Media wall Ideas and suggestions

[2013]

Considering a Media Wall

The family is interested in creating a media wall with wall panels, inspired by another home they've seen. If I'm going to undertake this project, I want to do it right.

My Thoughts:

The room is long, and I'll be using one of the longer walls. I'm concerned that dark colors like black might make the room feel even more narrow and dim.

I'm thinking a fireplace would be a great addition to the wall. The old one wouldn't fit the style, and radiators aren't the best option to use if you are mostly in one room for hours. I want to ensure the TV area can accommodate both smaller and larger TVs for future flexibility. I'm also considering adding ambient lighting, similar to the Ambilight style.

Other features I've seen on media walls include storage, speakers, additional lighting, and even metallic accents.

Given the cost, I want to do this right. I'm hoping for ideas and suggestions. If you have a media wall, what did you include? Are there any changes you wish you'd made?

 

[2013]

I thought about it in thread below (with pics) but decided against it. If you put a tv above a fire it ends up too high. Plus you're losing floor area if you stud out your walls.

I'm glad I went with what I went with

TV above fireplace with 5.1 OR TV offset from fire with soundbar? Pics and dims inside

Hi all, I previously posted a thread in home and garden with not much response, was hoping for more from an AV perspective https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/help-me-with-proposed-tv-above-gas-fire-and-false-stud-wall-gas-requirements-and-pics-of-proposal.18931963/ Im thinking primarily...

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For another room I also did a slat wall:

Wall mounted tv unit & slat wall

Hi all, I would like wall mount a tv unit and also wall mount my tv (65" oled) . Unlike the popular subreddit my tv is "too low" and I have a kid coming March and think it's an accident waiting to happen for a toddler. Any wall mount I use will likely be on a cantilevered bracket so will be...

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I considered that, but I know that until I can convince them to drop the subject, it'll be a while, and you know what that entails. The floor space wouldn't be a major issue, as the area is narrow and primarily used for the TV unit and fireplace.

Another issue is that they've always wanted the wiring hidden, but the current setup makes that impossible. That's another reason they've given me.

They're thinking of something more like this. It would be slightly higher than my current setup (low TV unit).

Which is why im looking for options

 

[2013]

I quite like those options to be fair. Just remember that electric fires don't kick out too much heat and relatively expensive depending if you have solar/battery etc.

Its also worth having a look at electric fires because even the premium ones I thought looked naff.

We already have an electric fire, so that's no longer an issue. (I initially disliked it because I missed the natural gas fireplace, but finding natural gas was difficult at the time.) I'm still learning about different types of panels and their prices. £50 seems very expensive to me.

 

[2013]

What's a media wall?

This thing, seam to be some new trend.

 

[2013]

These aren't cheap to build so a bit of research & planning is recommended.
200sols is correct about the ideal height and walls just look better with a TV at the right height .

If you don't need to compromise because of an existing fireplace, then don't! To be fair, the examples with the very slim fireplaces keep the height ok, but cabinet space is very limited.

Some things I'd recommend:
- classic lines that won't age e.g. slim shaker which is contemporary but timeless
- if painted, keep.the colours relatively neutral, but doesn't need to be bland! Mix in some real wood finishes if it's a big wall to break things up a bit
- plenty of space around the TV for options to increase TV size in the future
- fairly simple lightng
- mixture of shelving shapes & sizes

Some other things we did that are great were a concealed door in the bookcase, built in centre speaker and oak inserts into some of the shelves to add a bit of a mid century influence.

The existing fireplace is electric anyway so will likely be be replaced with a narrow once, even more so with the examples.
I was thinking light oak, dark oak or Ash, to keep the room light as possible and timeless.

I've been suggested black but the room will be too dark and start to look small, in my option.
I've been told they want to use panels all along the wall like the example in the 2nd post and panel board behind the tv like the image.

Could you share some image and example to get a better idea of things, could you share image of your, I was thinking of adding speakers or a sound bar but im not sure how it would work, plus the depth would be limited because we dont want it to stick out, it could stick out a little more around the TV because we already have a large TV stand in that space.

 

[2013]

For me I dont want

I dont want all the shelfs and stuff people are adding for the sake of it, in my option some storage is ok, but I don't think all the extra shelf and draws to cover the all are needed.
I for flexibility fit in style fearure wall is not good, because it will make it harder to change wiring and change TVs if needed in the future, so this style maybe better.

Lighting I'm thinking something like the Ambilight light style light, im sure cheap alternatives are available but I cant remember the names. and a few strip lights

I can share the size of the all any doors, distance from the tv, so I can get a better idea of the how hight the TV should go.

I was thinking of adding something like the light below or something to get rid of the lamps but still something so we dont need the main light for a cosy look and fell.

