New Televisions for the New-Home Set

A television for the home office is another increasingly popular option, Wilson said. Although some people engage in solitary pursuits in their home offices and regard a television as an intrusion, others need to follow the news and stock quotes through the day. The challenge is placing the screen so that you can glance at it without being distracted as you work. Wilson has tucked an LCD into a bookcase by the desk, and he's also hung one on the wall so it can be seen by swiveling a chair or looking up.

Kitchen televisions are also becoming increasingly common. Although that room is the center of family life in most households, it's also a room where the cook is likely to spend a lot of time alone, especially if he or she gets home from work and starts preparing the meal before the rest of the household arrives. In those instances, a television can be good company. Because you will be listening more than you're watching -- chopping vegetables and stirring sauces require your full attention -- a small screen can work well, Wilson said. He likes to tuck a 15-inch LCD that flips down for viewing under a wall cabinet by your food-prep area or, where possible, position a wall-mounted LCD so family members sitting at the kitchen counter can also see it.

The place where the most people want a big-screen set is the family room, and most want the biggest they can afford. Wilson advised that to maximize your enjoyment, you need to consider factors other than size, including the viewing angle, the proportions of the screen, the degree of contrast, glare and the sharpness of the image, which can vary from one set to another.

The salespeople in locally owned, upscale appliance stores or national chains are generally quite knowledgeable on the technical end of things. But they can't predict how well a particular set will work for you without seeing the space where you want to view it. For example, a big screen in the store will often look even bigger in your family room and overwhelm the space, Wilson said. To see if the size you want is a good fit, he suggested making a mock-up of the actual screen size and tacking it to the wall. You'll quickly decide if it looks right or ridiculous.

Viewing distance should also be taken into consideration. The bigger the screen, the farther back you must sit to watch it comfortably. The rule of thumb, Wilson said, is that viewing distance is 1 1/2 to 2 times the width of the screen. For example, a 56-inch screen has a width of 46 to 48 inches and requires a viewing distance of about 6 to 8 feet. For most family rooms, a 50- to 60-inch screen works best, he said.

Another issue with big screens in family rooms is where to put them. Bowing to the tradition of "home and hearth," many homeowners want to arrange their furniture around the fireplace. But they also want to arrange the furniture for maximum comfort while watching television. You can have both if you hang the set above the fireplace, Wilson said. Some homeowners think this looks terrible when the set is turned off. For these instances, he covers it with a retractable piece of art. For this arrangement to look right, he added, the size of the fireplace and the television screen should be similar. If your fireplace measures 42 inches on the diagonal, you would want a 42-inch LCD or plasma set. But other factors can also come into play, he said. If you have a long mantelpiece, a 50-inch screen might look okay.

Katherine Salant can be contacted via her Web site, http://www.katherinesalant.com.

Copyright 2007, Katherine Salant

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