Creating a stylish and cosy living space with a media wall electric fire is an exciting journey, but before you dash for the toolbox and mount your TV there are best practices and size guides that will help keep your media wall set up both functional and safe. TVs are getting bigger and living spaces can become cramped so mounting your TV on a will is a great option if you don't have space for a hefty media unit like a TV stand. Keep reading if you want more information on this popular media wall trend, we’ll help you combine your fire and TV in the best way possible to create a seamless media wall design.

Contents

Choosing a suitable TV for your media wall
What's the best wall mount for a TV?
Finding the best fire for your media wall
Ensure your TV mount can take the weight
What ventilation do I need around my TV?
How to hide TV cables and wires

One of your first considerations when creating a media wall set up is what TV screen size will best fit above your fire. There are some huge TVs available from the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony and large TVs seem to be on trend right now but we’d recommend you buy a TV that is proportional to both the size of your room and the fire it will sit above. A TV that is too large for your living space can easily overpower the area and look out of place and make the room seem smaller than it actually is. Another consideration is keeping your seating area within a reasonable distance of the media wall, you don’t want to strain your eyes to watch your favourite TV show on Amazon Prime or Disney Plus. As a rough guide, your seating area can be around 1.5m away from a 32” TV whereas with a 56” your sofa could be around 3m away. TVs are becoming much slimmer and more suitable for wall mounting options and as a result, the speakers get smaller too, you should consider adding a space in your media wall for a sound bar unit which will dramatically improve the sound of your TV without exposing lots of wires.

The three most common types of TV brackets to choose from are fixed, tilt or full motion. The wall mount you choose will depend on where your TV will be fixed and how much adjustment you think it will need. We’ve provided a little more information below on the three types of mounts available to help you decide which one is most suitable for your media wall.

• Fixed bracket - This is the most basic of mounts that simply fixes your TV flush to the wall. Once you have mounted the TV it has no adjustment and the TV is fixed to this position.
• Tilt mount - This type of TV mount lets you angle the screen up or down but only by a few degrees. This mount can be useful if your TV is going to be quite high up on your wall and you think the screen would benefit from being angled downwards towards your seating area.
• Full motion mount - These mounts are becoming more popular as they offer the most flexibility. This type of mount usually features a moveable arm so the TV can extend out from the wall and be angled on either side towards the viewer or your seating area.

Once you've selected the type of wall mount that will work best you’ll need to ensure that is is compatible with your TV. Thanks to VESA this is a simple process. VESA is the Video Electronics Standards Association, and it sets mounting interface standards so you can see easily whether a wall mount is suitable for your TV. 

The fires and fireplaces we supply are perfect for mounting a TV above, they come in various sizes and designs with something to suit every home. Whether you’re looking for a gas fire, electric fire or wood burning fireplace we’ll have the perfect option available for your space. We have electric wall fires with futuristic features like smart app control for easy operation and fires with eco-saver modes to keep your energy bills low. If you’re interested in the latest media fire trends read our media wall fire articles for more inspiration and vogue design ideas.

It might be an obvious point but when you're shopping around for a new mount for your TV it is essential that it supports the size and weight of your TV. Even if the VESA measurements line up correctly it doesn't necessarily mean that the mount can handle your size of TV, so it's worth checking and doing your homework. You should ensure that the mount you are buying is sturdy enough to cope with the weight of your TV. Lots of newer modern TVs are thin and light so there are lots of mounts that are suitable, but if your TV is a bit older it is likely to weigh more. Always refer to your TV manual to see how much it weighs and check the TV mount you’re looking to buy can easily support it.

When mounting a TV, keeping a safe distance from the heat of your fire is worthy of attention. If your television overheats, pixels may begin to fail or your TV could stop working and you may void the warranty. The good news is our range of electric media wall fires offer relatively low heat outputs with the maximum heat reaching 2kW. The heat vents on our fires are also positioned in the downward direction which takes the heat away from your TV so it is not in danger of overheating. If you’re looking to install a wood burner or gas fire below your TV then you’ll need to take additional preventative measures to stop your TV overheating, you should also consult an experienced installer who will be able to advise you accordingly.

The area behind your TV will inevitably become quite warm because of the fire and other electronics that are fitted within the media wall cavity. One of the best ways to prevent heat from adversely affecting your TV is to ensure your feature wall is well ventilated, this will allow excessive heat to escape from the area. A simple way to achieve extra ventilation is to add a side vent onto your faux chimney or you could fit a shelf/mantel between the TV and the fire for a more seamless finish. This shelf will help to create a buffer zone between your TV and the heat source and help block heat from reaching your TV. If you’re looking for a modern and sleek media wall then a great way to protect your TV can be achieved by creating a recess to mount your TV within. This look is usually done by creating a faux chimney breast using metal tracking and plasterboard.

Finally, one of the best ways to block heat from reaching your TV is to install a heat shield both at the base of your TV and below it. This is a great way to reduce heat transfer and installers will often choose this method when the appliance fitted has a heat output exceeding 2kW. You can use fire board or other similar materials as the heat shield to try to reduce the heat transfer between your fire and TV.

The last thing you want, after you've created a stunning media wall and gone through the effort of mounting your TV, is to have unsightly cables dangling around the space. There are some great media wall tips for hiding the wires from your TV, sound bar and fire which we’ll share with you. 

1. Trunking - If you only have a couple of cables from your TV and fire then you could use plastic trunking rather than threading them through your wall or clipping them down a corner of a wall or near a skirting board. If you opt for this method try to ensure the trunking is large enough to fit all your wires neatly and choose a colour that best matches your space. If in doubt buy a white colour trunking and you can paint it to match your colour scheme. Trucking might be your only option especially if you’re mounting a TV straight onto the brickwork of your home.
2. Thread wires through your wall - This option requires some DIY skill but it can be more pleasing on the eye if you have an abundance of cables that need to be hidden away. This is a great alternative to trunking the wires that can look a little unsightly in some settings. To thread your wires create a small hole behind where the TV will be mounted and thread your cables through it. Make another further down the wall where you would like the wires to exit and pull them through. You can neaten the holes you've made with plastic circular fittings to help tidy up the areas you’ve drilled.
3. Separate connect box - Some TV’s like the Frame TV by Samsung come with a separate box that you can connect to your Sky box, fire stick or other devices. The One Connect Box by Samsung provides a single connection hub for all cables in one place so the signals can be brought to the TV via a single cord.