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.

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.