Real Life Rooms: Decorating Ideas for a TV above a Fireplace
Hey there Remodelaholic readers! Dawn here, from AD Aesthetic, and I’m back this month with another reader question mockup to hopefully inspire some creative ideas for your cost effective bathroom update. If you’ve missed any of my previous reader question mockups, you can always see all my posts here.
If you follow Remodelaholic on Facebook, you’ve probably seen several of the reader questions that are submitted every month. Well each month here on Remodelaholic, I choose one reader submitted photo to offer my two cents on, and I create a Photoshop mock up of what I would do if I were in your shoes! (Pssssst— you can submit your reader questions by messaging Remodelaholic on Facebook. Be sure to include a good quality photo!)
First though, my standard disclaimer: While I can recommend ideas that I think look nice, I have never seen this house in real life and don’t have accurate measurements. I am also not an architect or landscaper and do not know the planting recommendations for your area- I just like to make things look nice. I can’t guarantee that any of the items I put in my ‘virtual’ design will actually work in real life (or that they’ll fit your design style for that matter), and this is not intended to be a professional design consultation. So think of this as a just-for-fun rendering that hopefully gets your wheels turning and provides some inspiration!
On to the fun!
READER QUESTION from Amber —
Needing help updating my fireplace/mantel area…any suggestions? Thanks!
There are those who are adamantly against hanging a TV over a fireplace, but I’m not one of them. Sometimes it is the only place it works, and sometimes it is personal preference, but whatever the reason, hanging a TV over the fireplace doesn’t have to be an absolute no-go, and can actually look really nice.
Ideas for Decorating Around a TV over the Fireplace
Here are a few examples to prove it, starting with Justin and Cassity’s black painted brick fireplace and easy DIY wood mantel — the black made a huge difference to hide the TV and make the Christmas mantel decor pop.
With all that television/fireplace inspiration, here’s what I did to give new life to Amber’s problem area.
Sources:
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Fan/Lamp | Candle | Similar Box
Tips for Decorating Around a Fireplace with a TV
Here are a few things I did when updating Amber’s fireplace decor.
Include Contrasting Colors
First of all, I felt like there was not nearly enough contrast overall. The beige wall, orange-toned wood, and red brick, all have a similar warm undertone. The wood and brick, especially, are so close in color, that it is almost hard for the eye to immediately define where one stops and the other starts. To help define the area, I kept the wood tones untouched (since they flow so nicely into the baseboards) and whitewashed the brick surround. I also painted the interior of the fireplace black, rather than white. This gives it more of a sense of depth, and also helps keep the black TV from sticking out too much. The wall color is optional, but I love how the cool tones really make the woodwork pop, while the darker color helps the television blend in slightly more, so it isn’t such a stark contrast between it and the wall behind it.
Bring in Some Life
Greenery automatically brightens any space, and adding some plants in a decorative wooden box helps break up the gaping fireplace opening, while incorporating some more wood into the overall decor, helping everything blend together. A few more plants on the mantle make sure the greenery isn’t confined to just one place, which could make it look out of place.
Add Decorative Elements
Finally, I added some fun, decorative elements.Really these could be anything you like, or fine meaning in, but keep in mind the scale and colors you’re adding to the space. For example, I chose a few objects with some darker colors (the fan light and ruler) to further tie in the black of the television. I also brought in some texture with the macrame garland and woven basket. Finally, I juxtaposed the digital media of the TV with some books lined underneath. Turning them spine-in keeps them in a cohesive color palate, and doesn’t take away too much focus from the other elements.
Consider Scale
I mentioned scale above, but I think it deserves it’s own callout. One of the issues I see people run into quite a bit when decorating is scale. Having items that are too large or too small for a space is a sure way to make everything feel off. In the original photo you can see this at work. The candles and lantern are too small and disjointed. This makes the television look much too large for the space. The ladder decor is also a bit large, making the fireplace seem tiny in comparison. In the after photo, the fireplace is what draws the most attention, and the decor is sized appropriately to make sure that it all compliments the fireplace. Having elements that come run under the television as well as those that break that line and jut higher on each side, makes it seem like part of the decor, and help it feel proportional. Finally, having another element (the ruler art) that is of similar height to the TV, helps it feel even more incorporated by ensuring that it isn’t the highest object in the room (giving it unwanted visual hierarchy).
So what do you think? What would you do if this were your home?
As always, thank you to Cassity and the Remodelaholic team for having me back each month. If you like this post, and have a design dilemma you’d like me to mock up some ideas for, you can ask your questions by sending Remodelaholic a message over on Facebook, or checkout my mockup design services over on my site adaesthetic.com. And be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram and say hello! Have a great day, friends!
-Dawn
More fireplace decorating ideas:
how to decorate an off-center fireplace
what to do with a non-working fireplace
decorating around a fireplace with built-ins
Dawn is one half of the team behind the creative blog, AD Aesthetic. By day she works as the VP of Creative for a design and marketing company (getting paid to make things look good!), while by night she renovates her Midwest home, refinishes thrift-store furniture for fun, and works with her husband on raising two tiny humans. Dawn believes in the potential to design your surroundings and your life one day at a time, and lives by the motto, 'Make everything beautiful.' Get to know her better by visiting her blog, ADaesthetic.com, or following along on Facebook and Instagram.
These are clever and often beautiful ideas, but I can’t help but think that mounting a TV over the fireplace really only works for people who don’t watch TV – at least not in that room! If your idea of “watching” TV is leaving it on so you can hear the din of cable news chatter from the kitchen, this might be fine, but that’s almost always a truly terrible viewing angle for anyone seated.