Where to put TV- totally OT and stupid question.

[kijip]

Ok, we use our TV set almost daily for exercise videos or a Toby video. We do not watch TV programs/have cable/have an antenna or whatever. But we use the TV often enough and it is large enough that it is a burden to move it around too much, so storing it in the closet like we used to would be a PITA. We move to our new home after we close in 3-4 weeks. It is a townhouse with three levels:

ground floor- 1 car garage, mud room, third (tiny) bedroom with 1/2 bath leading into the backyard.

Main floor- kitchen, dining, living and bathroom.

Top floor- 2 bedrooms, bath

I am mapping our where all of the furniture will go and I can't figure out where to put the TV.

The living room is too small to accommodate a TV without being intrusive in the other decorations- I have a strong bias against having it in the living room. We assumed the ground floor den but that does not work since I would not want to leave Toby on the ground floor for even 5 minutes at his age and most of the time he is watching something, I am tossing dinner together. So having me on the floor above him, with him next to a sliding glass door leading to the yard is not really an option. Also the third bedroom would be very small for morning yoga and exercise, LOL. Especially once we fit a desk in there. So what does that leave? I am thinking the third floor in our bedroom in a cabinet. But I am not so hot on having a TV in the bedroom. But I would be more comfortable with Toby being alone upstairs with the TV than downstairs from me alone due to the sliding door to the yard. Don't want to be cooking dinner and find Toby wandered in to the yard or worse yet the street. He is curious, he can unlock sliding doors, he likes the outdoors, there is a park across the street... so it is a concern.

[kijip]

Ok, we use our TV set almost daily for exercise videos or a Toby video. We do not watch TV programs/have cable/have an antenna or whatever. But we use the TV often enough and it is large enough that it is a burden to move it around too much, so storing it in the closet like we used to would be a PITA. We move to our new home after we close in 3-4 weeks. It is a townhouse with three levels:

ground floor- 1 car garage, mud room, third (tiny) bedroom with 1/2 bath leading into the backyard.

Main floor- kitchen, dining, living and bathroom.

Top floor- 2 bedrooms, bath

I am mapping our where all of the furniture will go and I can't figure out where to put the TV.

The living room is too small to accommodate a TV without being intrusive in the other decorations- I have a strong bias against having it in the living room. We assumed the ground floor den but that does not work since I would not want to leave Toby on the ground floor for even 5 minutes at his age and most of the time he is watching something, I am tossing dinner together. So having me on the floor above him, with him next to a sliding glass door leading to the yard is not really an option. Also the third bedroom would be very small for morning yoga and exercise, LOL. Especially once we fit a desk in there. So what does that leave? I am thinking the third floor in our bedroom in a cabinet. But I am not so hot on having a TV in the bedroom. But I would be more comfortable with Toby being alone upstairs with the TV than downstairs from me alone due to the sliding door to the yard. Don't want to be cooking dinner and find Toby wandered in to the yard or worse yet the street. He is curious, he can unlock sliding doors, he likes the outdoors, there is a park across the street... so it is a concern.

[MarisaSF]

Sounds like you think your bedroom is the best option. I can't really comment on the negatives/positives of that as I've never had a tv in my bedroom, but it seems like it would work best for you.

I would childproof the doors downstairs, if possible.

Really, I just wanted to chime in and say CONGRATS on the new home!!! :)

[MarisaSF]

Sounds like you think your bedroom is the best option. I can't really comment on the negatives/positives of that as I've never had a tv in my bedroom, but it seems like it would work best for you.

I would childproof the doors downstairs, if possible.

Really, I just wanted to chime in and say CONGRATS on the new home!!! :)

[shilo]

congratulations on your new home!!!

our current house is laid out on the main floor much like yours sounds (kitchen/dining/living - all one 'great room' feel with a small powder 1/2 bath at the base of the stairs).

we have our tv in the living room, which i know you said you don't want, but i think it really is probably the most functional with a toddler. if you can come up with a way to really camoflage it, i think you can probably make it fit with your decor. i know how tight things are for the first year or so in a new place, but do you have any sort of budget you could put into (maybe CL your old set to help with this...) a new flat panel type tv? you can camoflage these in all sorts of ways, especially if they are wall mounted. you can build a box (think like a shadow box) around it and hang it on the wall just about anywhere. make the front of the box with accordian or pocket doors, or a fold down panel. you can camoflage it with a painting on the front of a fold down type door, decoupage (neatly :)) a poster onto acordian doors and trim it out with some molding or make them blend with the architectural style of your home by matching existing moldings/trims/panels or plantation shutters.

while we were house hunting just recently, i saw one that was mounted above a fireplace and they covered the 'doors' with raised panneling and moldings to make it look like an extension of the mantel going up to the ceiling (like a brick fireplace that goes all the way up) and you literally couldn't tell there was a tv behind it until you opened it - i liked it so much, i'm having my architect work this into the plans for our remodel on the new house. i saw another smaller one that was in a 'shadow box' type frame on the wall in the kitchen, with a framed piece of magnetized whiteboard with the kids art work hanging on it, but once you dropped that down, there was the tv.

