August 10, 2026 · 4 min read · By Pooya
How High Should You Mount a TV? (Including Over a Fireplace)
The quick answer: mount the TV so the center of the screen is at your eye level when you're seated — for most living rooms that's about 42 to 48 inches from the floor to the center of the TV. Get this wrong and you'll feel it in your neck after every movie.
The rule that actually works
Sit where you normally watch. Where your eyes land on the wall is where the center of the screen should be. Bigger TVs and closer seating sit a touch lower; that's fine. The most common mistake we fix is a TV mounted way too high because it 'looked right' on an empty wall — then it's uncomfortable once the couch is in.
Over the fireplace: do it right
Mounting over the fireplace is popular in Wellington homes, but a mantel often pushes the TV higher than ideal. The fix is a tilting or pull-down mount so you can angle the screen down to your eye line. If it's a working fireplace, we also account for heat. Done this way, it looks great and it's comfortable to watch — the neck-ache reputation comes from flat-mounting too high.
By room
- Living room: center around 42–48 inches, eye-level from the couch.
- Bedroom: usually a bit higher since you're watching lying down — we'll set it to your bed's sightline.
- Kitchen / office: higher is okay since you're often standing.
- Over a fireplace: as low as the mantel allows, on a tilt mount.
Frequently asked questions
- Is mounting a TV over the fireplace a bad idea?
- Not if you use a tilt or pull-down mount so it's at a comfortable angle, and account for heat on a working fireplace. Flat-mounting it too high is what causes neck strain.
- What's the standard TV height?
- Center of the screen roughly 42–48 inches from the floor for a seated living room — but the real rule is your eye level from where you actually sit.