I like mmilos suggestions. If, however, you mount it where the mirror is, look into those "box" frames for TV's. We walk into a room with a side view of our tv in the bedroom, and it's not a pretty sight! You see the mount, wires, etc. I'm going to put mine in a box frame to hide it all!
Just a head's up ....

Thanks for the great suggestions! This is a terrific site.

It looks like you have only 2 choices.
1. Mount over fireplace and move sofa to staircase wall.
2. Mount on staircase wall with shallow console underneath. Do you have enough space to squeeze in a console?

Yes. I think i do. do you think it will look like it is blocking the way to the back door?

Use painters tape and tape off a rectangle that is approximately 55"x18" and live with it for a day or so. If the tape on the floor bothers you, then the console will definitely make you crazy.

I've built a 42" high 8' long 18" deep drawer bank w/ a 12" wide 8' long and 22" tall TV table which fits behind. This would work for you as well. The drawer bank faces the incoming traffic as a 1/2 wall - The TV on the back side faces your sofa. You can then rotate the chairs to the fireplace leaving the passage behind them as backyard deck access.

You can have it tilted for better viewing if you opt for the FP mount. If you put it by the stairs there'll be issues with traffic blocking the view. I prefer the opposite corner left of the front door. That way your sofa would work on the wall opposite the FP or on the side away from the door and TV, so it would open the room and the space would not feel so blocked up.

Too much traffic in front of it on the stair wall

If you put it on the staircase wall, I would suggest either having it on a console or mounting it with some shelving around it to hide the cords and give a more decorative look to the wall:

I would take down those pictures on your mantel and hang them around the mirror on opposite wall. Put your tv above the fireplace and bring furniture in closer on game day. I would not put the tv on wall with mirror. Because when you guys move things in and out you do not want movers or anyone to bump or knock down your tv off the wall. Your husband will be in the ICU after someone makes his 50" tv hits the floor. Also add matching track lighting (at lowes)and large gold sunburst mirrors above orange table and behind green couch.The gold will complete the room and match beautiful with your greens and oranges.

the tv screen would be best on the staircase wall I believe as the others have suggested

What is behind the gold mirror on the staircase wall? Could you build a niche for the TV and all the wires, etc?

as the niche could be too involved try a frame that could be installed independant of the screen ...to hide the wiring

Thanks for all the comments, you are all helping to turn this into a conversation instead of an arguement! Excellent ideas!

Here is my 'working with what you have' plan:

1. Remove the mirror from the staircase wall and hang it AND the other mirror (I think that's a mirror that's resting on the floor under the long, skinny table???) vertically over that entrance way table. Add the bowling pin shaped lamp from the other side of the room to that table.

2. Move the collage of pictures on the fireplace mantel to the stairway wall. Hung creatively!

3. Mount the TV above the fireplace, but not too high, and look into one of those devices that allows you to pull the TV down and away from the wall for optional viewing heights.

4. If the rug isn't centered in front of the fireplace, do that now; it looks centered in the picture, but its hard to tell.

5. Move the sofa so that it is running parallel to the fireplace, the rug, and the wood grain of the floor. The front of the sofa should be on the rug by a few inches. Play with the exact positioning so that it isn't too close to the TV and there is ample room for traffic behind you.

6. If I am sitting on the sofa facing the fireplace/TV, move the light blue gray chair to the right. Move the yellow chair to the left. The chairs should be centered on the short sides of the rug with the front (or their feet) on the rug by a few inches. Angle them in a little if looks better.

7. Move the wooden side table with the globe lamp lined up by the sofa but so that the person sitting in the light blue gray chair can use it also. Move the circular, silver table to the outside of the yellow chair.

That's all I got! :) Not sure what do to about the other pieces of furniture... the space with the blonde bookcase maybe just needs some colorful books. The space from front door to back door, running along the staircase wall is strictly a traffic lane- hanging the TV in the middle of that interrupts the flow of the house.

my 2 cents: having been in this dilemma myself and learning from it-- I would strongly suggest putting the TV over the existing FP. That way your focal points are conjoined. Then I would do a small footprint L shaped couch. One side across from the TV, and one side where your couch is now.

Make the wall that now has the (too small) mirror an "art wall" with several related pieces of artwork framed in a unifying way. You can even use your kids artwork and get frames from IKEA. It doesn't have to be expensive to be art. Maybe pop in some directional (track) lighting onto the art wall for emphasis.

This also sets a pathway to walk by the TV area without disrupting the flow of the room.

Good luck!

great ideas!

I don't think anyone has mentioned the elephant in the room. It's hard to tell, but the room doesn't seem extremely wide and a 50" TV is big. If this is a new TV, have you both looked at it in the store and stepped far enough away from the screen so that you feel comfortable viewing it? What's that distance - and do you have that much distance in your living room?

Did I miss something?? I you put the tv on the wall with the stairs, where would you put the sofa so you can watch tv ??? I think over the FTP is the best place. Good luck.

Practice sitting and staring above the mantle before you put the tv there. It will probably drive you crazy and give you neck pain!!!

You seem to have a fair amount of room to play with. I agree with the earlier suggestions about placing the TV where the mirror currently is.

You can likely create a little niche in the wall to set the TV back flush with the wall if that was a concern for you. Or if you think there won't be enough room to walk past a narrow console, bear in mind too that your sofa could slide a little to the left to give you a little more room.

:) Elise

Ps. I LOVE your home - trust your instincts, you clearly have great style!

check out the web site for 'dynamic mounting'... that's all one word with '.com' at the end. The biggest mistake people make when hanging their TV over the fireplace is that they hang it too high. This solves the problem by adding the tilt when you have a fire going... and bringing it down when you don't have a fire. Hanging it on the stairwall is problematic on many levels- despite it being in the flow of traffic, you can't put your sofa across from it- otherwise, you'd be blocking the fireplace... plus a room with two focal points has one focal point too many. This dyanmic mounting should ease any concerns about it being too high.

this is a 50 inch TV that weighs 56 lbs. with the 'down and out' mount.