right of fireplace all day, less glare from sliding doors is one key reason, second is still lets the fireplace be the focal point, not the tv.

My preference would be to the left of the fireplace. There is more room there and it's not immediately next to the room entry. It would also slightly skew the orientation of the room towards the outside instead of towards the inside.

But to best position your TV, you need to think about how you want to arrange your furniture.

For example, if you had an L-shaped sectional, you'd probably put the long side across from the fireplace. But the short side would either go near the back door (if the TV were to the right of the FP) or near the room entrance (if the TV were to the left of the FP). Which do you think you might like better? How would the traffic flow?

We’re leaning towards having our L-shaped sectional (which doesnt have a short/long side, just equal), towards the left side of the room (in the corner opposite of the sliding glass door), because we don’t want to block the sliding glass door with any of the sectional.

Alternively we also discussed setting it up where it is 1/4 of the way in the room, then having a stage piano against the wall in the corne under the window. Either way, the plan would be to have one area for play (toddler toys, play slide, etc.) and the other for TV watching (when the toddler is sleeping).

Given that we have a toddler, we were not sure if there was a way to keep him away from the tv (hence why we were intially thinking above the fireplace), but I think we can still wall mount it and just have an mcm cabinet of some kind below.

Tons of people have kids and tv's lol. if you mount it to the wall on a pull out wall mount should give you more flex. also if its mounted to the wall I think outside of finger prints its not going to get knocked over.

Could you post a accurate measured floor plan showing sizes and positions of doors, windows, FP, etc.? It doesn't have to be fancy-- a picture of a drawing is fine. With that and the dimensions of your sectional, we'll be able to help you better.

Keep in mind the size of your screen and the optimum distance for viewing.

Attached is a layout of the basement (home is a split foyer, roughly 2800-3k sqft.)… We only measured the area to the right of the fireplace is 63” wide. Also, in that same space, it’s hard to tell, but the ceiling comes down at an angle to meet the wall (unsure if that’s due to a pipe or something) and the height from the floor to that angled portion is 77” high.

Tomorrow I can take more measurements.

Thank you for the great advice!

You may want to consider having the electrician wire both sides for flexibility.

Could you ditch the TV and do a projector with a pull down screen? The room wants bookshelves flanking the beautiful fireplace, not a TV (I currently have a two year old, expensive, giant TV descending from an otherwise beautiful fireplace like a flying saucer and I am praying for one of the kids to put a baseball through it to justify getting rid of it—don’t be me!)

Would you be using the wood burning fireplace a lot?…if so white may not be-the best color for the brick surround…also the heat factor should be considered in TV placement?…lastly is the room big enough to create more handy storage ( especially with kids)…by bringing all the cabinetry out to line up with tv?…lots of benefits with big drawers …to start training kids to put their stuff away

Love the idea of creating storage with cabinets. It is wood burning and we would eventually like to use it (may need to be relined - TBD). I also agree about book shelves - however, i’m leaning towards mixed storage/shelves.

What color do you recommend for the fireplace if not white?

Interior walls will be BM Cement Grey, Trim will be BM Decorator White. Flooring will be LVP a light looking oak (Hobbs Oak).

@RL Relocation LLC - There is 81” wide on the left side of tbd fireplace. Would it

look weird if we put an MCM shelf/hutch there that is only 48” wide?

That would only leave about 15 inches on either size, but I would also factor in how tall it is.

Are you guys dry walling over the brick on that side?

Also, are you sure you want to put cement color paint in a basement, I really think gray is on the way out and this seems like a room you would want to keep light and airy?

@RL Relocation LLC - That’s accurate, it will only leave 15” on both sides. Not planning to drywall over the brick.

We like the idea of having a consistent grey throughout (modern) and it’s a cool grey. Also, the LVP we’re installing throughout the basement is a very light (scan modern) white oak… which with the recessed lights should keep it more airy than it may currently appear.

All that said, what other colors for the walls or brick were you thinking?

Thanks so much again!

RL has a good point…Gray is pretty over… which is not a rule… but a shame to spend all this time..$…effort… and end up with a room that looks like you did it a while back ..🤷🏻‍♀️… can you show us the color of you new flooring?… white oak sounds perfect…maybe it would inspire another wall color option that is more timeless…

Perhaps 2 colors from the flooring

I wouldnt buy any sort of bookcase/storage until after the sofa is in place I think that will start to give you a better feel for function and form.

I just really think Gray is so boring and over done. It's not modern its typical IMO, its like the beige of the 2000's at this point. I would panel the walls either side of FP, and do an off white wall. Fireplace stays white.

So we love the brick and wouldnt want to cover it up + we could use the extra storage space. We’re also going for a more MCM vibe, given the house is pure MCM architecture and well, we like that style… and so MCM furniture is one way to create that vibe vs cs. just normal modern.

The reason we like grey is because it’s a neutral and we’re not a fan of the wall paint providing the color, because you are stuck with it (until you paint again) and it can be over-powering (unless that’s what you really want)… where as we like neutral because it allows us to layer in color and texture, etc. and balance a vibe through iteration.

That said, we were considering going with a cool white instead (maybe BM Decorator White), but are unsure…

@RL Relocation LLC - Any specific BM white you like?

i'd consider adding back in the MCM raised hearth

The lily white, might be a good in between to gray.