Hi Ann. Whats on the left side of the fireplace? Do you have a photo that shows that wall?

it's a wall of french doors.

The wall to the right of the fireplace would be a great place for built-ins and your TV. Can you move that door entrance to the right about 2 feet (or more) so a built-in can extend all the way to that corner wall?

we have thought of that, but it makes for an odd corner in the entry, plus we are sort of in the camp of 'spend the money on furniture you can take versus leave' (if that makes sense) also, we have quite a bit of art and would lose wall space if we did a whole built in.

Instead of a floor to ceiling built-in, you could build in base style cabinetry to hold the electronics with an open area above for mounting the TV.

thanks, we have thought of that too. would we need to move the wall over for that too? i think we have thought of every option but find holes in all of them! LOL

I like the idea of built ins to the right of the fireplace just wide enough to hold the TV. I would be worried that putting the TV above the fireplace would put it too high for comfortable viewing, and you would have trouble hiding the wires and equipment. Moving the door would not be bad if it is possible.

If you mount the TV over the fireplace, you'll need to cut a groove in the grout to run the wires to the drywall, then re-grout. You will still have the problem of where to put the dreaded cable box and any sound system you may have. In which case you'll need some kind of unit to the right. You could get a thin, tall unit and place it right next to the fireplace. This will leave you a lot of wall space for your pictures.

http://www.installyourplasma.com/TV-Installation-Over-Fireplace.html

If you don't want to cut in to the grout, you could run the wires to the ceiling behind a concealer and faux paint it. There won't be much showing - depending on the height of your TV. Once the cables are run to the ceiling, you can run them anywhere in the room through the walls.

our initial plan had been to put it above the fireplace (with the mantle lowered, tv angled to help with viewing). then it became an issue of where the danged box goes. looked into putting it into a nearby closest and getting the logictech remote but costs keep adding up. then our designer suggest the seating arrangement for the den might work better if the tv was somehow on the right hand wall plus we could use the hearth as viewing seating if needed too. i am so torn and slightly obsessing too! LOL

Hi Ann, definitely do built-ins, have your cabinetry supplier do up some various elevations for you to ensure flow from the entryway. You don't need to run the electrical through the walls, I'm attaching a photo where we ran the electrical cords through a plumbing pipe that sat inside the mantle, so that you could fish wires through from one cabinet to another as needed. You don't need to do floor to ceiling, just plan it appropriately, and I would NOT put your TV over the fireplace mantle, put it in the cabinetry, with an arm extender - you take away the ambiance of the fireplace by sticking a TV over it. Not good design. Good Luck with your project - photo below has hidden TV and media storage built in!

cool, thanks!

Have you thought about radio frequency components? We did this about three years ago and everything runs wirelessly from a closet and a universal remote. Contact a local techy at best buy or some other electronics store, and ask about it. Let's face it, components aren't pretty.
Mary Trantow, Trantow Design

Hi ann, looks like your fireplace brick comes out about 1.5 to 2 feet, so you could do a custom angled cabinet for the base and open above as mentioned before. In this case you won't need to move the opening to the TV room.

When you say you're in the camp of spending money on things you can take with you, I read that to mean you're interested in resale potential for the house but want it to be comfortable in the meantime. If that's the case, I don't know that a built-in designed for your situation will really get a payback and the built-in could potentially be a drawback if it didn't suit someone else's arrangement. Therefore, I would go with a really nice console that's designed for your TV and components that you'd want to take along for the next house.

By the way, we got the Logitech remote and RF extender and are very happy with it. The Harmony is a little tricky to program, but it works well and the RF was worth every cent.

Mary, yes, we have looked in the RF extenders. definitely an option,
Dytecture...awesome pic. i like that look!
Hilltop...we always consider resale. i would hate to have the built in work against me especially after obsessing so much (LOL) not to mention the expense.

Dytecture, I wonder if I may impose on you. I loved your drawing for the fireplace. What would you suggest if I wanted to do a full wall of built ins?
Thanks!

Hi Ann, just so happen I did an option with more storage above, I think a wall of built-ins could be beautiful and give you a clean look. I don't suggest any open shelving. TV can be hidden in the middle section.

Thank you so much!! so basically it would be cabinets? our house is fairly traditional, would that be too contemporary? If we wanted to do open shelving, would it work?