Image above: design guide by Jill Seidner Interior Design on Pinterest
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Mapping out a small living room? My Drawing & Layout Library has 85 floor plans by room plus printable planning sheets, so you can try the TV on every wall on paper first.
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Start with the room, not the TV
Before you pick a wall, sketch the room: doors, windows, the path people walk through and the outlets. In a small living room the walkway usually rules out one wall and the windows another. What is left is your short list.
Then decide what the room is for. If you also read, talk and entertain there, let the TV share the stage with art or shelves so the room still looks good when the screen is off.
Where to put the TV in a small living room: the best walls
- The wall across from the longest seating. Put the sofa on the long side of the room and the TV directly across. Everyone sees the screen straight on and the layout reads clean.
- A wall with no window. My rule: the TV never goes in front of a window. You get glare and you block your light.
- A wall to the side of the windows. Light coming from the side is much easier on a screen than light coming from behind you or behind the TV.
- A corner, only if the room is very tight. A corner TV can save wall space in a narrow room. Use a mount that swivels so you can face it toward the sofa.
The SANUS guide to picking a TV mount lays out the trade-offs: tilting and full-motion mounts can tilt to reduce glare from lights and windows, and full-motion mounts extend and swivel, which is why they work in corners and recesses. A fixed mount sits flattest but does neither.
Image via Jill Seidner Interior Design on Pinterest (originally from Fowl Family). View the pin
Framing the TV with a gallery wall makes the screen one piece of a bigger arrangement instead of a black box on a bare wall.
Sofa and TV distance: how far apart
This is where small rooms get tricky. A big TV close to the sofa feels like the front row at the movies, and a small TV far away looks lost. RTINGS bases its size-to-distance chart on the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers recommendation that the screen fill at least 30 degrees of your field of vision for mixed use, with 40 degrees for a more cinematic feel. On its chart, the 30-degree distance is about 5 feet 10 inches for a 43-inch TV, 6 feet 9 inches for a 50-inch and 7 feet 5 inches for a 55-inch. For a 55-inch at the 40-degree cinema distance it is about 5 feet 6 inches.
So measure from the sofa to the wall first, then choose the TV size. In most small living rooms, a 50- or 55-inch screen is plenty.
Float the sofa a few inches off the wall if you can. A little breathing room behind it makes a small room feel less packed.
How high to hang the TV
Most TVs are hung too high. Bob Vila puts the ideal height at 42 inches from the floor to the center of the screen under most circumstances, and suggests measuring each person's seated eye level and averaging them if you want an exact number. The same article recommends a gap of about 4 to 6 inches when the TV hangs over a console or shelf.
Over a fireplace, it suggests leaving at least 6 to 12 inches between the top of the mantel and the bottom of the TV. That puts the screen well above eye level, so I only go over the fireplace when there is no other wall, with a mount that tilts down.
Image via Jill Seidner Interior Design on Pinterest (originally from Domino). View the pin
Domino rounded up ways to hide a TV in plain sight. In a small room, a screen that disappears into the wall keeps the space feeling open.
Small living room layout with TV: keep it from taking over
Once the wall is set, the goal is to make the TV look like part of the design. These are the moves I use most:
- Go low and long. A low console that is wider than the TV grounds the screen. Style the top with a lamp or a plant, not a pile of remotes.
- Paint the wall darker. A deep color behind a black screen makes the TV fade back. My post on accent wall ideas for a small living room has a few colors that work.
- Build it in. Shelves or cabinets around the TV turn it into one piece of furniture. If you want it fully hidden, add doors or a sliding screen.
- Hide the cords. Nothing makes a wall-mounted TV look unfinished like a cord hanging down. SANUS shows two routes: an in-wall kit, or an on-wall adhesive channel you can paint to blend in. A paintable D-Line cord cover kit is the easy version.
- Anchor everything. The SANUS TV safety page cites a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report that, on average, one child dies every two weeks when a TV or furniture falls on them. Mount the TV to the wall or strap it and the console to the wall, especially with kids at home.
Image via Jill Seidner Interior Design on Pinterest (originally from Domino). View the pin
In this Austin home Domino toured, a white oak bookshelf hides the TV behind a sliding cane screen and doubles as a coat closet and storage for games. A smart fix for a small space.
When the TV has to be on an awkward wall
Sometimes the only open wall is the narrow one, or the TV has to sit at an angle to the sofa. That is where a full-motion mount earns its keep. A Mounting Dream full motion TV mount lets you pull the screen out and turn it toward the sofa when you watch, then push it back flat against the wall when you don't.
If the room doubles as a dining or work space, face the sofa toward the TV so its back quietly divides the two zones. My guide on ways to make living spaces look bigger has more tricks for small rooms that do double duty.
Image via Jill Seidner Interior Design on Pinterest (originally from Emily Henderson). View the pin
Emily Henderson leaned into a dark, cozy palette for this family TV room, which lets the screen blend in when it is off.
My small living room TV checklist
Map the doors, windows, walkway and outlets. Pick a wall with no window, across from the longest seating. Size the TV to the sofa distance, hang it near seated eye level, hide the cords, anchor it, and style the wall so it looks finished with the TV off.
TV Placement in Small Living Room FAQ
Where is the best place to put a TV in a small living room?
On a wall with no window, across from the sofa or your longest seating. Keep it out of the main walkway, and use a swivel mount if the only option is a corner.
How far should the sofa be from the TV?
It depends on the screen size. On RTINGS' chart, a 50-inch TV is about 6 feet 9 inches away for everyday viewing and a 55-inch about 7 feet 5 inches. Measure your room, then choose the TV.
Can you put a TV in front of a window?
I don't recommend it. The light behind the screen causes glare and eye strain, and you lose your daylight. Put the TV on a wall beside the windows instead.
