your favorite films; it is also a trophy item that adds thousands of dollars to the value of the home. Although you undoubtedly want to build the best home theater possible, quality is costly and your expenses can quickly spiral out of control. When planning your home theater budget, consider these five essential elements without which no home theater would be complete.

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Screen

Although it goes without saying that every home theater requires a screen, it might not be obvious to you that the type of screen you select will impact the viewing experience significantly. For example, many large LCD screens exhibit poor color saturation for viewers seated too far to one side. On the other hand, projection screens — while relatively inexpensive — work poorly in rooms with too much ambient light.

You’ll also need to consider the size of the screen. Although a 42-inch screen might seem large in your living room, it wouldn’t suffice for most home theaters. If your home theater room is already built, you can experiment with various screen sizes before making a purchase. Have two volunteers hold a tape measure diagonally where you plan to position the screen and imagine yourself viewing films on a display of that size. If you are still unsure, buy the largest screen you can afford. Few people have ever complained about a screen that was too large.

Sound System and Acoustics

Positional audio is one of the most magical elements of the theater viewing experience. Whether it is the left-to-right “whoosh” of a starship at warp speed or floorboards creaking beneath the feet of a zombie that seems to be perched just behind you, nothing puts you in the middle of the action like a great sound system. The 7.1 audio standard — three front speakers, four rear speakers and a subwoofer — is arguably the most popular among home theater owners. Remember that you’ll also need a receiver capable of processing surround-encoded audio and sending it to the correct speakers; you won’t hear positional audio if you connect your speakers to a stereo receiver.

Likewise, pay careful attention to the acoustics of your home theater; this may be even more important than speaker selection. Carpeted floors and walls are common in home theaters because they deaden the sound and prevent echoes. If your home theater is comprised primarily of smooth wood or tile, you can minimize errant echoes by hanging sound baffles from the wall and ceiling. Without proper acoustics, you won’t be able to hear the fine audio details in your films and may even have trouble discerning dialogue; don’t skip this step. If your home theater setup includes a computer or projector with a fan, make sure that it is completely isolated from the viewing area.

Seating

Comfort is the primary factor to consider when selecting the seating for your home theater. A chair or couch that fails to provide proper back support and cushioning for the buttocks and legs will cause discomfort and disrupt blood circulation to the lower extremities, forcing viewers to fidget or stand frequently. The material used to upholster the seating is also critical; you wouldn’t expect your guests to sit perfectly still while watching films. Select a material that doesn’t make loud noises when a viewer changes positions and make sure that errant spills and popcorn kernels are easy to wipe away.

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When shopping for seating, you’ve likely noticed a large price discrepancy between “affordable” and “premium” furniture. Generally, chairs at the low end of the price spectrum have particle board frames and plastic fasteners while more expensive seating uses solid wood and metal. In short order, a chair of poor quality will begin to sag and squeak as the frame loosens and the cushioning loses resiliency.

Wireless Controls

Modern data storage technology makes it possible for even budget computer hard drives to store hundreds of high-definition films. More than ever, people are adding computers to their home theaters to avoid disc swapping and to enjoy games and streaming media. This presents a problem, though; if you isolate a noisy computer and storage array from the viewing area in your home theater, you’ll need to control the computer wirelessly. Bluetooth keyboards only function properly within a few feet and an infrared keyboard only works with a clear line of sight to a receiver. As an alternative, use software that utilizes a smartphone or tablet to control your computer over a wireless network.

Bear in mind that it is possible to go too far with wireless home theater systems. Thanks to modern technologies such as 802.11n and Bluetooth, it is possible to transmit audio and video streams over the air, eliminating costly and messy cables. However, this convenience comes at a cost as these streams are compressed before transmission. If you choose to go completely wireless with your home theater, audio and video fidelity will suffer slightly.

Refreshments

You probably have fond memories of your favorite box of candy or the unmistakable smell of movie theater popcorn. Before you add refreshments to your home theater, though, consider the type of environment you want to create. If you want an intimate home theater focused solely on film viewing, a simple refrigerator and cabinet filled with snacks and bottled beverages will suffice. On the other hand, some people prefer home theaters that function as all-around entertainment areas including such elements as a bar and pool table. In this case, you may want to add popcorn and soda machines.

When selecting refreshment options for your home theater, remember that popcorn has a persistent smell easily absorbed by carpets and cushions and nearly impossible to remove. If you don’t want your home theater to smell like popcorn, don’t purchase a popcorn machine. In addition, make sure that alcoholic beverages can be securely locked away if children are allowed unsupervised access.