You are right David, it does come down to the viewers personal taste and how much they watch TV. My husband is really tall so i guess I'm used to looking up ;) and i only really watch TV at night when the kids have gone to bed. I think a happy medium would be reached by having the TV on an adjustable mount so it can be angled up, down, left or right.

I must say, in my case, the absolute reason behind putting my tv up higher than usual was to get it away from the kids who always seem to want to stand nose to screen! The kids are older now (6 & 8) and I'm planning on putting my TV on a different wall so it may come down to a lower level- I will be posting pics soon as i really need help with the configuration :)

yeah it would look really nice just go with the FLOW!!!!!!

No way!
It is beyond me to why people do this. The tv is always going to be up to high (causing neck strain) and it can a risk by having electricity so close to fire.
A nice piece of art work or a family portrait is much more appealing

It doesn't cause neck strain. You're not sitting a foot under it for Pete's sake. You're at a far away distance where it is doesn't cause kinks, strains, etc. Also, what is this competition with the fireplace that people are talking about? My husband nor I have ever had the TV and Fireplace on- biting our fingers saying" which one to watch which one to watch?" I prefer it being centered versus off balanced but that is just me.

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design: If you say above the fireplace causes neck strain then i say next to it causes sideways whiplash, look at the TV , no wait, look at the fireplace, no the tv , no the fireplace, left right left right... it being off center would cause me to see my doc as it would exaggerate my OCD. hahah

I think Monica has a point that the TV next to the fireplace is not better than above, philisophically. Which is why I advocate a different wall altogether. There are any number of personal reasons why a high placement might be ok. But if you look at the picture example sited, the TV is too high, if you view from the seating shown or anywhere in that room that we can see. I stand by my comments and yes, I know they are widely ignored.

Stipulate that the fireplace and the TV are going on the same wall.
Stipulate modern/contemporary architecture and décor.

The issues seem to be a) competing focal points, b) bad placement leading to neck surgery, eyestrain, and various other maladies, c) bad design.

Is there a way these can be minimized? I think the professionals in the four different photos here managed to do a pretty good job. Would you all agree?

Which one doesn't work and why?

Thanks! Going for permits in the next 2 weeks and want to put this to rest!

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I hate TVs mounted over the fireplace. Bits just wrong!

We recently put the tv over our fireplace and everyone loves it. We have much better tv viewing for many more people. And it gave us enough space for me to have a desk for a small work space. Don't know what took us so long to do it.

Put the tv where you like! It's your house, your fireplace, your tv!!! Goodness. We're not curing cancer here, people! If you want a tv above your fireplace, then that's where it should go, :)

Kill your TV. I hate seeing them as a focal point in a room. I don't own one, and am much happier.

jn3344: I defer to others in the realm of contemporary design. krstennis: if you were designing new and came up with that, fire your designer. And yet, all things considered you have arrived at the best solution. I agree that putting where you now have a desk was not a good location.

Wow David, I'm feeling a bit insulted. Never implied I used a designer, my husband is just a do it your self guy, trying to do something nice for his family while putting kids through college.

Krstennis: disregard some of the designers on here,, they spit out what comes out of their degree and think that is the only way or no way (no offense to the polite designers). A lot of design involves "looking pretty" but not necessarily being functional..( I've seen upholstered walls on here - or shower walls covered in jaggedy rock pieces- or three story bookcases-how in the hell do you dust/clean these- see what I mean?) Do what you want- I'd prefer the TV above the fireplace as more people can view it and nothing is in the way plus it's centered, anywhere else and it just annoys me and doesn't flow to my standards.

I'm not insulting anyone. Just saying, if this was from a new start you would never accept this from a designer you paid money. I also said I thought you came up with the best solution.

I'm glad you took offence, real or feigned because this brings up another point. Everyone has skirted the issue thus far but it is all around. A fireplace is a luxury and how you adorn it is a further luxury. How much resources you choose to expend is a compromise decision. I'm no snob even if my framing of the issue has been snobbish. I would gladly have the fireplace in the original picture, and I'm a stone cutter! But I would take down the tv.

