You’re probably wondering why I never move the house that is in the center of my mantel. Well, there is the cable connection to the TV behind it and an electrical outlet underneath it. Now you know I have to have something big there to cover it.
I’ve been wondering if I should just move the TV to the table on the right hand side of the mantel. It would entail dragging the cable across the right-hand side of the mantel top. Thoughts?
See, it isn’t a working fireplace, so not so pretty. But guess I could figure out some ways to glam it up a bit. (I hate TVs being the center of attention. But this is where my cable connection is, so didn’t have a lot of choices.)
Oh, and I’m going to paint the gold frame on the teacup painting on the left-hand side. Trying to decide what color…
See, the TV just seems to take up too much real estate. Now tell me the truth about what you think about this. I depend on your input!
The other day I was in Hobby Lobby and they had a pig. But it was a bit bigger than the cow. It was under $20 full price. But I refuse to pay full price in there or most anywhere.
I have some more changes in here. But not quite ready to show them. Nothing huge. I’m not able to do “huge” yet.
Hi Brenda, I love your mantel. It’s starting to look so warm and cozy in your “farmhouse style”. I think I would move the TV to the corner table because, in my opinion, it distracts from your mantel decorations..
I would move the TV to the opposite corner from your most comfortable chair.
All of the things that you have on your mantle go so nicely together..
I’m looking forward to seeing what else it is that you’ve done..
Have a happy, contented day.
Charlotte in Va.
I think you’re right. Just have to figure out how far I can move it with the cords, cables, etc.
Brenda
If you are a big TV fan you may not like my idea. It’s kind of a drastic approach which is to disconnect the cable and reove the outlet and cable completely. We gave up TV 6 years ago and I haven’t missed it one bit. Well…maybe a little bit when it came to giving up the HGTV network
, but I can watch show episodes online. It is one option. I’m looking forward to reading other suggestions.
I don’t watch it much in here. I mostly watch TV at night in my bedroom. But I wouldn’t have anywhere to store it. And I hate to get rid of it. Have to chew on that awhile. Thanks for the suggestion!
Brenda
I have a idea for you to make your fireplace to where you can enjoy it. I have electric logs that has a heater built in with a blower and it heats the whole room and looks just like a fire burning, I got them on sell and they wasnt that expensive, it is so warm and cozy. Love what you did with the mantel, but I love your whole house, was wondering where did you find the red truck, I have been looking for one, love it, Have a great day, Vivian …..
Found the red truck at Farmhouse Wares. Was kind of pricey at over $50, but I had a gift certificate. I like your idea of electric logs. Have to look into that one. I don’t have many electrical outlets in this house. It was built in 1934 and still has the old timey fuses! For instance, can’t use the can opener while the microwave is on!
Brenda
Hi Brenda!I love your TV exactly where it is!! If you move it to the corner you are gonna have to move your furniture too to face the corner or risk getting a kink in your neck…been there done that!! lol why change what is all ready so nice? Its your decision tho!!! You might just want a change too…Good Luck! Love ya! Carol
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
Brenda
Brenda, I agree, I don’t like the TV being the center of attention in any room. I agree with Charlotte–move the TV to the diagonal of your favorite chair. With the new flat screen TVs, I’ve seen them over the mantel, which I dislike very much. That’s just me, wouldn’t want that in my home. Your mantel is quite lovely-I love your color combinations. So cheery! Hope your PT is going well.
Just got back from PT in fact. I know the person living here previous to me had to have had it on or over the mantle for the cable to be sticking out of the wall behind the house I’ve placed there, and the electrical outlet to be set into the mantel top.
Brenda
You do such a great job of hiding the not so pretty stuff with all your lovely collections. We have lots of things around here that I try to cover up — pipes, cords, water filters, wires. Builders here don’t think about aesthetics … just getting the job done. Hope your day is a good one. Tammy
I try. Sometimes not so easy.
Brenda
I like the ‘layering’ of the mantel and the tables in front of it. A TV is a hard thing to incorporate and I think it looks fine.
Linda
Sometimes it bothers; other times it doesn’t.
Brenda
tv’s make decorating tough.. to each his own but if it were mine it would have to move to the corner.
Vivian had a great idea about the electric log insert. they are so pretty.
I’ve seen people put a mirror in the back and put candles in front too that was very pretty.
Brenda
Why not “play” with things and moving the TV to the table on the right? I have a feeling it would look better – it wouldn’t make the TV the center of attention. You could easily hide the cable cord with your things on the mantle. Another idea: do you have a cable outlet in a spare bedroom? You could put the TV in there.
As for your faux fireplace, Manuela from A Cultivated Nest did a post on that not too long ago. Did you see it?
