'Feature' wall - Inset TV or wall hanging?

09-12-2019 9:08pm #1

Howdy do folks.

Silly question but do ye guys have a preference on this? I'm gonna be getting a TV unit made up by a local kitchen company. TV will effectively be stuck on a sheet of MDF in the middle of the room, flanked by alcove storage units each side (MDF sheet will cover a pre-existing chimney breast that I never use and consider an eyesore).

Kitchen company gave me the option of insetting the tv (ie; cutting a square out around it, and setting the TV back a few inches to make it 'flush' with the wall, and less obtrusive looking).

I've seen these done in the past and I think the square cut out around the TV can actually look more jarring than when the TV is just mounted directly to the wall, as the 'box' cut out for the TV can be perhaps too much of a 'feature' and ends up standing out more than blending in.

A TV stuck straight to the wall (With all wires hidden) can look cleaner in my opinion, but if there's seating off to the side of the TV (which there will be, to a degree, in my room) I reckon it might look a bit ugly from that side view (and the room itself isn't very big, so im wondering if the TV 'butting out' from the wall will be an issue.

When I was asked what I wanted, I said not to make an inset for the TV and instead just hang it directly to the flat MDF (which will be painted).

But now I'm wondering if I've made a bit of a mistake with that.

For context, there's an electric fire below it, and i also opted to not have that insetted into the MDF, either. Which I'm also now wondering if that was the right idea.

Another concern I had was that the room is relatively small, and if i inset the TV/Fire, due to them having to go back a tad further, am I effectively pushing the whole rest of the unit forward into the room (thus making the whole room smaller) to allow the TV/Fire the extra space they need.

Just wondering what others think?

For reference:

Inset TV
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/34/36/be/3436be4d14c3163ba71656a0f95d67fc.jpg

Wall Mounted TV
https://ntcinfotec.com/i/2019/07/marvelous-likable-standfus-wall-ideas-swivel-cabinet-amazing-design-brack-drehbar-designs-gorgeous-stand-interior-costco-modern-enellelondon-white-looking.jpg

awec · 09-12-2019 9:27pm

The inset TV will look much nicer (unless you buy a TV that's specifically designed to look nice hung on a wall like a Samsung Frame), but you will be constraining yourself to a specific size of TV forever (unless you close up the hole in future).

The fire will look better inset IMO.

Cerco · 09-12-2019 11:55pm

If you do opt for inset then make sure there is plenty of ventilation around the back of the tv.
Even current models can generate significant heat. The fire below may also contribute.

Inset would be nice with all cables hidden. Wire out hdmi ports so you can access them easily in case you want to add peripherals e.g. fire stick, DVD player etc.

Sleeper12 · 10-12-2019 12:16am

If inset there needs to be plenty of ventilation provided for the TV, particularly if you plan to have a heat source under it

10-12-2019 12:40am

Just to clarify, the electric fire is more for a bit of aesthetics. We have/use gas central heating (radiator on a separate wall altogether). The heating function would likely never be used on the fire at all.

How much ventilation does a TV need?

For example, I think this looks a bit ugly, as the recess is far too big for the TV:

Whereas I like this, as it looks more made-to-measure for the TV that's in it:

recessed-tv-photographs-custom-cabinet-with-recessed-tv-and-sound-bar-speaker-lr-lr.jpg

recessed-tv-photographs-custom-cabinet-with-recessed-tv-and-sound-bar-speaker-lr-lr.jpg

I'm assuming for mounting this properly, I should just do the 'recess' back wall as far back as I can, and put the TV on a bracket that allows it to be pulled forward, and allow the air to circulate a tad in the dead space behind it? Or does that not work?

listermint · 10-12-2019 6:48am

Personally I hate them. TVs are so thin now there's no need to be setting them back. And what happens when you want to change TV size or the inevitable thinner TV comes along. Your TV looks lost recessed back into a hole.

No not for me it's a designer fad.

Best just having Reasonable hidden cable management at the rear with access.

Sleeper12 · 10-12-2019 9:23am

listermint wrote: »

Personally I hate them. TVs are so thin now there's no need to be setting them back. And what happens when you want to change TV size or the inevitable thinner TV comes along. Your TV looks lost recessed back into a hole.

