The seven TV stand mistakes most likely to spoil a living room layout are: choosing the wrong width for the screen, getting the height wrong, ignoring depth and walkways, forgetting where sockets and aerial points are, buying for looks without enough storage, placing the stand where light causes glare, and treating it in isolation from the sofa and the rest of the room. Each one is easy to avoid with a tape measure and a little planning before you order.
A TV stand often sets the layout for the entire room, because the sofa, coffee table and rug tend to be arranged around it. Getting it wrong can leave you with a room that feels cramped, awkward to move through or uncomfortable to sit in. Below, we walk through each mistake, why it happens and what to do instead, so your next choice from our modern TV units UK range fits the room as well as it looks.
This is probably the most common error, and it usually happens because people buy a stand first and a larger television later. A screen that overhangs its stand looks top heavy and unsettled. It can also be less stable, especially if the feet of the television sit close to the edges of the surface.
As a general rule, aim for a stand that is wider than the screen itself. A little extra width on each side gives visual balance and space for a lamp, a plant or a pair of speakers. Remember that television sizes are measured diagonally, so a screen described by its diagonal will be noticeably narrower in actual width. Check the manufacturer’s dimensions for the width and the distance between the feet, then compare them with the stand.
Also think ahead. If there is any chance you will upgrade to a larger screen in the next few years, choose a stand with enough width to accommodate it. A slightly wider stand rarely looks wrong. A stand that is too small almost always does.
Height affects comfort more than people realise. If the centre of the screen sits well above your eye line when you are seated, you will tilt your head back for every film and box set. Over a long evening, that becomes tiring.
For most living rooms, a low stand works well because the sofa seat is fairly low too. Sit on your sofa and look straight ahead at the wall. Roughly where your eyes land is a good guide for where the centre of the screen should be. Then work backwards: the height of the stand plus the distance from the bottom of the television to the centre of its screen should bring you close to that point.
If you use a wall mounted screen above the stand, the same principle applies. Avoid mounting the television too high, particularly above a fireplace, unless you can tilt it down slightly.
Width and height get most of the attention, but depth can make or break a layout. A deep cabinet pushes out into the room, narrowing the gap between the stand and the coffee table or sofa. In a typical British terraced or semi detached living room, that gap may already be tight.
Leave a clear walkway in front of the stand so people can pass comfortably without turning sideways. Consider doors and drawers too: a cabinet door needs room to swing open, and a drawer needs space to pull out without hitting the edge of the rug or a footstool.
A practical trick is to mark the outline of the stand on the floor with masking tape before you buy. Live with it for a day or two. Walk around it, open imaginary doors and sit on the sofa. You will quickly see whether the depth works.
It is easy to fall for a stand and only realise once it arrives that it covers the only double socket on the wall or sits a metre away from the aerial point. Suddenly you need extension leads trailing across the floor, which looks untidy and can be a trip hazard.
Before choosing, note where every socket, aerial and network point is on the wall. Check whether the stand has a solid back or cut outs for cables, and whether it can sit close enough to the wall for plugs to fit behind it comfortably. If the back is solid, you may need to leave a small gap, which affects how far the stand projects into the room.
Think about the devices you will use as well. A games console, streaming box, soundbar and router each need power. A stand with internal cable routing and ventilated compartments makes it far easier to keep everything tidy and cool.
A slim, open stand can look beautiful in a photograph, but in real life it may leave you nowhere to put controllers, chargers, cables, games, DVDs, children’s toys and the general clutter that gathers around a television. That clutter ends up on the surface, on the floor or on the coffee table.
Be honest about what you need to store. Make a quick list, then choose a stand with the right mix of open shelves, drawers and cupboards. Closed storage helps a living room feel calmer. Open shelves are useful for equipment that needs a clear line of sight to a remote control, or for a few books and decorative pieces.
If you have more to store than a single stand can manage, plan supplementary storage elsewhere in the room rather than overloading the TV wall. Browsing our wider collection of modern living room furniture UK sale can help you find sideboards, shelving and cabinets that share a finish with your stand.
