I posted something slightly similar a couple weeks ago when I was trying to decide who to set up our own room and we are will have our TV over our fireplace. It is actually set up the same way in our current home, and as your mantle is only 3'6" of the ground and we don't have a raised hearth it works quite well. My DH does complain that he has to tilt our LCD screen down to get the perfect viewing angle though!

Below is a link where I posted some of my inspiration photos, though I don't know enough about fireplaces to know if these are direct vent or vent free.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fireplace inspiration

I just learned about a Rumford fireplace (not a brand name- a design named after the guy who invented it in the 1700s.) It looks really interesting and we're considering using it in our build. You might want to check it out for yourself!

We have our tv over the fireplace and we did not do a raised hearth. (I didn't want a raised hearth - had it in our old house and wanted a change.)

We have a gas fireplace that is ventless. It is on the smaller side. We used a smaller mantle (4" deep cedar) and we kept the TV at a good height. My head doesn't tilt back to watch tv - I feel like I'm not tilting any more than if I'd mounted it on top of the media cabinets next to the fireplace. Let me know if you want me to post a photo.

downsy I would love to see photos. I am planning to do the same set up and have concerns about the TV height.

I'm attaching 2 photos - ones a little closer. We could have put our mantle a little lower and the tv would have been a bit lower too. But we felt this looked balanced in the room with the higher ceilings. We don't feel like we're looking up and getting a sore neck!

Without even considering the ergonomics of the situation (which are vitally important!) I'm just not fond of the visual black hole above another visual black hole from a design standpoint. Black adds a lot of perceived mass and weight to a space and has to be considered very carefully from in your overall design. You just can't plop a TV above a fireplace and expect it to look right unless it's designed to look "right". You would need to use black in a big way as an accent color for the rest of the room in order to make it feel integrated and spread the heavyness out, or else plan on some type of masking camoflauge like a sliding picture or mirror to conceal it. And that is in addition to using a decorative fireplace screen (NOT in black) that modifies the lower black hole, of course.

GreenDesigns, I can appreciate your point of view, but it is subjective. Many designers plan TVs over fireplaces and they look fantastic when properly planned out, which doesn't need to include a lot of black accents.

In an ideal set up I would love to have a room where the fireplace and TV were on entirely separate walls, but that often doesn't work, and from my own perspective having the TV and fireplace on the same wall but not stacked creates an asymmetry that I personally don't like. That said, I can see why other people prefer that design and I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of it.

Here are some TV over the fireplace inspiration photos:

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[Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by Chicago Interior Designer Michael Abrams Limited

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[Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by Chicago Interior Designer Michael Abrams Limited

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[Traditional Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2107) by Toronto Interior Designer c3d design

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[Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by New York Photographer Alexander Johnson Photography

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[Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Baltimore Architect Ziger/Snead Architects

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[Contemporary Entry design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2103) by Vancouver General Contractor Klondike Contracting

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[Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Los Angeles Design-build Stonebrook Design Build

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[Contemporary Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Boston Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

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[Traditional Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2107) by San Francisco General Contractor Mueller Nicholls Cabinets and Construction

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[Traditional Living Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by San Francisco Architect Studio S Squared Architecture, Inc.

At first I considered different solutions as well, however I've decided the TV over the fireplace is my preference when compared to the TV being in a cabinet next to the fireplace, or the TV being on a console table with the fireplace in the corner.

TV in cabinet next to fireplace - the furniture is always off center. This may good in a room (like a formal living room) where the TV is seldom turned on, but in a family room where the TV is on for a couple hours most evenings it isn't my preference.

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[Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by San Francisco Architect Mahoney Architects and Interiors

Fireplace in corner - I don't like the loss of symmetry and needing to use a console table. I suppose built in cabnitry would be possible, but again, I really appreciatte symmetry in design.

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[Contemporary Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2103) by Chicago Media And Blogs Jiye Lee, Pearls and Green Tea

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[Eclectic Family Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2104) by Minneapolis Interior Designer Happy Interiors

Though, if I could put the fireplace on a different wall altogether I may do something like this:

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[Modern Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2105) by Tel Aviv Architect SK Designers - Shimrit Kaufman

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[Contemporary Media Room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-theater-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_719~s_2103) by New York Architect Dufner Heighes Inc

I'm one of the proponents of the tv over the fireplace. If I hadn't just plunged forth doing it in our last house I would question it, but our necks were never strained and none of our kids ever complained about it, either - we just never even thought about it and it wasn't tilted down, either. Different strokes...

That said, I do try to keep the tv on the low-ish side. And be aware, if you have a wood-burning fireplace, code pushes the mantle up something like 9" if it's made of a combustible material like wood. Thus we are getting a stone mantle to keep it lower.

And completely agree on the direct vent gas - safety issue PLUS the direct vented fire is so much prettier. We're putting in one wood and one gas, and I insisted the gas be direct vent (even though it cost a hunk more to do it because of placement - another story).

thanks all! Laura12, thanks for sharing your decision making process.

@bevangel, yes after reading some articles, we decided to go with direct vent fireplaces.

I hadn't even thought of the fireplace options (direct vent or otherwise) but I guess we will be going with a direct vent as well! :)