I like some of the upholstered walls. Though I do wonder how you keep them clean. :)

Re: TVs and heat - do I need to be concerned about putting a TV on the wall above a radiator? There's no radiator in the room at the moment but the plumbing for one is all in the same place as the best wall for the TV, so I'm just wondering the best way to manage improving the heating AND having a sensibly located TV.

David, I'm thinking of changing where my tv is to a wall which is exactly perpendicular to our fireplace- do you think that would work?

Pirate: heat is an enemy of electronics especially above 140°. You can only momentarily touch at that temp without burning yourself. RP: try it and see. Here is another unspoken issue: the tv is more important than the fireplace.

btw David, I think there is more of an issue with the placement of that green chair in the picture- can't watch tv from there. I think you raise some good points about a fireplace being a luxury item, however if the electricity goes out it can quickly become a necessity. I heard some spokesperson from an electricity company in the UK stating that people shouldn't be complaining that the electricity has been out for weeks because their grandparents could cope so they should too- I bet many of those grandparents she was speaking of had 'luxurious' fireplaces.

Fireplace as emergency heater....hmm. Most installed firplaces in this country are inadequate for such use. I live in an all electric home. I would need a large generator to use my electric furnace. (I live in Dallas). I hope to remodel the fireplace in my home and am considering replacing the prefab box. Is there a box that really could provide meaningful heat?

oh btw, that spokesperson is a donkeys rear.

I agree! The electrical companies are just trying to wriggle out of compensation claims. 'Meaningful heat'- You can get 'high output boiler stoves' which are basically normal fire stoves but they are linked up to your hot water and central heating. So if your electrical/gas/oil goes down you can fire everything from your stove.

Here is an example: http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi_fuel_stoves/boilers_stoves/stockton_11hb_boiler_stove.aspx

Hmmm, I know a lot of people that have the tv over the fire place. Personally, I prefer to have ours at eye level. The fire and mantle area always take centre stage as they are quite dominant. The fire place wall is painted black, with a huge multi faceted round mirror above mantle, which is grey. Fire place itself is chrome and black. The tv which is rather large, 42" plasma is in the corner, on same wall, on a black glass stand. Now if it were above the fire it would create some more space in living room but that would, for us, be the only advantage.

I think in the UK you may have more chance of successfully using house fireplaces for heat IF you live in an older home that was designed for that in the first place AND IF all of those fireplaces are in working order AND IF you have enough fuel stockpiled to run all of the fireplaces in the way they were designed to be run. (For example, I know in some houses that the expectation was that the main fireplace in the living room would be burning pretty continuously such that the heat in the stone of the chimney warms upper rooms to temperatures tolerable for sleeping with blankets. (I.e. your bedroom isn't going to be super toasty, but with a nice pile of blankets you should be comfortable to sleep and to navigate the room in your sleeping clothes without feeling like you're about to get frostbite.)

But the chances of all of those things being true is pretty slim. Fireplaces haven't been kept up, a lot of them have been blocked off for safety or draft prevention reasons, and even if you do have one or more working fireplaces that you use basically for ambiance occasionally, you are most certainly not going to have the kind of stockpile of fuel required to actually use the thing for hours and days at a time. (My aunt in MN uses a wood stove for HELP heating her house in winter, and it mostly only warms up the living room and a bit of the kitchen, and she has to have a massive pile of wood at the start of the season. And my understanding is that wood stoves are generally more efficient and use less wood per unit of heat than an open fire.)

In northern US, you will find well built masonry fireplaces that have chimney designs that capture heat. These are sometimes known as Russian heaters. I believe there are pellet burning stoves that are very efficient as well. I have an option to grab natural gas from the alley behind my house. I'm going to remodel the fireplace anyway. A lot to consider with limits on funds.

As a number of folks have said it's all about what vantage point you expect to be watching from. Good example is the bedroom. If you have a fireplace facing the bed in your bedroom try it.

I once toyed with the idea of putting our tv above the fireplace until my son, who sold them, told me no, no, & NO! I can't remember all the reasons he spouted, but none of them had to do with design.

