Considering Your Interior Design for TV Wall Mounting
Interior designers have long debated television placement: should it take center stage or hide in the wings? The truth is, bulky entertainment centers are dated. Obscuring the TV with more modern options, such as motorized ceiling lifts or TV lift cabinets, can be expensive and time consuming to assemble.
In fact, according to Nielsen, “the most popular place for a tv is the bedroom. It says 71% of people living in a television household have a tv in the bedroom. That's the result of statistics from households that have one tv and from those with more than one tv.”
Enter TV mounts.
“But, but, but… the TV… in the room?” …you ask.
As a designer, I never understood the beef with this; it seems more bite your nose to spite your face than sensible. These days, and especially with the ever popular “Great Room,” the TV is often an essential part of performance in a space.
Not everyone has a home theater, and not everyone wants to be squirreled away in a den to watch their favorite shows, or hovering over their phones and tablets. Frankly, from a designer’s perspective, I would opt for a TV in a main room, like a living room, before I put one in the bedroom.
Fortunately, TVs have become thinner, sleeker, and dare I say, more attractive, making them visually pleasing to display. One can dress them up with customizable, interchangeable frames (also known as bezels) and art on rotation. A two-in-one mirror is another creative way to obscure your screen for those times when its presence is not preferred.
That said, I have found that designing for the TV — considering it as the anchor object — allows me to create a beautifully cultivated space without compromising functionality and flow. Thus, a TV mount can be a decorator’s best friend.
Seamlessly Combining TV Mounts and Interior Design
So, why mount the “elephant in the room”? Just as the TV itself has evolved, so too have TV mounts. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, today’s mounts allow placement on any wall, at any height. They offer a variety of control systems enabling the unit to ascend or descend with a press of a button or via voice command.
Mounts that pivot from side-to-side are ideal if you wish to view from another room. Those that tilt up and down reduce glare and can, where applicable, improve the line-of-sight. Though not all mounts are as versatile, even fixed mounts offer elegance by creating the illusion of a floating TV.
There are many specialty mounts to consider, too. For example, there are corner mounts for tricky architectural circumstances, ceiling mounts, too, when a room requires it. If you’re having trouble brainstorming places to add in a wall mount while taking into consideration both the TV mount and your interior design aesthetic, think outside the box! I sometimes use ceiling mounts for in-home gyms, and, furthermore, I tend to employ the flip down ceiling mount in small spaces when one room serves two or more functions.
The full motion automated is an electric mount which articulates 180 degrees and pulls furthest from the wall. This is a lovely option for full articulation, but because it doesn’t pull down, its placement is limited.
All said, my favorite on the market for execution and value is MantelMount’s MM815 Motorized Drop Down and Swivel TV Mount. This “drop down and swivel” TV mount enables the TV to drop and rotate in a seamless, single movement that is next to silent. It lowers to not just one favorite preset position, but two favorite memory presets. How cool is that? And with a concealed lifting arm in the raised position, it won’t impact the visual experience while improving the viewing experience.
MM815 Consumer Video D2C 03-10-23 from MantelMount on Vimeo.
Embracing the Design Around Your Wall Mounted TV
Movie time, sitcoms, the game; TV watching has long been a favorite pastime that conjures cozy nights in and time spent with friends and family. Whether you’re snuggling on the couch and sharing a bowl of popcorn, or jumping off your seat to root for your favorite sports team, the TV mount allows for shared moments that don’t detract from aesthetics, and can allow you to embrace the “elephant in the room”.
Because mounts are easy to install and activated with functions that accommodate maximum viewing comfort, there’s really no downside to employing them. As a designer, it’s my go-to for showcasing the TV in a way that’s streamlined and practical.
Today’s TV mounts offer space saving solutions and reduce clutter while providing freedom and flexibility to mount in different locations; above the fireplace, a corner wall, even a drop down from the ceiling for a fraction of the price of those with electronic lifts. With the variety of mounting options on the market, most reservations about putting a TV in a non-designated entertainment room are easily resolved.
If you are tech-inclined, you will love the application features of a television mount as much as the hardware technology. And if you are a designer, you may find that a TV mount allows you to not only address the “elephant in the room”, so to speak, but incorporate it.
Looking for more tips on how to design around your wall mounted TV? Here are a few MantelMount blogs that can give insight surrounding interior design for TV wall mounting:
- 10 Decorating Tips for Your Living Room
- Benefits of Mounting a TV in High Traffic Rooms
- Where to Put a TV When There’s No Wall Space
- Where You Should Put a TV in an Open Concept Room
Although TV wall mounts can seem like a tricky subject when it comes to making the design around your wall mounted TV look like everything coalesces, the first step, truly, is to take into account the marriage between design and technology.
Janna Robinson, Lifestyle-Tech and Interior Design Expert