First, find the perfect fireplace. The intense heat of a gas fireplace can damage our electronics and TVs. The alternative is to go with an electric fireplace. Since there’s no combustion inside an electric fireplace, they don’t heat up the wall around or above the fireplace. So you can mount the TV much closer to the top of the fireplace with no worries of damage.
ADVANTAGES OF AN ELECTRIC FIREPLACE BELOW A TV:
ONE: They come in broader sizes than gas units, meaning that it’s easier to balance the size of your fireplace with the size of your TV above. A design tip is to consider the fireplace unit to be a little wider than the TV above, so that your feature wall doesn’t feel top-heavy.
TWO: They are much slimmer than gas fireplaces, so the fireplace wall won’t take up valuable floor space, helpful for smaller sitting rooms.
THREE: The flames operate with or without heat, so you will always be comfortable while watching many hours of TV.
FOUR: They typically offer much quieter fans than many gas counterparts. This means that you can run the heater and hear the TV in comfort without turning up volume.
Once you’ve selected the fireplace and TV, you’re onto finishing the overall wall design. Today, Stone is a very popular finish for many fireplace walls. To incorporate that with a TV can be challenging, due to the uneven surface. A quick installation tip is to have a cabinet-maker create a box for the TV, then bring the stone up over the edges of that box. This keeps the focus on the beautiful stone, while also leaving a smooth surface to mount the TV.
BY JEANNE GRIER
stylishfireplaces.ca