My sister-in-law called to see if we wanted their plasma television, since her husband had just bought a new one. How generous (thank you)! Brandon was very excited, and we got the new TV today.
It’s HUGE (a 42 inch screen).
Unfortunately, the new TV is actually wider than the stand we have. It also overlaps the door trim and the lightswitch (though you can reach behind it to turn the lights on and off).
It’s a really nice television, but it’s a bit too big for the room. Still, I told Brandon we could keep it if he really liked it. He wants me to be happy with a smaller, less noticeable TV. I want him to be happy with a high-definition, big-ass TV. He plays a lot of games and watches movies, and I only watch HGTV and trashy reality shows (don’t judge). Therefore, his television viewing needs trump mine.
We tried hooking up all of our components (3 game consoles, a VCR, a DVD player, and cable), but we couldn’t get everything to work. Sometimes we only had sound out of one speaker, sometimes we had nothing at all. I think we could have figured it out or bought some kind of adapters, but Brandon said we should just put the old TV back.
What do you think? Yeah, the plasma screams “Welcome to our living room, WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH A LITTLE TV?“, but it’s a plasma. That’s pretty nice, I’m told. The old one (clunky and big as it is in the back) doesn’t jump right out at you and I can put my big vase next to it… but it’s just a regular old TV.
p.s. The upside to all of this is that I wrangled all of the cords in the back and organized them. I hated seeing the big tangle of wires below our cute TV stand. I can be a bit persnickety about things sometimes. Organized cords = a happier me.
p.p.s. The plasma TV will have a good home if we don’t keep it. Our brother-in-law would give it to his brother.
p.p.p.s. You can see my unfinished paint job from this weekend to the right of the TV, by the front door.
Elizabeth
November 5, 2007 at 2:22 amOption 1: Keep the smaller one. Eventually the big thing will drive you crazy. Option 2: keep the bigger one but re-arrange the room so that it goes on a wall that fits. And, probably get a new TV stand.
I vote option 1.
drey
November 5, 2007 at 4:27 amis that the only spot for the cabinet? is the power outlet there?
large tv is great though… but smaller tv fits better…
actually
does the larger one mount on a wall??
Kim
November 5, 2007 at 6:41 amToo bad about the larger TV! But seriously, it’s HUGE! The cooking show you were watching looks like the food is about ready to be eaten by the Jolly Green Giant!
Maggie Sumner
November 5, 2007 at 7:02 amI feel your pain. I went through the same thing with my husband wanting a GIANT TV in our not-giant living room. We compromised on a 42-inch model, but it’s still enormous.
If I had the option (as you do), I’d go for the smaller model otherwise it will just drive you crazy.
Anonymous
November 5, 2007 at 7:15 amI honestly don’t think it looks all that big and also I think it is silly (EVERYONE does it) trying to dress up a TV with something pretty beside it – it never works. People have TVs, we need to design around them!
Kate
November 5, 2007 at 8:06 amFirst of all, Brandon deserves a big hug for even considering giving it away! There is no way that would be allowed to happen in my house. What if you put it in another room? Maybe you could hang it on the wall in his office for gaming, etc?
sarah
November 5, 2007 at 8:14 amPersonally, I would keep your cute little TV in that space and put the big TV in another room, like a family room or den or in the basement or something. That way, your hubby can still play games on it, without it being an eyesore in the main living space.
amy c
November 5, 2007 at 8:41 amWIFE TRIES TO CONVINCE HUSBAND TO KEEP BIG TV, HUSBAND DEFERS!
You definitely don’t see THAT headline every day!
I would keep it – IF you can rearrange the room. Surely it will fit nicely against a different wall? Seriously, these tvs cost some bucks. you may be sorry later that you didn’t keep this free one when you had the chance!
good luck!
nikki
November 5, 2007 at 8:49 amMy husband just snuck a 42 in plasma in my living room. When I got home I was shocked and annoyed. But it grew on me. Keep the TV and mount it or let him mount it in his office to complete his man den. The only thing is that if you do this you may never see him again. I like the smaller TV in the living room but I think the plasma would look good too….if you mounted it!
Making it Lovely
November 5, 2007 at 9:48 amWe don’t have another room that the TV can go in. We don’t have a family room, a den, or a finished basement, and we don’t watch TV in bed. The living room is where we watch TV, movies, and play video games.
I would consider rearranging the furniture, but that’s not really an option. You can see that there are two doorways on the wall the TV is against now, but the window is on the wall to the right, the large opening to the dining room is on the wall to the left, and the wall opposite is the only place our couch fits. Our living room is on the small side.
I don’t think I can mount the TV either… it doesn’t fit on the wall between the doorways!
lsaspacey
November 5, 2007 at 10:00 amMy vote is for the small TV. If Brandon was fine before then he will be ok with it. I know it’s hard to turn down something for free. It feels wrong, doesn’t it? However, if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work. Let the other brother benefit.
Will
November 5, 2007 at 11:45 amCould you sell it on Craigslist or somesuch place and use the funds toward a 37″ or 32″ LCD HDTV?
Or would that be breaking the code of the hand-me-down plasma TV?
goosefairy
November 5, 2007 at 11:48 amI dunno. I’d vote for the small one for aesthetic reasons. Also, having such a freaking big tv does make it dominate the room and the room’s use. If he’s ok with sticking with the small one I’d keep it, especially if there is no other place to put it.
But, then again, it’s not my house ;)
Laura
November 5, 2007 at 2:15 pmmy vote is for the small tv. it sounds like you’ve considered all the other options, and it still doesn’t work. it’s a generous gift, though.
Julieta
November 5, 2007 at 2:43 pmStick with the small TV if you can’t move things around.
I’d have to look at it all in person, so this may not work at all, but you could put it against your sofa wall and flip your sofa so that the back faces the entry but is somewhat in the middle of the room. Put a narrow sofa table behind it, and it creates a mini entry way–which you always said you missed in this house. The major problem I see that that the first thing people see when walking in is the TV, depending on the entertainment unit you have.
Anyway, this may not work. It’s what I did in our first house, and it worked well there.
dean
November 5, 2007 at 3:58 pmdefinitely the smaller one.
this is one of the reasons i’m glad that my BF and i dont live together yet…his television is gigantic!
thanks for the compliment on my rubber bathroom floor :)
K T G
November 5, 2007 at 5:24 pmI have seen other pictures of your living room and it’s a little tough to arrange. It looks like your tv now is in the least worst place (at least it doesn’t greet you from the front door), and it looks like the larger one takes over the space. I vote option 3: keep the smaller one for now, but plan to upgrade to a wall-mounted plasma that’s smaller than the free one.
Why did they get rid of the big plasma tv? There may be a reason you wouldn’t want it too.
ps. I like organizing cords too!
Anonymous
November 5, 2007 at 11:05 pmthe larger television is a bit out of place in your sweet feminine living environment. in addition plasma televisions use up to three times as much energy which can have a significant effect on your electric bill. :[
Making it Lovely
November 6, 2007 at 4:36 amOK, We’ve decided to give the TV back. It just doesn’t fit in our house! We tried measuring some of the other walls to see if we could rearrange the furniture, but nothing was going to work. It did lead to me creating a 3D rendering to scale of the living room though!
Lisa
January 29, 2010 at 1:57 pmI am in the market for a smaller, but cute mid-century TV stand and love yours! May I ask where you found it?