Transform your living room with the media wall fireplace trend

30 May 2023

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Since the trend took off in 2022, people everywhere have been transforming their living rooms with a media wall fireplace — and it’s easy to see why. We caught up with Angela Hiddleston from The Fireplace for some expert advice on achieving this trend at home.

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If your idea of the perfect evening looks like curling up in front of a fireplace and catching up on your favourite show, the media wall fireplace trend should be top of your renovation list. Taking the internet by storm in 2022, this trend remains strong in 2023, largely due to its cosy aesthetic and ease with which it can be installed in the home.

Instead of mounting a TV above a wood-burning fireplace, the trend favours electric fireplaces for their size, simplicity, and flexibility. With no existing fireplace, flue system, or building consent required, it’s easy to see why the media wall fireplace is a DIYers dream.

“Electric fireplaces are far more cost-effective than gas or wood-burning fireplaces, particularly because there are limitations to the materials you can use. You can’t have any combustible materials like wood panelling, Gib board, or wallpaper, but with electric fires, it’s unlimited. You’re only confined by your own creativity,” explains Angela Hiddleston, Architectural Advisor and Marketing Manager at The Fireplace.

Electric fireplaces have two functions: heat and light. Similar to an electric heater, an electric fireplace plugs into a standard wall plug, distributing heat via a fan system and powering the light effect. The light effect is designed to realistically imitate the look of a wood-burning fire, with a variety of flame options, speeds, colours, and glowing fuel-effects. Flames can also be enjoyed without the heat for ambience in the warmer months.

The Avanti 190RW, shown here with logs, perfectly balances this recessed TV set-up.

An Avanti 150RW with oak logs is set to the left, leaving room for shelving.

Choosing the right fireplace for your media wall

When choosing a fireplace for your media wall, the first thing you need to consider is the size of your TV.

“Ultimately it comes down to personal preference and 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 means you’re only going to have a certain space to play with for your television.

“And, 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,” Angela suggests.

While some electric fireplaces are designed to be inset, other styles can be installed two or three-sided for a panoramic view of the fire. For these styles, the fireplace and the chimney breast will need to be the same width. The Fireplace team recommend choosing a fire that is a similar width to your TV to achieve a nice, balanced look.

The eReflex 195RW, with an oak log effect, is shown here as a three-sided installation.

The two-sided eReflex 195RW allows for creative installations, pictured here with an asymmetrical hearth.

Installing your media wall

“The last thing you want are power leads, aerial cables, and audio-visual cables messing up the clean aesthetic of your media wall, so 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,” Angela explains.

“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.”

As for the actual fireplace, Angela says installation is simple. “If the fireplace is going to be set into the wall, all you need is a basic timber frame. It doesn’t require a lot of build work.” The Fireplace also stocks fireplaces that can be clipped onto the wall, with no need for additional construction.

The eStudio 135R log fuel effect is shown here with the optional mood lighting kit.

If you’re interested in building a media wall of your own, head into your local The Fireplace showroom for advice on the best fireplace for your space.