The position of windows has a huge effect on how comfortable your screen is to watch. A television placed directly opposite a large window will reflect daylight, making it hard to see during the day. A screen placed in front of a bright window forces your eyes to adjust constantly between the bright background and the darker picture.
Where possible, place the stand on a wall at right angles to the main window. If that is not an option, consider blinds or curtains that can be drawn during the day. Glossy finishes on the stand itself can also bounce light around, which is lovely in a dark room but may add to glare in a bright one.
Evening lighting matters too. A table lamp placed on or near the stand, slightly behind the screen line, gives soft background light that reduces eye strain during long viewing sessions.
The final mistake is choosing a TV stand as though it lives alone. In reality, it works as part of a group with the sofa, coffee table, rug and lighting. A stand that ignores the scale, style or colours of those pieces will feel out of place, even if it is attractive on its own.
Think about proportion first. A long, low sofa usually pairs well with a long, low stand. A chunky, deep sofa can handle a more substantial cabinet. Then think about materials. Repeating a wood tone, metal finish or colour between the stand and one or two other pieces ties the room together.
The rug is often overlooked. A rug that is too small can make the gap between the sofa and stand feel disconnected. Choosing one of our living room rugs UK large enough for at least the front legs of the sofa to sit on helps to unify the seating area and visually connects it to the TV wall.
The coffee table is the other key partner. Its height and shape should relate to both the sofa and the stand. Lower modern coffee tables UK keep sight lines to the screen clear, and a round or oval shape can make it easier to move around in a tight layout.
Alongside the seven layout mistakes, it is worth thinking about the finish. A pale matt surface can show scuffs from toys and vacuum cleaners. A high gloss top will show fingerprints and dust, though it wipes clean easily. Real wood and wood effect finishes tend to hide small marks well, and glass looks light but needs regular polishing.
None of these is wrong. The point is to choose with your household in mind. A busy family room with children and a dog has different needs from a quiet flat shared by two adults. Picking a finish that suits the way you live means the stand will still look good after months of ordinary use, rather than only on the day it arrives.
Weight is worth a thought too. A heavy solid stand stays put but is harder to move when you clean or redecorate. A lighter design on legs is easier to shift but should still feel firm when you lean on it.
Most of these mistakes come back to measurement. Before you choose, record the full width of the wall, the position of windows, doors and radiators, the location of every socket and aerial point, the actual width and foot spacing of your screen, the seat height of your sofa and the distance between sofa and wall.
If you are choosing a wooden design, our guide to measuring your room for an oak TV unit in a UK home walks through each step in more detail. The same process works for any material.
Corner sofas are common in British living rooms, and they bring their own layout challenges. The viewing angle from the far end of a corner sofa can be quite different from the angle in the middle. Placing the stand so the screen faces the longest section of the sofa usually gives the most people the best view.
Leave enough space in front of the corner section for people to get in and out comfortably. For layouts that tend to work well, our feature on TV unit and corner sofa combinations for UK living rooms covers a range of room shapes and sizes.
Before you finalise a TV stand, run through a short checklist. Is it wider than your screen? Will the centre of the screen sit close to seated eye level? Is there a clear walkway in front of it once doors and drawers are open? Can it sit near sockets and the aerial point without trailing cables? Does it hold everything you need to store? Is it positioned to avoid glare? Does it suit the scale and style of your sofa, coffee table and rug?
If the answer to each is yes, you are very likely to end up with a layout that is comfortable and easy to live with. You can explore a wide range of TV stands, coffee tables and rugs in one place at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes. Returns are available up to 30 days.
There is no fixed figure, but a stand that is visibly wider than the screen on both sides looks more balanced and is more stable. Check the screen’s actual width rather than its diagonal size.
The centre of the screen should sit close to your eye level when seated. For most sofas, that means a fairly low stand, though the exact height depends on your seating and the television itself.
It is best avoided, as daylight will reflect on the screen. A wall at right angles to the main window usually gives a clearer picture during the day.
This depends on screen size and room shape. Leave enough space for a comfortable walkway and a coffee table, and make sure you can see the whole screen without turning your head.
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