Big TV in kitchen?

15 years ago

As we have worked through our kitchen design, we have tried to place a TV somewhere. My sweet husband gets up at 5, has coffee and toast and watches the news while he reads the paper and email and goes to work before I get up at 6. We currently have a circa 1983 13" TV sitting in a corner on the countertop.

My choice is: let there be a TV in the kitchen or get up an hour early to keep him company. So we're going with the TV.

We fussed with a couple of locations. Needs to be out of the "messy" zone since we love to cook. Needs to be seen from breakfast area and from cooking area. There's a chimney and a bathroom between the family room TV and the cooking part of the kitchen. The idea that has suddenly emerged is (don't laugh) a 42" flat-screen over the fridge. We measured, and the area available is just the right size. It could sit in a very shallow (bookcase-like) cabinet with no door, flush with the front of the refrigerator. Behind that, there would be a pull-out that opens to the side to hold seldom used items. (refrigerator is the end of the cabinet run)

I'm undecided. I hardly ever watch TV, but now that you can stream anything to your TV, it could be a huge photo frame some of the time. Seems like a good use of space. We have lots of cabinets, so using that area for premium storage isn't a concern.

Has anybody ever seen this done?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

kathylquiltz
15 years ago
We have installed a 26" flat screen in the cabinet above the fridge. We haven't moved back into the kitchen yet, but I'm sure we will use it a lot. We had stow away doors (for lack of a better term) that push back into the cabinet made for the cabinet.
beaglesdoitbetter1
15 years ago
We are installing a 20 incher above the pantry door. If we had room, we'd go for a bigger one. Got the idea when we saw it in a house we walked through that our builder had built. It was really unobtrusive. Done right, I think a bigger tv above the fridge like you are thinking of could look just as nice.

They make tilt-down mounts if you want more comfortable viewing, which can be automated to tilt the TV down when it is turned on
Related Professionals
Pensacola Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Somerset Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Anderson Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Norfolk Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Middletown Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Queens Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Lake City Kitchen Remodelers · Atlanta Kitchen Remodelers · Middlesboro Kitchen Remodelers · Chattanooga Kitchen Remodelers · Cleveland Kitchen Remodelers · Superior Kitchen Remodelers · Charleston Custom Countertops · Stamford Custom Countertops · Medford Custom Countertops
cindaintx
Original Author
15 years ago
Oooh, love your kitchen.
Thanks for the visual.
beaglesdoitbetter1
15 years ago
Not my kitchen :) It is the kitchen I saw when we walked through one of the builder's houses that convinced me that he needed to build our house (among other things in this house, which was gorgeous!)
zelmar
15 years ago
We love our tv above our fridge. It is a perfect spot for us (like you, we wanted to be able to see it from the cooking/prep area and dining area.)

Our tv is a small one and is mounted on a swivel arm in the cabinet. We have regular doors on the cabinet-they help with dust control. I never notice the doors when the tv is on--they just fade into the background. We couldn't use hideaway doors because we needed access to the side of the cabinet for mounting the swivel arm. Plus, the interior space was very valuable to me and I didn't want to lose the width.
sombreuil_mongrel
15 years ago
I can't judge anyone elses choices, but unless the TV is completely across a very large room from where you'll view it, a big screen seems a little "out there". I have seen adjoining sitting areas with a low-mounted TV, easy chairs, etc. where you can incidentally see the TV from the kitchen.
My 26" TV is mounted at mid-height in a small kitchen, and I would not ever think of going any bigger.

Casey
gw_monkeyjac
15 years ago
We mounted a flat screen over the fridge/freezer. It's on a swivel arm in a recessed panel. It's terrific when you're sitting at the island.
fourkids4us
15 years ago
Those of you with a flat screen up so high, how is the picture? We have a 13" flat screen in our kitchen that I like to use when I cook or to watch the news while making my kids' breakfast, pack their lunches, etc. Mine sits on the top of a shelving unit in my kitchen, but it's basically at eye level to me. However, if my kids want to watch something, the picture is somewhat distorted down at their eye level. Sometimes one of my kids will climb up onto the counter and sit there (dh likes to watch sports while he cooks, so that's a favorite perch for my boys).

I notice the same thing happens to me in my bedroom. I have a flat screen inside an armoire. We have a bench at the end of our bed, so sometimes I'll sit there to put on socks/whatever while getting dressed. If the TV is on, I can't really see it at that level. It's perfect though if I'm standing up or laying in bed.

When we redo our kitchen, I was planning to have a built-in area where the bookshelf is now (for phone, computer, TV, etc) but one of the things I figure I need to work into the plans is to not have the TV up too high. If I had it atop my fridge, that would probably be too high. We don't watch it while eating dinner, but I would think for those of you that do, having it up that high would distort the picture somehow (assuming it is a flat screen and not the old style of TV). Those of you that have it high don't have this issue?
zelmar
15 years ago
When we tv shopped--5 years ago--I knew the tv would be up high. I checked out as many viewing angles as I could (including sitting on the floor of the show room and staring up at the tv). At that time, there was a big difference in the quality of the picture depending on the brand. I think the tv's have gotten a lot better since then. We're very happy with the picture quality of our screen (for a non-HD tv). We tend to listen to the tv more than watch it. When it's on, it usually has news or sports and we tend to watch only when something notable is happening.

I think the height of the tv would be uncomfortable on our necks if we were staring at it for long periods of time.
lavender_lass
15 years ago
I think your TV over the fridge is a great idea! Also love Beagles TV over the pantry...no wonder you chose that builder, he seems wonderful! :)
cindaintx
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the input about viewing angles. Since we already own the tv that would go there, I intend to spend some time tomorrow sitting on the floor in front of it and tilting it back to see if the angle matters.
You guys are great - always know what to think about.
beaglesdoitbetter1
15 years ago
Tilt down mechanism could be your best friend here:
http://www.smarthome.com/4323/CLO-Systems-T2-TP150B-Automated-Tilt-Motorized-Mounting-System-for-a-TV-Display/p.aspx

http://www.mountsdirect.com/product_info.php?products_id=276&language=en&cPath=1#googlebase

Does it automatically when the TV turns on. We're probably getting them for our over-the-fireplace TVs to minimize the horrors of "neck strain" I keep hearing about as a reason not to put the TV over the fireplace.
jgopp
15 years ago
Honestly I think 42 is way too big. I have a 19.3 inch Samsung in my kitchen. My friends and family watch it all the time. We have a set of wireless speakers above the cabinet too to help project the sound. But with the quality of the LED screen I can't ask for much more. Depends if you're watching movies in the kitchen or just watching for news.