Media walls are a great way to create a main centrepiece within your living space and will add to the overall look of your home interior. Designed to hold your TV in a sleek, stylish setting without the bulky design of a conventional entertainment console, they’re a perfect addition to your home.
Small spaces shouldn’t mean compromising on style
Wide-screen TVs, high-tech home entertainment systems and endless consoles offer a fabulous viewing and fun experience, they can be very dominating in a smaller space. For a mix of quality, style and practicality, nothing beats purpose-built storage. All those unsightly cables and fixings are hidden away, and the space is maximised for your viewing pleasure.
What will your media wall store?
A media wall supplies a home for all your smart home technology. That means your TV, DVD player, soundbar, and music system are stored neatly in one place. You can expand your storage to include your consoles, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, books either tucked away behind cabinet doors or proudly on display. Clearly, you’ll need to measure in advance to make sure they will all fit with your TV mounting idea. For instance, if you’re happy with a soundbar, there will be less to put in the cabinetry but if you’re used to being immersed, you’ll need to make sure your speaker arrangement fits!
Placement is everything
Your media wall will be the star of the room, so you’ll want it to be perfect. You might choose to place it in a dedicated home cinema or media room or adapt it to suit your living room or open-plan kitchen. Regardless of where you place it, think carefully about the line of sight from where you will be sitting. You will need to view your TV and access the rest of your media easily. It’s also important to consider noise too. Some items, such as consoles, have fans that run to keep them cool, so consider whether they will be subtle enough or whether you need to consider positioning a rack with essential equipment in another room for the best experience.
Freestanding cabinet or custom-made design?
There are lots of attractive off-the-shelf units you can buy from major furniture stores for the base of your media wall, but you’ll need to check dimensions carefully to ensure your gadgets fit. Alternatively, you can use a bespoke furniture maker to create the perfect fit for you.
Time to think design
While there are plenty of colours and finishes to choose from that can match your furniture and accessories, opting for a neutral-coloured media wall will ensure longevity. A wooden finish can be timeless and works well in both modern and classic settings. You may decide to have a fireplace media wall, where your TV is placed above a contemporary fireplace to bring in a cosy feel. Or perhaps you want to use ‘floating’ furniture to frame your TV. This eye-catching design consists of strategically placed floating storage above and below the TV, creating a quirky frame. There are lots of options out there to match your style and desires.
Don’t forget access for fixing, wiring and updates.
As well as being able to easily access your equipment for when engineers need to fix cables or update your system – you should also think about leaving space for new gadgets that you buy in future (or dispose of) when considering how to mount a TV on the wall. I’m sure we never envisaged getting rid of our VHS tape recorders and yet here we are! Being able to get to the back of your components is pretty handy when you need to pull the power lead out to reboot a system, or you want to change over one console for another. Consider a pull-out bracket for long-term serviceability, and access for new cabling.
Are you considering investing in your own compact media wall? Get in touch today!