I want to position my fireplace in the center of the wall-where is it?

Vickie G
by Vickie G
Hi. I need some help. This is the main wall in my living room. I want to position the fireplace at the center and hang the TV over it on the wall. Then I want to build shelving on either side to create a sort of entertainment center. My question is, do I center the TV/fireplace with the actual wall? Or the pitch of the ceiling? The space for shelving would be lopsided if centered with pitch but I don't mind if the overall look is right. Help!
  15 answers
  • Laurie Harry Laurie Harry on May 26, 2016
    We kinda need to see the entire wall - where does it go to the left of the tv? I would say center of the wall is easy to find. You measure from adjoining wall to adjoining wall. And what do you mean when you say pitch of the ceiling. It looks like a flat ceiling.
  • Shari Shari on May 26, 2016
    I'm laughing because this photo looks like one of those trick optical illusion pictures! Since you know your house, you probably don't see what we see when we look at this photo. At first, like Laurie, I wasn't seeing the pitch of the ceiling either--it just looked like the wall on the right side of the peak was angled back toward the hallway. But after some intense staring at the photo, I've got it now! :) Unfortunately, I'm distracted by everything on and around that wall so I can't visualize which way would be best. My initial instinct tells me it would probably look better to center it based on the whole wall and ignore the pitch but I'm not 100% certain. Since you have the fireplace/TV right there, why not remove everything from that wall and just slide the whole setup over to that wall and position it where it looks right to you? Then hang the TV after you're happy with the placement.
  • Jane Jane on May 26, 2016
    Paint the brown molding strip white to make it disappear. Then take down the clock and shelves plants and center the unit on the wall.
  • William William on May 26, 2016
    I agree with Laurie, Shari, and jmacem2! The "pitch" is an optical illusion caused by the dark crown molding. Paint that white and the illusion goes away. How much of the wall is there to the left of the TV?! How about just moving the TV around the room and see where it looks good to you. Against the left wall, against the right wall, and even offset in the corner of both walls. Also, your furniture placement would also dictate where the best place to put the TV.
  • MN Mom MN Mom on May 26, 2016
    I would first remove all the stuff from that main wall. Then center your units on the wall itself. Agree with the others about painting the mounding the same as the wall .
  • Lagree Wyndham Lagree Wyndham on May 26, 2016
    LOL love the question. I have scratched my head with this also...best answer I have is center of the actual physical wall, not wall plus opening. That is what works for me.
  • CK CK on May 26, 2016
    I've struggled with questions like this myself in client's homes. Usually I'll try both centering on the wall and on using the ceiling's peak. It becomes a "which looks best/which looks most appealing" thing ;-) If you decide to center it on the ceiling's highest point (if that works best for TV viewing) then balance it out visually with some wall decor on the TV's left. In other words, make it look 'even' across the top line. That sort of remedies the situation. Usually there's no one right answer to this question because it also depends on what you're doing with the rest of the wall, how other furniture will be placed, etc. All that being said, my first instinct is to position the TV centered on the wall itself....not using the ceiling's highest peak as centering point.
  • Chris Chris on May 26, 2016
    Center the fireplace/tv on the wall itself. Don't take the built in cabinetry right to the ceiling...keep both sides the same height. Then paint the balance of the wall above the cabinets in a similar color to the cabinets and fireplace to visually hide the angled wall. Paint the brown moulding the same color of the wall or of the ceiling. I hope you are conside ring a light color for the fireplace. Good luck.
  • Jennie Lee Jennie Lee on May 26, 2016
    Before you move your TV, figure out what angle you'll be watching it from, when it's in it's new place! Some flatscreens only look right when viewed from a certain angle. I had to change my entire living room arrangement once, because when I put my new flatscreen up high, the picture looked horrible to anyone sitting down!
    • Shirley Shirley on Sep 20, 2016
      Agree!! If I had it to over again, I would NOT hang the tv over the fireplace. To sit and watch from a chair gives you a neck headache!!! Now to take it down means I will have holes in the brickwork!!!
  • Jean Myles Jean Myles on May 26, 2016
    that is a good point Jennie Lee
  • Kathy Bitzan Kathy Bitzan on May 27, 2016
    That I a very good thought on how high the TV will be. I don't like them when they are to high on a wall odd angle to watch while sitting.
  • Shojdik Shojdik on May 27, 2016
    I don't know if this will be helpful but, when we got our flat screen a couple of years back, another consideration was light glare from the windows when watching
  • Chris Chris on May 29, 2016
    Further to my post....this is a nice way to finish your wall around the fireplace.
  • Chris Chris on May 29, 2016
    oops...forgot the photo
  • Chris Chris on Sep 20, 2016
    It's Chris from Canada again.....just curious as to how you finally solved your room issues. Any new photos to share?
    • Vickie G Vickie G on Sep 25, 2016
      Thanks for asking. It's still a work in progress but I'm liking it so far.