Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures (or a fireplace for that matter, LOL). But I was reading an article about this (BGH, I think)...it said to make sure that the angle you set you television at is comfortable for your neck. You don't want to be looking up (if at all possible) to avoid neck strain. That's all I have for you. :)

We are going to be doing this. I will try to keep my fireplace as low as possible so that the TV can be lower. Google this. I have found some pictures online. Also, there is a formula for how far away your TV should be from the couch and how big it should be. Again, google this question. Sorry I am not more helpful, but I know there is info online.

Thanks I will. I did notice on one of the garden web forums they did mention the neck strain. We have a basement where I am sure "important" things like football and golf will be watched. The TV over the fireplace will be used mostly by me. Keep the suggestions coming. Thanks!

Here is ours. I used the color of the side walls in the room inside the niche. It looks like 2 darker colored stripes on either side of television but that is just a shadow. Three of the walls in the room are SW Safari and the accent wall shown here is Valspar Eddie Bauer Calico.
The colors don't show up well on this picture. I think it is my camera.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Ours is still in progress, so you'll have to use your imagination a bit. LOL There will be a pull-out shelf in the bottom to hold the sound system & cable box. We'll have built-in bookcases that flank the fireplace that will be 9' tall. The top of the TV box is also set at 9'. The sofa will be approx. 14' from the TV.

I struggled with the TV/fireplace thing... Here is mine. It is in the corner and now is painted with doors.

Do most of you plan to have doors to hide the tv at times or is it possible to diplay Christmas decorations, etc. with the tv over the mantel. Thanks for the pics and the suggestions! I think this build is beginning to take shape.

I'm doing it not once but twice: living and game rooms.

I had the wiring run before the drywall went up, used conduit in both spots so that the inputs can be upgraded if need be.

Left the stone off the areas directly behind the sets so that the TVs can be mounted closer to the wall.

I plan to use a frame around the set and use electric opening roller shade to cover one of the sets. I'll do a painting on it, or possibly laminate some one else's art there.

A friend of mine has a TV that accepts a memory card. He has pics of his kids as a looped slide show when he isn't watching anything. It's nice, but I'd only do the slide show thing at special occasions, would be wasteful otherwise.

Here's ours. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the gap between the top of the box and the bottom of the niche. We've got a 4" non-combustable surround in there now for code but I'm not even sure that will stay. I'm thinking of some sort of tile/staingrade wainscot. This may look a little high but the room is quite deep so it takes the slope out of the viewing angle. The obvious other issue is light. Windows are a mixed blessing in a family room/kitchen combo. You need them there for light but then you need to cover them for optimal viewing.

Here's ours right after moving in (hence the built-ins decor).

I don't plan on having any doors. I think the niches are neat, but my husband likes to change TVs often, so I worry about building something around a TV of a certain size. I will say, though, an electrician told me it is a good idea if you don't want to see the hardware. I won't have bookcases--I'll have a door right near the fireplace, so I would walk by and be able to see the back.

We struggled with this also. I can't show a pic because it isn't built yet! We are having a large niche over the FP with a panel that will be lowered remotely to cover the entire niche. We will be able to hang a piece of art on the panel. We thought this was more practical than actually raising and lowering the TV. The cable box etc will be controlled by an infra red eye so that equipment can be in a closet near by. The TV will be on an arm so it can be angled for more comfortable viewing. We plan to paint the panel the wall color.

kemptoncourt, I love the angle of your entertainment area. Ours is angled like that in the house we are now living in. The tv is easy to view from so many differnent angles in the room! I can see some great tall thin pottery above your entertainment area.

fairytalebaby, teach2007, persnicketydesign, thanks for the great pictures.

oruboris, where did you get the roller screen? Is that expensive?

kelleg, I really like the look too. I guess the doors really do not make it any easier to decorate the mantle for the holiday....you would still have to move things to open the doors unless the doors completely recessed in the wall and did not need to swing forward. I really did not plan to put my tv over the fireplace, but once you see the room layout in person it changes the way the room can be used.

dassykee, post of picture when you get your entertainment center/fireplace built.

we're about to build our fireplace and tv wall in our master bdrm. the gas fireplace is a direct vent corner unit,room is 13x23 with cathedral ceiling. the plan is to build the fireplace into the corner,with raised hearth and mantle and the tv above the mantle. we'll have it set into a niche which will be framed with picture frame molding. we'll put the tv on a pull-out shelf in case we need to pull it out for any reason. since we watch mostly from bed,the neck angle isn't a problem for us. the tricky part will be to have the fireplace high enough to see the fire while in bed,plus the mantle,plus the tv above in the eight-twelve foot high ceiling. it's got to have a pleasing proportion,,and to see the fire from the bed it will need to be set on a foot high hearth to start. i haven't finished working out the measurements yet,and still have some tweaking to do with it. i'm excited to get it done,,it will finish off the room very nicely.

fallingwaters, I really think a tv over a fireplace in the bedroom would be a nice choice. Most beds are higher and the height would be great for watching while in bed. Send us a pic when you can. Thanks!

I would not do it. It puts unnecessary strain on your neck or forces people to lie back like the dead and it's hard enough to teach my kids to not slouch. You might not think the neck thing matters but we all get old .. if we're lucky. It also makes me feel like I'm in a bar, an airport, or a bad restaurant. Sorry, if that offends anyone, it's how I feel and so far all of my clients have agreed without needing any persuasion.But that doesn't mean it's wrong to do it. Only the owner's family needs to like it.

To me it's just not that difficult to put the TV to one side with the great adjustable brackets now available. The proper height of a TV is easy to determine, just sit on a couch, look straight ahead, and have someone measure the point you feel comfortable looking at. Perhaps take an average of your family members.

If I had to do it, I would at least put the fireplace box tight to the floor, the mantel low, and be able to enclose the TV when not in use. These things are not pretty. It would also help to recess it and tip it downward for better viewing and less reflected light.

I was in an Italian restaurant in the 60's called Charlie's that had multiple gas fireplaces recessed into the wall above seated head height. Would that work?

Oh, I forgot! That's why I stopped wanting to share pictures of our choices on this site. Thanks for reminding me.

Here is a picture of my "hidden" tv- we just moved into the space after a renovation. The 50 in tv is behind the picture above the fireplace. We have no issues with the height at all, and actually prefer it up there.

The picture frame is attached to a box and it has a remote control that lifts the frame up out of the way.

jen-could we get more details...pictures of the picture out of the way.

jen, Wow! Beautiful. How expensive and where do you find the hardware? Thanks!

Note: most tv companies do not warrant tvs put over fireplaces and the ones that do have specific directions as to how far above the fireplace they must be. To many tvs burning out due to the heat apparently.

I agree please send us the information about the hardware for your beautiful picture covered tv.

We are planning to do it as well. It's a gas fireplace that unfortunately is mounted up a bit off the floor. We'll have it angled downward and the couch back as far as possible but it's certainly not ideal. We'll do most of the TV watching down in the basement I think. We're keeping the DirecTV/DVD in the basement and running cables to the TV so we can just do a tight wallmount for the screen and not worry about hardware. I've read about heat and LCD vs plasma screens above fireplaces. It's a technology dependent thing moreso than a manufacturer. Make sure you have a screen that looks good from a low viewing angle too (not DLP). www.highdefforum.com might be a good site to look at.