How to Decorate When Your Flat Screen TV Is Wider Than Your Fireplace

Flat-screen TVs can be mounted on the wall, eliminating the need for a TV stand and saving valuable floor space. Mounting a flat-screen TV above a fireplace is a popular solution. Since many people arrange their living rooms so the couch is facing the fireplace, this makes a logical choice. If you have a narrow fireplace and wide television, there are ways to decorate around the fireplace to eliminate the visual oddity this effect may otherwise produce. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Build an interior shelf above your fireplace for the TV to go, if your budget allows. Include doors to hide the TV when it's not in use. Paint the doors the same color as the wall so they blend in, taking away from the fact the area is wider than your fireplace.

2

Balance out an extra-wide TV by placing two bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. The bookshelves should be at least as tall as the fireplace mantel and at least a foot wider than the TV extends. Fill the bookshelves with a mix of books and small accessories.

3

Place two large columns on either side of the fireplace that are wider than the television extends. Decorate the top of the columns with objects like vases, plants or sculptures.

4

Paint a border around your fireplace to widen its appearance. This will only work for fireplaces set within the wall with no external border already in place.

5

Use two sets of nesting tables placed on either side of the fireplace. Arrange the nesting tables with the tallest ones closet to the fireplace. Place the others next to one another in decreasing height order. This tapered effect will help to take away from the wider television.

6

Extend the fireplace mantel to go beyond the length of the television and line it with small framed pictures.