Creating the right ambience for your living space is really important. After all, you want to be able to relax and feel at home, and whenever you have guests who come round to visit you’ll want them to feel the same. Now everyone knows there’s no ambience quite like the comforting flickering from a fireplace during the autumn and winter months, which is why so many people these days are keen to update their fireplace to give their household that simple makeover. But when you have both a TV and a fireplace, should you put your television?
In homes with no fireplace, the TV often acts as a substitute. It’s that box of light that draws the attention and gives everyone sitting in there a shared focal point. Chairs and sofas get manoeuvred into position to give everyone a clear view of the screen, just like people do with an open fire. But what if you have both? Is it a good idea to hang your TV over the fireplace?
Some good reasons for doing so are as follows:
Hanging it on the wall means you’re not juggling the space with other pieces of furniture. A wall hung TV is a definite space saver, and that may be an issue for you.
What’s more, if it’s on the wall, it’s going to be clearly visible, rather than tucked away in a corner where people are craving to see it.
On the wall above the fireplace, you get the added benefit that your room is already set up with a focal point in this direction, so there’s a natural flow to the room. The TV becomes part of that flow.
On the other hand, there are some cons. If you don’t always have the TV on, you might prefer it not to be too eye-catching for the rest of the time. Wall mounting it means you can’t really avoid people staring at that space on the wall, in a way that won’t be so likely if it’s hidden in a corner. It's something to bear in mind.
Get some friends to hold the TV above the fireplace while you ask yourself if you like the look of it. It’s a simple step, but worth doing before you take any steps. For some people, it might feel a bit cluttered to have both the fire and the television on the same wall, but it depends on the style of both and the layout of the room.
The fireplace is obviously going to be producing heat unless it’s there just for show. That means heat could well affect anything you hang above it - your TV, for example. Heat can be a problem for televisions - not just the warm air that comes through the front, but potentially also the warmth of the chimney breast itself. This is especially the case with an open fire. It’s possible to insulate the wall to solve that problem, but it’s worth checking.
Hopefully, we’ve given you some factors to consider here, but a lot comes down to personal preference, and if there's no reason not to, a TV on the wall above your fireplace could be perfect!