No not for me it's a designer fad.

Best just having Reasonable hidden cable management at the rear with access.

I agree. To me it's a step backwards to a time to the 1960s, when TVs came in a cabinet with folding doors to hide it & make it look like part of the furniture

Muahahaha · 13-12-2019 1:11am

Id be of the opposite opinion, if the recess is done well and proportionally it will make the room look more high end. I dont think its just a passing fad and see it incorporated in a lot of new builds. Before that I saw it in 4 and 5 star hotels so its only now its hitting the mainstream which is why its got more popular. I've seen it done recently with space for a soundbar and led lights behind the tv and the whole set up looked much better than just a tv on the wall.

listermint · 13-12-2019 2:00pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Id be of the opposite opinion, if the recess is done well and proportionally it will make the room look more high end. I dont think its just a passing fad and see it incorporated in a lot of new builds. Before that I saw it in 4 and 5 star hotels so its only now its hitting the mainstream which is why its got more popular. I've seen it done recently with space for a soundbar and led lights behind the tv and the whole set up looked much better than just a tv on the wall.

No offense to Finglas but there is houses all over it with these.

High end is not how it should be described, its a recess in a wall. There is nothing high end about it.

High end would be a ultra thin OLED tv on the wall no recess and nothing behind it.

13-12-2019 2:04pm

Its absolute gack,so is TV above a fireplace but that's a different conversation.
Oled on a super flat mount is my vote.

GreeBo · 13-12-2019 3:14pm

Depending on the wall, trying to recess the TV might require you to actually build out the rest of the wall, eating into the rest of your room. (may not be an issue in larger rooms)

For me, hang the TV as normal and as listermint said, hide the cables.

Despite what IKEA seem to think, visible cables ruin the look of anything.

housetypeb · 13-12-2019 6:24pm

One of my brothers built a brick fireplace outside the old fireplace, to suit his size tv, the brick adds 4 - 4.5 inches all around the old one,the television is recessed with the screen flush with the brick face, with all the cables hidden .

Muahahaha · 13-12-2019 10:10pm

listermint wrote: »

No offense to Finglas but there is houses all over it with these.

High end is not how it should be described, its a recess in a wall. There is nothing high end about it.

High end would be a ultra thin OLED tv on the wall no recess and nothing behind it.

Perhaps high end the wrong description but thats where I first came across it about 5-6 years back- a mate is a sparks in London and sent me pics of his handywork in a £10m+ apartment in Battersea which had it with LED strip lighting incorporated behind the tv screen. The sharp lines of the recess gave it a clean and modern look. Its since spread down the market into hotels and now obviously Finglas too

Its not for everyone but imo it does look well from a design perspective in that it frames the TV itself rather than it just hanging plainly on a large wall.

14-12-2019 4:30am

So I've been thinking about this a lot more than any reasonably sane person should do.

My electric fire was delivered this week, and as per my OP:

Deleted User wrote: »

For context, there's an electric fire below it, and i also opted to not have that insetted into the MDF, either. Which I'm also now wondering if that was the right idea.

The plan was to have everything mounted straight to the sheet of MDF. However, now that I actually seen the fire, and how deep it is (5-6 inches) I've decided to recess both the fire and TV into the MDF as I reckon the fireplace floating 6 inches into the room would just look ridiculous.

Also, there will be a chair off to the side of these, and I was concerned that, from that viewing angle, you'd be able to see the wiring of the HDMI, Coax, plugs etc. going through the wall, so I think I made the right decision (the finished product will be the tell-tale sign, of course).

In a bigger room, or one with no seating that could see the sides of the appliances, I think I'd probably opt for plain old wall hanging. However, I'm hopeful the kitchen company can make this look decent.

I'll post up a picture when it's done. Supposed to be fitting it middle of this week. Fingers crossed I don't end up with a recess that I can fit two TVs into

Sharp MZ700 · 14-12-2019 8:17am

I deliberately made the recess for mine oversize( about 4 inches all round) as I wanted to make sure I could accommodate a bigger size TV in the future. Now that it's done, I'd be disappointed to lose my shelf space, strictly for remotes only.
My biggest reason for recessing was to stop kids walking into it. It's all down to personal taste though.

'Feature' wall - Inset TV or wall hanging?

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