Media Wall Fireplaces Explained

Home » Blog » Advice & Information » Media Wall Fireplaces Explained

Whilst having a feature wall feels like something that’s been around forever, combining media walls with fireplaces is a rather more recent trend in home interior design. The idea behind it all is to devote a space to house all your media in order to create a centrepiece that captures people’s main focus as they enter the room.

In its simplest form, a media wall is just the wall in your living room or lounge that you have your TV mounted on. However, for the best results many take the media wall idea much further by creating elaborately bespoke stud wall frameworks in which to hide cables, house integrated storage space such as shelves, cupboards and drawers, and incorporate appliances such as a media wall electric fire.

It’s a really effective way of making the most use of your space by combining a TV, fireplace, soundbar, shelving and more into a single installation.

But what do you need to consider before getting started on such a project?

What size TV and electric fire do I need for a media wall?

When building a media wall fireplace, often the key consideration is choosing the size of the TV and electric fire to use. After all, with electric fires available in all kinds of shapes and sizes how do you choose the right size?

Ultimately like many factors when it comes to bespoke installations is that it comes down to personal preference and the available space.

If you are integrating storage into the framework of your media wall, it’s likely you’ll want your TV centred, with the shelves, cupboards and drawers either above, below, either side, or even all around. This in turn means you’re only going to have a certain space to play with in the centre for your television. If you’re planning to upgrade to a bigger TV in the future, you may want to think about doing this sooner rather than later, or alternatively decide on a size and factor this into your design.

When comparing TV sizes and electric fire sizes it’s important to know that actual TV sizes vary across manufacturers, and the way your TV is fitted (for example into a cavity recess) will also impact the way it looks in relation to your fire.

You should also keep in mind that TV sizes usually refer to the standard diagonal screen dimension that TV manufacturers state when describing the size of their products. If sizing your existing flat screen TV, measure diagonally from the top left of the screen to the bottom right to find the TV’s advertised size. We also recommend measuring the width and height of your TV if lining it up with the width of an electric fire.

While your expert retailer will often be able to help to achieve the perfect look by taking your whole installation into consideration, below is a rough guide for the best pairings of TVs with Gazco’s landscape inset electric fires.

TV Size”	Fire Size Width
32” – 43”	85cm
43” – 55”	110cm
50” – 65”	135cm
55” – 65”	150cm
65” – 75”	195cm

Where can I put my soundbar, set top box or games console?

While planning your media wall don’t forget to ask yourself what peripheral devices you have such as games consoles, set top boxes or speaker systems that you’ll need to accommodate a space for these in your media wall. For sound bars for instance it’s common to see these placed in a recess above the TV, while games consoles and set top boxes may go on a shelf to the side of your TV or perhaps in a cupboard underneath. Whatever you choose don’t forget to consider cables, which brings us onto our next point.

How to hide the cables in a media wall?

When it comes to electronic appliances, the last thing you want are power leads, aerial cables, and audio-visual cables messing up the clean aesthetic of your new media wall. It’s important to plan ahead and know where you’ll be placing these devices and leave a hidden channel behind to run any cables to wherever they need to go, like to and from the TV. For concealing power cables you may consider installing some plug sockets in handy reach of your devices, like behind the TV or within cupboards where any set top boxes or games consoles may be located.

How much do media walls cost?

Another important factor when building a media wall will be cost. While this will vary depending on your location and the complexity of the design. Excluding the cost of appliances like a new TV or electric fire, other things to consider that will contribute to the overall cost are the price of building materials like the plasterboard and timber for the frame. If you’re hiring a builder to carry out the project you can expect to pay for labour costs, unless you’re going the DIY approach.

Depending on your media wall design it may be necessary to move around some plug sockets or install new ones which will feed power to your TV, Electric Fire, and other devices once installed into the media wall.

Best media wall fires and fireplaces

It’s very on trend to complete the look by including an inset electric fire, such as the Gazco eStudio 105R into your media wall design. Featuring captivating flame visuals with multiple flame effects to choose from including Amber & Yellow, Amber with Yellow accent and Yellow with Amber accent and offering a choice of fuel effects, this media wall electric fire provides a stunning display which can be enjoyed with or without the heat. To maximise the level of ambience, the eStudio’s versatile optional LED Mood Lighting System can be placed around your fire or TV, under shelves, and more to provide atmospheric mood lighting that can be easily controlled via the fire’s remote handset.

Find out more about our range of stunning new Gazco eStudio Electric Fires here.

Another popular option is a Gazco eReflex 150RW electric fire. Available in a range of sizes, every electric fire in the new generation eReflex range offers three different flame options including amber, amber with blue accent, and blue, pulsing glowing embers, and eight fuel bed colours plus a cycling spectrum mode. For maximum convenience eReflex electric fires can be controlled by a remote handset, as well as the innovative app available for iOS and Android devices.

If you’re looking to be inspired by stunning TV media wall fireplace ideas for your own project, be sure to check out our post featuring beautiful TV Media Wall ideas with electric fireplaces.

Where to buy a media wall electric fire

Whether you plan to hire the professionals or are taking the DIY approach, for more information and advice on choosing the perfect electric fire for your media wall project, speak to your local Gazco retailer today.