Pretty soon we will have our corneas replaced by TV screens then all we need to do is extend our antennae and plug ourselves in. But until that time, I guess we have to find a good place for the TV!

I think you do what you can. If I was going to have both a formal living room and a family room I might go without a TV in the LR but I have a formal LR now and nobody but the cat has been in it for years. So for me its a waste of space. The new home will just have a great room so I am still trying to find the best configuration!

Simply put, the television is not art, not visually appealing...just a black framed nothingness after a while. The newness will wear thin so ideally it can be placed in a corner area as it should never compete for the lovely piece of art or mirror you can enjoy over the mantle...furthermore, how can you you decorate for the holidays, be it a simple decor or more detailed....

Actually everyone's TV can house the world's greatest art collection. Download a hi res collection of your favorite artists and use as a screen saver or simply choose your favorite work of art. We all keep art books on our coffee and side tables. This is one better. Some of the high res pics of art are far more revealing of the artist's intentions or method than any paper print. And yes, I would prefer the real thing but there goes the house renovation....and then some. :)

Yes, I agree with you as I have seen the art captured on the screen! If this is an option it should be looked into and considered. This is something that is not on many people's plates as they are more consumed with the thought of acquiring the television, the thinnest, latest, most resolution with surround.... To bring the Louvre into your home is the best.

kruzer00 - that's the very idea Bill Gates had when he started Corbis. www.corbis.com

jn3344: heh, I can't wait to plug mysef in! As for the antenna, someone will figure out how to use the body for that purpose.

PickyVicky: I think mfgr tend to overstate malfunctions caused by heat. I used to program and operate a cnc in a shop with no environmental controls save the roof in Dallas. It gets hot here. I never had a problem with the programming computer or a CRT or later a LCD screen on the NC. The NC (Numeriac controller, essentially a computer) was in a cabinet that was often at 100 degrees or above. Never a heat related failure. I would blow the dust out of the other PC about twice a quarter. We had more dust in a week than you would have in year. Never a failure. I had similar experiences at other shops.

Once designed a similar area for a chiropractor and we did precisely what CA-K did above. He sees many neck problems in his practice due to the TV above the fireplace. He specified 30-36" off the floor. I bring that up with many clients and it's convinced more than a few to keep the TV low. I do agree that in a bar area it can go higher if people will be standing or playing pool, etc.

For what it's worth (with regard to the comments about a fireplace being used as a heating system back up), a lot of people living in the country in the northern US are subject to dual-fuel heating, where the power company turns off the power supply to the electric heat when there is too much "draw" on the grid, usually when it's absurdly cold outside. At that point, it's up to the homeowner to have a back up in place that will adequately heat her home. In my case, it's currently -25F, and the windchill is bringing us down to more than -50F. According to our power company's schedule, we're going to have electric heat for only 4 hours this afternoon. For us, the fireplace definitely isn't a luxury appliance!

Having said that, we're struggling with proper placement of our TV in relation to the gas fireplace we're about to replace (too inefficient to heat even a small area, let alone act as a back up). There is literally only one wall in the living/dining/kitchen area that could house either, and it's not big enough to put them side-by-side. Looks like we'll be committing the faux pas of piling the TV over top of the fireplace!

David: if I remember my son's conversation correctly, he made a big point about tv type, viewing angles, light in a room, heat because nothing short of a bonfire gets built in our fireplace...etc.

We did have a tv that disintegrated (the plastic around it) after like 9 years. Heavy tv watching in my house.

I used to work for a precision tool & die mfgr., so I'm familiar with CNC, but the place was kept really cool and so clean you could eat off the floor.

I just want to say that the clients home whose picture seems to have sparked this conversation, loves the arrangement and has spoken out on Houzz in response to comments, affirming that the placement works for them. TV height determination should be based on room size, furniture layout and room use. TV's above a fireplace require proper planning, including referring to the manufacturers specifications for both the TV and the fireplace appliance. The TV in the picture is actually set-back quite a ways from the mantle, meeting or exceeding the recommended specs. TV placement is a personal one, just because you may not feel an arrangement works for you doesn't mean you need to bash the design or make assumptions as to the homeowner or designer's intelligence.

