Easy as it sounds, mounting a television can be quite a pain. An incorrectly placed screen frequently leads to painful neck and shoulders, even eye strain, and, of course, the regret from holes left in your house walls.
So, before you start enjoying your favorite Netflix show on your newly bought flat screen, it’s important to find the optimum height for your TV. It isn’t rocket science to know that televisions should be placed at eye level, However, this can vary depending on you, the room you plan to use, and the size of your screen.
TV Mounting Height Guidelines
In the living room, the general consensus is to mount your TV approximately 42″ from the floor. A standard sofa cushion is usually raised 18″ above the floor, and sitting down, the average person measures about 24″ to eye level, making 42″ the best height for your screen – working purely on averages. It then follows that mounting height should be a little lower for the bedroom if your bed is low or if you intend to watch in a reclining position. On the other hand, for the kitchen or bar, since stools are higher, your screen could be a few inches higher.
Consider the TV Size
It’s also a good idea to consider the size of your flat-screen TV. Mentally mark the center point of the screen – please don’t actually put pen to screen though! The center should be where you take your measurements from to locate the eye level. A good way to check is to make a small, erasable dot on the wall where you think eye level should be, and another where the bottom edge of your chosen screen size will sit from that mark (remembering that the center of the screen should correspond to the dot on the wall). Sit on your sofa as if watching TV, and check the height before drilling your holes. You may need to adjust this by a few inches, but can do this easily without making unnecessary holes.
Consider the Room Size
The size of your room is a contributing factor in calculating the optimum mounting height for your TV, but it also has a role in determining which screen size to purchase. Because the distance from the center point to the bottom edge is propotionate to the size of your screen, the edge on a larger screen will hang lower. This can be an issue in a smaller room, leading to the room feeling dominated and overpowered by the TV, while a small screen, which will have a lesser distance from the center to the bottom, can mean your family is hunched around it, all suffering from neck pain, and the rest of your large living room is unused.
As you can see, there are several factors to consider when determining the perfect height to hang your new TV, however, it’s well worth taking the time to find the sweet spot now, instead of later.
Select Your TV
Now, if you have a screen size in mind, you could go to our top reviews for the best TV deals for:
For an informative guide on how to wall mount your TV screen, here’s a great video that covers all bases.
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