5 places in my home I would never put a TV

You probably thought about it before you bought it, but you need to consider where you’re going to put a TV before you pick it up. It’s rare that someone will see a deal that’s too good, purchase it, and then figure out what to do with it later. That has probably happened, especially on sales days like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. But, in general, buyers should really consider what to do with something before they click the Buy button or hand their credit card over to the cashier.

When you’re buying a smart TV, there are a lot of things to consider. Which features you’re most interested in, how big of a TV you want, and what you plan to do on it are all important. If you’re someone who likes to make slideshows of your travels and show large groups of people, you want to be able to do this with a mirroring TV. If you’re a gamer, finding the right visuals and settings are a must. It doesn’t matter what TV you buy, as you’re going to use it the way that you want it to.

But it does matter where you put it. There are some places that you should avoid putting your TV and it’s more than just “don’t put one in the middle of a room.” There are only so many places your TV can go and you want to make sure that you’re placing it not only in a place that’s safe for the TV but ideal for viewing. Here are some of the no-no spots for your smart TV.

1

Avoid putting it above the fireplace

Even if it makes the most sense

I’ll admit that I’m guilty of this offense. In my family room, there really wasn’t a great place to mount the TV other than above the fireplace after we’d put the rest of the furniture in. We had brought our couch from our previous apartment and there was only one place it could go to keep the flow of the room open. That meant having to mount the TV above the fireplace.

While it has worked out for us, the long-term effects of mounting it above the fireplace are less than ideal. First of all, any time the fireplace is in use, the heat generated from it could damage the cords and inner workings of the TV. This could shorten the lifespan of the TV, as it can wear down the outer portions of it and hurt the TV’s stability. While we have a Samsung The Frame TV and have used it to show off artwork above the fireplace, it does ultimately take away the appearance of the fireplace itself.

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2

The bathroom isn’t a good idea

While it may seem like it, keep it out of there

Let’s be honest: it’s probably the dream of a lot of guys to have a TV in the bathroom. Any sports fan wouldn’t have to miss a second of the action while they’re doing their business or in the shower. You could even waste some time gaming while you’re in the bathroom. Depending on where the outlets are in the bathroom, this could be a huge hazard with cords going everywhere and potentially having them be sprayed with water coming out of the shower.

For the smart TV’s sake, bathrooms get very humid and moist because of showers and tubs. This is less than ideal for the inner components of a bathroom. Keeping a TV out of areas where water is prevalent is a good idea. That is, unless you have an outdoor TV which is specifically made to withstand the elements. But, in case you took that as promoting putting an outdoor TV in your bathroom, they are bulkier and are made to deal with higher brightness, meaning if your bathroom isn’t that way, it won’t look very good.

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3

Don’t put it too high

This means you have to overcompensate

Depending on where your furniture is in the room, it’s important to consider how you’re going to sit and enjoy the television. If you want the TV to be able to be seen from a different room as well as the room you’re in, you will probably want to mount it higher than if you’re just going to be watching it in the room. But it’s important to think about others and not only yourself when you’re setting it up.

You may be someone who loves to lay down on the couch to watch TV. But that shouldn’t dictate the height of the TV because what if others are there and will only sit on the couch and not lie? Mounting it too high will cause people to strain their necks looking at the television. Think of a medium height, which will still balance out your audio and not cause anyone to sit incredibly close to the TV as well. You may actually have to move the furniture around if you find the best spot for the TV, not the other way around.

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4

Avoid the corner of the room

It can be done but it’s not ideal

Let’s say you have an L-shaped couch that takes up a good portion of the room and a sliding glass door leading outside on another wall of the room. It may make sense for you to try and mount the TV in the corner to provide most people with the ability to look at it. You’ll need to find the right kind of mount to do this, as it will have to stagger a corner and be placed on two different walls.

What you’ll also need is a TV mount that can pivot and turn, as there’s no way keeping it where it is will end up the best for everyone. If you can find a mount that you can position in different angles, you’ll be better off. But if you can’t, forcing people to have to look at a TV in the corner is just rude. You’re completely alienating a section of the room, so anyone stuck in that corner won’t have any access to it.

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5

Keep it away from windows

That glare shouldn’t be messed with

Battling the glare on your TV can be difficult. A lot of TVs made today are going to have some kind of anti-glare build so they work in dark or light environments. But what can be hard to combat is when the room has a skylight or if the room has windows on multiple sides. It’s best to keep a TV out of direct sunlight for many reasons, one of which is that it’s harder to view things in bright environments.

Direct sunlight can wear down a TV over time, making it more likely that the screen becomes damaged. If you have an OLED TV, the organic material in the OLED panels are susceptible to breaking down more easily if they are in direct sunlight. Not for nothing, making viewers look directly outdoors or into a glare is incredibly distracting and makes it harder to watch TV. They may be paying attention to what’s outside and not what’s on the screen.