I think if you read through all comments you will see that I said I would have this in my own home. Absolutely no offense intended to the home owner. I am completely aware that many are altogether pleased with such an arrangement. This choice of picture was somewhat arbitrary except that I chose a mantel that inarguably looks very nice. All of that said, I stand by my comments.

I am not a designer, but we put our tv above our fireplace over a year ago and love it. The room itself is 18 ft long, and it's also high enough that I can see it from the kitchen. While in the family room, we are either laying down on the couch or in recliners so there's never been an issue with neck strain. We burn plenty of fires and have never had a problem because the tv has plenty of clearance above. If was hotter when the tv was eye level next to the fireplace, which was the same level as the fireplace opening. Best decision I ever made.

Well I love a tv over the fireplace. I've had one in 2 of my prior places. You just have to do the math for the distance and get the right sized tv. At the moment I am remodelling and will be building in a 60" ribbon fireplace and Yes will have the tv above. At the moment its on a stand and I look down a I have a big when I recline it's way too low and I get a sore neck looking down as I never sit straight up when watching a movie, Even on the couch I have my feet up and my head back in a slight recline which causes me to look down to watch tv . If you have a tilt on the tv you can watch it comfortably at eye view reclined. Again, it's all in the math and distance. If you lay on the couch well ergonomically it should be mounted on the ceiling. So it's all in how you lounge and watch tv. If you have a small tv you'd need to be closer and then yes look up higher.

The only thing about having a tv over the fp is that I don't like it when the fireplace is shorter in width than the tv, seems to be unbalanced and top heavy. The tv needs to be smaller than the fireplace, you can trick the eye by extending the width with a dark tile or larger frame. The TV should be the size, just like a picture. You would not hang a larger picture than the fireplace itself, so you use the same rule? Heat is controlled by using the proper mantle. For the last two years I had a gas with a mantle and the tv above and I checked the bottom of my plasma many times...the gas fireplace gave off tons of radiant heat and my tv was not affected by it 4 years later I still have the same plasma works great (hmmm it's 5 years old now) perhaps it's time to upgrade and get a 60. Ergonomics are eye sight angle, distance, recline or not and size of tv. So I say go ahead and do the math and enjoy a TV over the fireplace... If you got tons of wall space which I don't, you could put them side by side but both would need to be at eyesight. I'd go for a ribbon fp though and that covers many viewing angles at it's not too high or too low.

oh one more comment. Putting the couch NOT facing the tv *like in the first image and watching it from an angle is much worse on the neck than above the fp LOL.

Faith: I agree, I have seen worse places than above the fireplaces. Sometimes above the fireplace is the only reasonable choice, every other choice being worse. Avoid off you can but I think most homeowners don't have a better alternative. My sense is that fireplaces work out well in a corner but not the tv.

It is very funny :-) I am definitely not considering installing my TV above the fireplace - you most certainly get a neck pain!

Fireplaces tend to be such beautiful focal points for design all on their own. I feel like so much is taken away from that when you put a tv above them.

I, too, have a strong aversion to a TV above a fireplace! The low-slung, modern fireplaces shown would be a welcome exception :)

I have owned 4 new homes and in each the TV was wired on the same wall as the fireplace (and mine was more square with a mantel) but the builder allowed room for a built-in media cabinet to the side of the fireplace. The fireplace was never centered on the wall, it was to one side. I guess I got lucky!

We had a contractor come and install our unit,, it's a electric fireplace, with a 52" TV above it we also had a door made under the mantel to hold our other electronic equip. (Surround sound DVR, disc player,etc) all of it is controlled by RF, so we can close it and still operate it. We love it and so do most of our friends. P.S. I guess I should have included picture with the door closed sorry,,it was our own design also.

This has been the current trend we personally like tv more eye level on media stand or lower wall mount.I would not do anything permanent as I believe like everything it is trendy and at the end of a trend cycle.It also detracts from the mantle and competes visually with fireplace and design.