2. misc-audio
  3. 185968-128813

Rant: PSA to builders, housewives, and general complaint

In our search for a new house, I’m seeing some disturbing and annoying trends, mainly, living rooms where the ONLY place to put a TV is way high above a fireplace. This leaves zero flexibility for tv placement, additional audio components etc. Most don’t even have plugs. I'm also in Texas and there's ZERO need for a fireplace.

Not to mention all the "open concepts" we’re seeing where the living room is strangely shaped and the kitchen is basically in the room where you hear all the kitchen noise and you’re 100% accessible to your spouse and their conversation (ramblings).

This isn’t a problem if you have $2m to spend but for most of us, we’re limited in where we can set up our toys and this does not help.

Thank you for listening.

dtximages
larsman's avatar
larsman
1,780 posts
 

I'm going through that TV/fireplace business myself. The decorator I'm working with suggested mounting the TV above the fireplace, but have an articulated mount so the TV can be pulled out and lowered to proper height when in use, and then back above the fireplace when it's not. There's a place called Mantelmount or MountMantel, I forget which, and they specialize in these mounts. I've got openings, windows, and closet doors to deal with, too, and my apartment is 100 years old! 

gdnrbob
4,417 posts
 

I'm also in Texas and there's ZERO need for a fireplace.

Didn't the grid go down when it was below freezing?

 

B

erik_squires
15,895 posts
 

Sadly not new.  It's been true since before I purchased in 2021.  The best compromise is often a converted garage or attic space.

Also hard to find around here was homes with plenty of natural light. 

vonhelmholtz
911 posts
 

We contracted to build in North Texas and have the open design with 30’ plus ceilings and forget audio, or decent theater in such a room. The echo makes it challenging to understand simple conversation. Separate rooms are needed for audio and theater. We have a TV mounted high over a large modern fireplace, but with the floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows and poor sound, it isn’t ideal.  Also, they love running lots of outlets and lights on one circuit.

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