Hobby Lobby pig…do you ever get a newspaper with the 40% off coupon in it? It’s for an original price item, not a sale price. If not, I could always mail one to you. Of course, HL has a different sale every week too, so your pig might even go on sale soon.
I don’t get the paper. And I use to print out my HL coupons, but my printer died. It will go on sale soon I’m sure. I seem to remember Manuela doing that. I’ll go over and look. Manuela can fix most anything!
Brenda
You can go on line and get those coupons every week for HL and Michaels or if you have internet on your phone, pull it up and the cashier gets the number of the coupon.
Everything looks very pretty. So many interesting items to see. You are lucky. I don’t even have a mantel. Our tv/cable outlet is located in an ok area, but I would like to have it moved to another location in the room to allow some flexibility in furniture arranging. My husband just doesn’t get why I would want to do this. Our living room furniture has been arranged the same way for 34 years–it would be nice to experiment a little. Impossible, the only way it can be arranged is the way it is now because of the outlet and the size of some of the other pieces of furniture. Our home was built in 1954 and looks very similar in style to yours. Millions of them were built right after WW2. People definitely didn’t have as much stuff then as I do. Right now we have a smallish size flat screen black plastic tv sitting on a maple colored faux wood shaker-style lowish entertainment center. Centered above the TV, and permanently mounted on the wall, a beautiful handmade, large wood case, wall clock. It wasn’t such a clash of styles before our old console style tv had to be replaced (after 26 years). When I see my blog friends rearranging their living rooms, I definitely become a little envious.Your posts are always very inspiring.
I’ve lived in houses where you can hardly rearrange. And I hate that. Definitely when I look at houses to rent I keep an eye out for whether the layout is going to limit my rearranging needs.
Brenda
OK, you asked for honesty.. I agree with Vivian.. I think you could get a cable extension and move your tv to another spot and get an electric fire for the fireplace.. OR.. do a candle arrangement there.. OR.. put a nice stack of white barked birch logs in there. I think your wonderful collections would shine much better without the tv screen front and center. ((hugs)), Teresa
I agree with you, Teresa. Now just to figure the rest out. I’m mulling over all the great suggestions.
Brenda
Hi Brenda, Lean a painting/picture against the tv. From the front the tv will not show. Or, find some shutters and lean them against the tv. Or, build a box with the shutters on the front and open only when watching. My friend Mary Ann has a wooden doll house on her tv that lifts up when she watches. Or, Or, Or….there are lots of ways to “hide” the tv. Good luck
Thanks. Great ideas abound here!
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
I like your mantel just as it is…and I’m fine with your TV placement. But, then I’m a TV person and TV will always be centered in my family room. I don’t care for TVs placed over the fireplace because that’s just too high for me for viewing. I’m sure whatever you do will look great. You have that special touch.
I very rarely even have it on during the day, when I’m mostly in this room. I hate to waste “valuable real estate” in such a small house. Pondering, pondering…
Brenda
Brenda, paint the frame of the teacup picture a flat off-white; that color is so in style right now. Move the TV to the right on your small table there and turn it to a slight inward angle. Cover up the black cord w/beige or white duct tape to match the surroundings and then use a garland of greenery along the whole mantle; which can stay thru the seasons as you change your decor, and the disguised cord will not show thru the greenery. Good luck.
BTW, the electric logs idea is a great one; if you get the right one, it will look soooo real and beautiful! You can also get paint for fireplace tiles, in case you want to change the black color of your tiles. Additionally, I happen to know that if you search around, you can purchase left over cuts of countertop marble or granite for a song to replace the tile, if you wish to do so.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’m sure I’ll have to try different things till I get it where I like it.
Brenda
I’m like you too, don’t like the TV being the centre of attention, or the focal point of the room. I am saving my pennies and looking for a lovely used armorie so I can close the doors when I am finished watching TV. Anyway, I love your sweet home and all your creativity, I am sure you will find a solution and it will be just as pretty!
Diane
Hi Brenda,
I don’t have any ideas for where to put your tv, but this link might help for hiding the cables. http://inmyownstyle.com/2012/09/how-to-hide-the-cords-on-a-flat-screen-tv.html
I saw it awhile back and thought it was a great idea. I do love the way you’ve styled the mantel and the wall above it too! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Xo,
Charlotte T
Even though I don’t watch much tv, I still want the tv in the proper place for viewing. So I would want it to be in front of the chair you sit in. It needs to be convenient for you….and all of your pretty things are what we all look at! Hugs!
I love your mantel! TV’s are not big priorities in my life since I’m hearing impaired, but I still think you need to show off that gorgeous fireplace by moving the TV to the side. You can always dress up the hearth with some birch logs, maybe a yule log this season. Pretty candles? I know how much you love to move things around, you’ll have a ball!
