It is too high to mount the TV above that mantel so post pics of the whole room and IMO TVs are best on walls and if you have space a nice wall of the TV some storage and a bit of display .It does not appear to be a working FP now so how badly do you want a fake FP .The cheap and easy solution is to leave everything as it is but get a cabinet made for in front of the firebox and mount the TV above it in front of the FP.

Don’t seal up your fireplace! It’s a lovely feature....keep the layout as is.

Agree the fp is a nice feature but much too high for a TV. Center of TV screen should be at eye level from a seated position...about forty two inches from the floor.

This is the layout of the room. As you can see I'm not blessed with options in terms of placement. So what to do??

I thought I was having TV placement issues in my family room - but I think yours is trickier!

I like how your fireplace looks in the room and wouldn’t want to have it blocked off by some sort of custom built media cabinet. Having a sectional placed in the room as shown definitely causes more restrictions on the placement of the TV. I actually wanted to purchase a sectional for my family room but decided to purchase a sofa (which can function as a sectional if desired) and two oversized chairs (not “chair and a half” width but wider to allow for more varied positions) because I couldn’t decide what to do with my TV prior to ordering new furniture (first time buying down filled cushions - which I love so far). I think that I’m going to have a TV lift cabinet made so I can hide TV when not in use (it will be placed on a wall with a partially open staircase). Another solution that I considered was to place TV in ceiling - it actually hides in ceiling and then swings down and can be lowered - which would allow for it to be in front of my fireplace when in use. The contractor who just installed new wood floors for me has actually constructed a couple of hidden TV ceiling compartments and he said that the customers were very happy with the results.

Have you considered blackout drapes? You could put the TV on the wall opposite the window and pull the drapes when in use. The sectional could be rotated against the windows so one side faces the fireplace and the other the tv.

perhaps you can revisit the staging placement of the TV? I have an easel-looking stand that i love! Push the sectional toward the FP, angle the TV in the corner. Makes it viewable from all the seats. Easel hides all the cords and can be easily readjusted. if your tv is too heavy, just invest in a new TV!

Mock up with shelves. You would still probably want something like a mantelmount, to pull the tv down to a nice height to watch, then store it up high. (www.mantelmount.com) This is a gut job though...remove old fireplace, new fireplace install, custom bookshelves and cabinets built. But it gives you a vision of what it could look like.

And with no fireplace, although you might would probably want the center section lower, tv is still a bit high.

Do you have any other room to put a TV in? The fireplace is a beautiful feature and adds value to the house. I love Jean's mock-up. But if you don't want to spend that kind of money, I suggest trying it on the wall facing the windows first. I'm not sure that glare is such a problem with the newer TVs as it used to be. I put my big TV in the basement rec room, but I have a little bit smaller one in a den off the kitchen that faces a wall with three windows and I've never noticed a glare problem with it. Many people in my neighborhood have a TV in the living room facing the window and it seems to work for them.

the problem is the sofa. it's obviously too large for that room.

have you tried placing it against the window and putting the tv on the opposite wall?

Do a google search on TV Lift cabinets. If you're handy, you could buy the lifting mechanism and build the cabinet. Also, perhaps try the sectional against the window wall. TV on the wall opposite the windows.

Thanks Jean. I love that the visualisation gives an idea of what it would look like. Something like that (the first pic with the mantel mount) is probably what would be most ideal. I see what the other folks are saying about using the wall opposite the window and I will try it but I think the reflection will be too much. Glare and reflection is pretty bad now when watching any dark content and it's not opposite the window. Blackout curtains might help as well. I don't necessarily hate the staging setup but the TV at an angle/off-centre won't be ideal.

Side note, what color rug and curtains do you think I should go for in the room?

What other colors do you have in furnishings? The sofa appears to be a light greige with a few dark gray scatter pillows? Any pictures that you love?

Also, not sure where you are located - We are in Raleigh, central NC - and are just finishing a remodel that included a new fireplace with built-ins on each side. They were extra large, since they are part of our great room which has 20 ft ceilings. (House was built in 1991 when that was the rage...) . The new fireplace box was 5K, the marble surround was 2K, and the 10 ft high x 5 ft wide cabinets + shelves + mantel were 7K, a total of 14k.(Oh and a couple of hundred to run the gas line) And we chose an expensive fireplace, because our room is so large it needed a large fireplace for scale. You don't have that situation at all. There were lots that were much less costly. We did shop around for the cabinets, and had estimates from several places, ranging from 5K -> 20K, just for cabinets and the mantel. Saw the work the fellow we hired did and luckily he was one of the lowest bids. :)

In an investment house that we had several years ago, we removed a brick fireplace like you have. It was Very messy and dirty but actually quite satisfying work with a hammer drill and sledge hammer...just be prepared and have Everything covered and your hardwood floor protected for when the bricks start falling. Wood is considerably softer than brick. That one had a raised hearth and getting rid of it made the room feel much larger.

Jean you're awesome! Thanks so much for the info. It gives me some things to think about. The sofa is a neutral grey with some bluish pillows but I think it's neutral enough to take any colour. We just moved in and haven't committed to any colours yet so anything could work at this point I think. Thanks again

I think if you lowered your mantle (mine is 6" above the firebox) you could still mount your TV on the fireplace. A wraparound wood mantle could hide your wires/cable etc.., definitely consult with fireplace shop, TV salespeople etc.. to find an expert to help you do this. A less expensive option than removing the fireplace altogether. Agree that sectional is too big for the size of this room.