I have watched TV on several fireplace-mounted TVs. In some scenarios, it is totally fine, in others I found it to be uncomfortably high. The smaller the room (thus the closer you're sitting to it), the lower it has to be to seem reasonable. I'm having a hard time getting a sense of the scale in your picture, but if you're talking about putting it over the mantle, that looks pretty high too me. Or maybe the fireplace is very small? If that's a normal sized fireplace, I don't think I'd want my TV way up above the mantle.

This is new construction so we can set the mantle height wherever we want. The room is about 18'x14' and the fireplace is on the 18' wall. I would guess we will be sitting about 8-10' back from the television.

We have your drawn layout. The couch faces the fireplace. We have a loveseat opposite the TV - ie on the other side of the room.

When we have guests and watch TV, we use the articulating bracket.

It isn't an ideal solution but it keeps the fireplace front and center and tucks the TV out of the way.

Ours is a similar layout as yours and david cary's and we have our TV on the left hand side of the fp. Our TV slides out on a tray and can be pushed in behind closed doors when not in use. It can be seen from all seats in the room with the exception of the chair that flanks the fireplace on the opposite side of the TV. There have been several threads on this subject with lots of pictures as well as pros and cons of your options for TV placement but I didn't find the links.

I am wrestling with this issue, too....how to balance the TV and the fireplace. Comfortable viewing of the TV above the fireplace is dependent on the height of the TV and its distance from where you are sitting. Try to replicate your design in your present home and see how it feels. From a wall, measure the proposed distance, then mark several spots on the wall at various heights. Sit in a chair and see how it feels to look at those heights. I did that in our great room and realized that anything much above standard TV-stand height is not what we want. My sister's TV is mounted above the mantle in a smallish room and it isn't comfortable to me. She says she usually watches TV with her head leaning back on the couch so it works for her. I think it is a personal decision and sometimes it is the only solution so you learn to live with it.

The building code addresses how much distance must be between the fireplace and combustible materials so be sure the design is to code. As far as the heat affecting the TV, perhaps your cabinet maker could advise? Or perhaps an audio-video website with a forum?

Old GW threads on this issue:

Here's one from just a few weeks ago

Here's a discussion that appeared on the fireplaces forum

Another from several years ago discussing hanging a plasma TV over a wood burning fireplace

Hope these help

The ComfortVu motorized TV mount was designed for this exact purpose; it automatically carries the TV forward 22 inches (clearing the mantel) and lowers it 29 inches. Its capacity is up to 200 pounds and up to 90-inch TV's. The ComfortVu costs more than other motorized mounts, but they're developing a factory direct purchase plan that will greatly reduce the cost. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: ComfortVu's Website

Thanks for sharing KarenLee. Given the number of threads I seen here on this forum about TVs over the fireplace, If that thing works as advertized, I'd say it is an invention whose time has come.

It is really about comfort & while angled or swiveled mounts can be used, will it:

1) Make your viewing ridiculous wit that things swung so low?
2) Will you be able to turn on your fire place while watching TV wit that mount above? Most likely not.
3) Optimum viewing level is your eyes dead center in the middle of the screen. Will your head be tilted way too high even with TV angled? Most likely.

The AVS.com guys will all tell you that mounting over a fireplace is not optimal.

Base on my experience, it is okay - just not as comfortable as it could be with no fire (glare was my problem) & head still tilted up.

Here is a link to another thread I started in this topic.

Our house is very contemporary, and we are putting in a landscape fireplace with a low mantel, so while the TV will be slighly higher than it would on in the OP's photo, it won't be so high as to cause neck strain.

Currently we have our TV over a relatively low mantle, I believe the bottom of the TV is about 42" off the ground. We have it on a bracket that tilts down and we haven't ever been bothered by the height.

Personally, I don't like the asymetry of having the TV being beside the fireplace on the same wall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corner fireplace or over TV

I am starting to think that putting our TV above the fireplace may be a better solution. It will solve a lot of issues with furniture placement and we will be able to see it clearly from the kitchen. I still have some concerns about others complaining about neck and eye strain with the TV mounted too high. This is a difficult decision.

It really is something that works for some people, and not others. I was pretty uncertain about putting it above our fireplace when we remodeled. I finally relented but refused to have the wire built in until I had live with it for awhile. I fully expect it to not work, but really it has been fantastic, though only because our mantle isn't high!

One thing you'll need to do to make it work well is ensure your mantel is not too high. When you figure out the height can you put your TV anywhere of a similar height to get an idea of what

I'm a audio/video-phile & the HDTV has to be mounted in the correct position - seated & eye level - to make me happy.

But if you are standing in the kitchen or watching TV from varied & elevated viewing angles, then placing a TV over the fireplace shouldn't be a problem.

Go with over the fire place, I set 10ft back from ours and have never had eye neck strain. And it will just flat out look better

Agreed (over the fireplace). May not be optimal viewing angle if you are an audio/videophile (which we are not)but it works for us and will be visible from kitchen area as well.