XO,
Jane
Hey, looking good. Do you get the 40% off coupons each week from Hob Lob via email? Only good for one items but …
In my current house I have no mantel at all and I really miss that focal point for sure, fake or not. would the TV be too heavy for that small table? a warm fire in the winter would be a nice thing inside there too- be sure your wiring can take it.
Well, I definitely think the TV needs to go somewhere else. It’s a blackhole in the middle of all of your beautiful things. We’ll have to play around with moving it some day!!
Judy
I’m with you on the TV. I looked into it a while back, and Walmart sells an adapter that you can hook up to the cable cord to give you a little more length, so you can move the TV farther away. And what about candles in your fireplace? That would be so pretty, and I know how you love your candles! And that molding around it is really very nice. But everything you do is lovely, so I know that no matter what it will look great
xo, Andrea
Love the new mantel look Brenda. I say pain the frame red, and move the tv. I agree, I hat the boob tube being the center of a room. Or another option is, can the tv go on top of the mantel and you could hinge a painting over the face of it. Just open the painting like a cupboard and have the tv hiding behind it. Just an idea:)
Brenda, checking in for a second. If you move the TV, you could always make some sort of really cool fireplace screen to go in front of the fireplace. Maybe you could paint it to look like a penny rug. And then you could do the back in a different pattern. That might be something fun! Oh! Oh! You might be able to find one of those cardboard folding screen thingies that go across the dashboard in summer and jazz that up. Thinking outside the box on something that would be budget friendly and fun for you to craft.
But I like the little house where it is. It’s a cute anchor for your collections. Then again, it’s always fun to mix things up, and the house could move to the end to cover wires. It’s cute wherever you place it. But you let someone help you move that TV if you decide to move it. Maybe a neighbor could help. Any college students around? The ones that were next door to me always saw me struggling with things, and they would come over and offer to help. These were the same wild child boys that the neighbors used to say were bad news. Nope. They grew up!
XO,
Sheila
I like the way your mantel looks, a tv is entertainment and company. I love Downton Abbey etc. The idea of placing a pic in front of it when you aren’t using it is a good one.
Hi Brenda,
I enjoy your mantel so much. It is so interesting with all the farmhouse/cottage touches. Have you considered leaving your television in the same place and, possibly, make a quilted or appliqued slipcover for it. Your are always brimming with ideas and you know how to use color to your advantage. Just thought I mention this to you….
Have fun brainstorming my friend.
Blessings,
Carolynn
You are getting some good comments on the TV placement, so I will make a comment on another important issue — the pig. I have worries about a pig that is bigger than the cow. I hope you can find a pig that is not so big. (That sounded like something from Dr. Seuss.) Anyway, I don’t think the cow and rooster are going to like being upstaged by a big pig. I have always liked the house in the center of the mantle, by the way. Now that I know it has a utilitarian as well as decorative purpose, I like it even better! I think it needs an American Gothic couple standing between it and the truck. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Love the plates. Wish I could but I’m at a loss to help – I can’t even “see” my own decorating.
Go to the Hobby Lobby web site and get their 40% off coupon. Never pay full price
They have one each week and you can sign up and it will come to your
email. Love your little house and the way you have put it together. Think of
you each time I go to Tulsa which is about an hour from me. If you ever get to
North West Arkansas (where I am) go visit Eureka Springs. Tons of shops and
great fun but better in the Spring and Summer. See ya later…Carol
I would move it! What I’ve done with several cords in my home that I hate to look at, is to make cloth covers. If you used a fabric that blends with your wall, and then you decorate your mantel the way you do, you would hardly notice it. Then for the fireplace, I have seen bi-fold screens with tealite holders (got one a few years ago at Walgreens of all places) that could give you the illusion of a real fireplace. The single most important thing to think about doing, is to move that TV.
It you want to leave the TV in the same spot I would lower it a bit so it is not cutting into the white mantel area and it would blend in more to the black tile area. Everything looks super cute.
Do you have a cabinet you can put it in?
I seldom have the TV on, so I would not
miss one in the main room. I record what
I want and watch it at night or down the road.
If you could have a cabinet built on the wall,
just big enough to hold the TV, you could shut
the doors, and hang little quilts on the front of
each panel.
hugs…
Today…Sunday, November 11th you are featured on Vintage Gal Style…one of your plates is a red floral on white background. I have been looking for similar plates for the holidays. Can you tell me anything about your plate i.e. where you purchased it and was it in a set?
Love your coffee station…wish I had room for one in my trailer kitchen. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
1Bookshelf Elf