I also what to add some sort of sound system to the setup just to have the full home cinema, if I end up doing this I should do it right or at least add the flexibility to add it down the light.

 

[2013]

Thanks, for the help, I have a few idea. I'm thinking of a balanced look.
the girls want a fireplace, and darker more model look, I'm think of letting everyone to sharing the ideas and create a combination and balanced look.

here is another idea

 

[2013]

I never liked the TV high up oon the wall, why is why I when back to a TV stand when we moved houses,

My TV us really low at the moment and the room is large. as long as we dont put the TV and other stuff High up it should work out, I'm trying to go for a balanced look, It would also be bad for kids looking up.

My TV is setup at eye level... The bottom of the screen is (just checked) 63cm from the floor (where the actual viewable screen starts) and the top of the screen is 70cm above that (46" telly)

Sofa is direct opposite it and it the straight on angle (height wise) is better for me.

could you share

 

[2013]

Sorry ive not replied it a few days, busy week working till late, Just a quick update, We cant seam to choose a design or agree 100% on what we want.

The girls what Ash panels all along the wall, which is a long wall, one of the reason is a part of the wall has some damp and paint is flagging nothing major, but i think it may make the room too dark, making the room smaller and a little boring, they still want a electric fire.

I was thinking a more natural colour like oak would be better and maybe only covering a part of the wall. my reasoning is the ash may make the room look smaller, at the moment all the walls are painted in Magnolia, I know boring but we did not want to make the room dark and covering the main wall in colour would have cost too much. and the part panels would give the room a more modern look similar to RDCorporation.

What we have agreed on is not having the TV built inside the panels, but instead on top or partly covering them. We have agreed on some lights like the above
We are having a few thoughts about the Panel behind the TV, go far light colour like which or dark grey maybe a marble effect for contrast.

not sure about a TV stand yet.

for us this is the main living room, so everyone shares the room including the kids so we need to keep that in mind.

I've done something similar in my living room. I too did not want any shelves or make the room smaller by a huge media wall so we found a similar design to what we want.
Yes the TV is high Weirdly enough, when I was planning the whole layout of the wall, we didn't have the sofa yet, and I was pretending to sit & stand to see where the TV should be, but somehow, it ended up high anyway Doesn't bother us anymore though.

The slat wall is actually built by hand, instead of buying one of those super expensive slat panels. It's just some wood studs from Wickes, all hand sanded & stained. I then made them in 3 sections so it's easier to lift & attach onto the wall. Which now makes me think, the amount of time spent on making this wall, maybe expensive panels would work out cheaper lol.
I actually planned for having lights between the slats at some point, so the gaps were to accommodate a small aluminium channel for LED strip. This is another reason I used my own wood for slat wood, as most of those panels you can buy are not deep enough for light channels, at least weren't at the time we built this. If you look at the `before` photo, you can see there used to be a light on the wall where the slats are now, that's the wire I used to split 4 ways and power all 4 strips. The other side of that wire goes behind TV into the power supply.
Black aluminium channel works very well, you can't really see it unless you looking directly at it / for it.

The only other source of "ambient" light is where the curtains should go. Curtain rails are flush with the ceiling all along the wall where window is, so I made a little extrusion to hide a corner profile and shine light onto the wall / curtains (still haven't bought curtains lol).

This curtain light and strips between slats, are the only two light we ever use lol. Makes the room very cosy and surprisingly bright (all on dimmer switches). Just make sure if you're putting LED strip where it will be visible, to go with good quality strips with more LED's per metre, so you can't see individual dots when it's on.

Anyway, some pictures:

This was the before, when we bought the house

Making of the fake wall, to hide all wiring & home all LED power supplies.

Fake wall was plaster boarded, plastered & started painting

This was the end (ish) result. If you look at the frame photo before, there is a way for any cable to go from behind the TV into the cabinets, if needed, all behind the wall.

And the slat lights

Maybe any of this might help

Looks good, but I dont think we would be stripping the wall or celling, which may make things harder. we may just make a frame on top of what we have.
what did the slats cost and cost to build the panels, we are trying to avoid this at the moment to keep things consistent in the stain.
What LED strips did you use and where from?
Nice coffee table, where was it from ?

How have you made the access to the wiring and plugs ? any easy access ?

 

[2013]

Thanks, sorry for not getting back to the thread, I was not sure what to do due to a few more issues like ceiling height, brick wall and a few other issues.

I do have some question
fire questions are for LEDs, would

Govee 30M LED Strip Lights,​

1. Do the colour change also offer natural light options like 6500k, 4500k ?
2. Can the be used on acoustic wood panels?
3. Would these be ok or would I be better off using LED channel or the COB type