anyway, this may or may not work for you. our place has pretty much been taken over by sam (my coffee table is a nilo train table now :P) so i'm immune to the 'intrusion to the decorations bit'. i'm probably not the best person to be doling out advice on decor in a small space, so take it with a grain of salt :). congratulations again,
lori

Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[shilo]

congratulations on your new home!!!

our current house is laid out on the main floor much like yours sounds (kitchen/dining/living - all one 'great room' feel with a small powder 1/2 bath at the base of the stairs).

we have our tv in the living room, which i know you said you don't want, but i think it really is probably the most functional with a toddler. if you can come up with a way to really camoflage it, i think you can probably make it fit with your decor. i know how tight things are for the first year or so in a new place, but do you have any sort of budget you could put into (maybe CL your old set to help with this...) a new flat panel type tv? you can camoflage these in all sorts of ways, especially if they are wall mounted. you can build a box (think like a shadow box) around it and hang it on the wall just about anywhere. make the front of the box with accordian or pocket doors, or a fold down panel. you can camoflage it with a painting on the front of a fold down type door, decoupage (neatly :)) a poster onto acordian doors and trim it out with some molding or make them blend with the architectural style of your home by matching existing moldings/trims/panels or plantation shutters.

while we were house hunting just recently, i saw one that was mounted above a fireplace and they covered the 'doors' with raised panneling and moldings to make it look like an extension of the mantel going up to the ceiling (like a brick fireplace that goes all the way up) and you literally couldn't tell there was a tv behind it until you opened it - i liked it so much, i'm having my architect work this into the plans for our remodel on the new house. i saw another smaller one that was in a 'shadow box' type frame on the wall in the kitchen, with a framed piece of magnetized whiteboard with the kids art work hanging on it, but once you dropped that down, there was the tv.

anyway, this may or may not work for you. our place has pretty much been taken over by sam (my coffee table is a nilo train table now :P) so i'm immune to the 'intrusion to the decorations bit'. i'm probably not the best person to be doling out advice on decor in a small space, so take it with a grain of salt :). congratulations again,
lori

Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[kijip]

I have thought about that- replacing the set with a flat thingy, perhaps a tad smaller screen (say a 15 inch vs the current 19). But I hate spending money...it would fit in the budget, but just buying a TV would peeve me- I want the money for other, more interesting things :). The top of the fireplace is taken but perhaps we could hang it on the wall off to one side and put some sort of cover on it. Still, I am reluctant. Or maybe a flat thingy in the dining room, covered up. Near the kitchen, in an open space with a hardwood floor for exercise. Umm...

Oh, and our coffee table will be a train table too, so we have the same darn "decor" :P. We just hate, hate, hate electronics visible. We have laptops for this reason etc.

[kijip]

I have thought about that- replacing the set with a flat thingy, perhaps a tad smaller screen (say a 15 inch vs the current 19). But I hate spending money...it would fit in the budget, but just buying a TV would peeve me- I want the money for other, more interesting things :). The top of the fireplace is taken but perhaps we could hang it on the wall off to one side and put some sort of cover on it. Still, I am reluctant. Or maybe a flat thingy in the dining room, covered up. Near the kitchen, in an open space with a hardwood floor for exercise. Umm...

Oh, and our coffee table will be a train table too, so we have the same darn "decor" :P. We just hate, hate, hate electronics visible. We have laptops for this reason etc.

[bnme]

I'd put it in the master. If you guys are not into TV in the first place it'll be fine there. You probably would never turn it on at bedtime or anything. I'd be nervous about him being on the ground floor alone, too.

Our 1 story house has 4 pairs of sliding doors in the kitchen/den area - not sure why, the previous owners did an extension and put all sliders instead of windows. Looks great, SO not practical. Any way we have a pool in our yard so I am completely paranoid about the doors. The ones we don't use are actually bolted shut for now. We installed a simple wooden-pole style door lock on that one so the kids can't easily open it. It's not perfect but much safer then with out. The kids would have to climb on a table to be able to reach it and the pole is wedged in pretty tight so it would be difficult for them to remove. But I'm sure they could if they really tried, if not now soon. We were not able to find many solutions to childproof the doors. I highly recommend doing something to make the door more childproof.

Good luck with your new home!

[bnme]

I'd put it in the master. If you guys are not into TV in the first place it'll be fine there. You probably would never turn it on at bedtime or anything. I'd be nervous about him being on the ground floor alone, too.

Our 1 story house has 4 pairs of sliding doors in the kitchen/den area - not sure why, the previous owners did an extension and put all sliders instead of windows. Looks great, SO not practical. Any way we have a pool in our yard so I am completely paranoid about the doors. The ones we don't use are actually bolted shut for now. We installed a simple wooden-pole style door lock on that one so the kids can't easily open it. It's not perfect but much safer then with out. The kids would have to climb on a table to be able to reach it and the pole is wedged in pretty tight so it would be difficult for them to remove. But I'm sure they could if they really tried, if not now soon. We were not able to find many solutions to childproof the doors. I highly recommend doing something to make the door more childproof.

Good luck with your new home!