Before you mount a television, make a full-size paper version of the screen and live with it for a day. Tape the template to the proposed wall, sit in every usual seat and check its height, scale, reflections and relationship with the rest of the room. It costs almost nothing and can prevent an expensive screen becoming the only thing you notice.
This is especially useful in a sitting room that must also handle conversation, reading, play or work. Recent design advice stresses deciding what the room is for before planning the television, cables and furniture. A paper rehearsal turns that broad idea into a decision you can test at home.
Make a TV wall template in ten minutes
Check the manufacturer's listed screen width and height, not only the diagonal size printed on the box. Join sheets of plain paper, old wrapping paper or flattened clean cardboard until you have the right rectangle. Mark the centre lightly, then attach it with low-tack tape that is suitable for your wall finish.
If you already own the television, measure the screen and frame directly. If you are still comparing sizes, make two templates and try them separately. Do not place both on the wall at once because the larger outline will make the smaller one look misleadingly timid.
Set up the room as it is normally used. Put the sofa cushions in place, close any doors that affect circulation and include the media unit, speakers or storage you intend to keep. The point is to judge the whole arrangement, not an empty wall.
Judge the view from the seat, not from the doorway
A television can look beautifully centred when you stand in the room and still feel awkward when you sit down. Take your normal seat, relax against the back cushion and look at the middle of the template. You should not need to hold your chin up or turn your body for an ordinary viewing position.
Livingetc's September 2026 advice on designing a television into a room recommends treating purpose, viewing height, distance and cable planning as part of the design from the start. Its experts suggest that the centre of the screen should sit roughly at seated eye level. Use that as a starting point, then let the people and furniture in your room decide the final height.
Check every seat that is used often, including the end of a corner sofa or an armchair to one side. A small compromise between two good positions is usually more useful than a perfect view from one place and a poor one everywhere else.
Check the size against your real viewing distance
Measure from the back cushion of the main seat to the paper screen. Which? reached its preferred viewing distances by asking people to judge different screen sizes, then compared the results with more than 1,200 members. Its TV viewing distance guide gives useful starting points, while also recognising that angle and personal preference matter.
Do not treat any distance chart as a command. Instead, watch how the template fills your field of view. Can you take in the whole rectangle without moving your head? Does it seem lost above a long media unit, or does it crowd a chimney breast, picture rail or doorway? Leave the template up through an ordinary evening before choosing.
How do you avoid glare on a TV?
Leave the template in place from morning to evening. A paper or card surface will not reflect light exactly like a television, so also hold a dark glossy tray or switched-off laptop screen against the proposed position for a minute. Look for a bright window reflected directly towards the main seat.
If glare changes through the day, try moving the template sideways before darkening the whole room. A screen placed at right angles to a window often gives more control than one facing it. Where the layout cannot change, adjustable window coverings can soften daylight for viewing while letting you reopen the room afterwards. Compare the practical options in our ready made curtains collection, but measure the window and decide how much light control you need before buying.
Evening light matters too. A bare lamp reflected in the screen can be as distracting as a sunny window. Use the checks in our three-zone living room lighting plan to separate useful task light, softer background light and the route through the room.
Plan the wall around the television
Once the position works from the seats, stand in the doorway and look at the template as part of the room. Check the space below for the media unit and the space around it for artwork, lamps or shelving. A simple composition usually feels calmer than squeezing small objects into every remaining gap.
Wall colour can help a dark screen sit more quietly, but do not repaint solely to disguise it. If you are considering a new backdrop, use the same slow sampling approach described in our guide to testing paint in changing light. Judge samples beside the black or brown template, not against a bare wall.
Now trace the practical route for power, aerial, data, speakers and any games console. Check that the media unit has room for equipment and ventilation. Do not drill or conceal cables during the rehearsal. Installation must follow the television and bracket manufacturer's instructions, and a qualified installer is the sensible choice if the wall construction, fixing position or hidden services are uncertain.
Run one ordinary-evening rehearsal
- Sit in each regular seat and look at the centre and four corners.
- Walk from the doorway to the sofa and make sure the template does not dominate the first view.
- Check daylight, lamp reflections and curtains at the times you normally watch.
- Place the media unit and equipment where they would really live.
- Mark a final centre point only after the size and position still feel right the next morning.
If something feels wrong, move the paper rather than arguing with it. Ten centimetres lower, a smaller screen or a shift away from a window may solve the problem. When the template works for viewing, light, furniture and circulation, you have a position worth installing.