Putting Baby in the Corner (Dealing with the Television)

September 12, 2012

Figuring out where to put the television in a living room can be a little tricky sometimes. In our family/living room it was really tricky.

There is not a single solid wall in the room. Three walls have a doorway leading to another room, and the fireplace wall has sliding doors on either side. Even placing the television above the mantel wouldn’t work in this room as then you’d have a direct view of the television from our front door which wasn’t ideal in my opinion. (I don’t want the pizza delivery guy judging my choice in programming.)

Long story short, I decided that placing the television in the corner was our best bet, and lucky for me the hubs agreed. Thus our search for a corner unit began. Who knew it would take almost 2 years to find one. Apparently, no one puts baby in the corner because only a few furniture companies even make a corner unit. We looked everywhere! I kept checking Craig’s List, Restore, and some other local consignment shops hoping that a great piece would turn up but had zero luck. Then a couple months ago Ballard Designs was having a sale, and we decided to jump on the Reston Corner Media Console with Hutch wagon!

We are more than pleased with our purchase. It fits nicely in the corner and even provides a little storage. The old unit we had (forgot to take a picture) wasn’t made for a corner and stuck out in the room. We sold it on Craig’s List to help pay for the new unit.

ballard designs reston corner media console with hutch

I’m still working on the styling. It takes a million tweaks before you get it right doesn’t it? I love these horse bookends my sweet friend Andrea gave me as a present for driving to Haven (how nice huh?)! She knows me so well! 😉

So, where’s baby hanging out in your living room?

P.S. The red color (Porter Red Apple – almost identical to Ralph Lauren Hunting Coat Red) on our walls looks so different at different times of day. It’s one of the reasons I like having such a deep color on the walls. It changes so much in different light. I think this is why I haven’t tired of the color yet. When I get bored with it – the light changes. 😉 These photos were shot at 11 am on a bright sunny day.

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baby is on our mantle…. UGH. there is no other place for it though because of the layout and window placement, so i had to give in to my hub on that one….. boo. i am happy for you though that you have a mantle you can really decorate. really i am. not jealous at all over here.

Glad you found a place for your baby! Our little living room is SO weird shaped, and hubby insists that our flat screen need to be attached to the wall so no toddler pulls it down, and I'm having a heck of a time finding a good layout!

That's great that it doesn't stick out into the room or take up much space, it looks great! We have one big blank wall (and only one) in our family room, so it seemed like the obvious space for our tv… sometimes I do wonder if it could've worked other places though… always wondering and tweaking!!

I never tire of seeing your living room- it's so stylish and I love how you mix the patterns.

Now that you've painted the doors black- have you thought about repainting the beige bits above back to red? I don't know why- but for some reason it seems like since you've changed the doors out, it would be nice- maybe because I love those blue ikat curtains with the red… I love your house btw.

Our "baby" is in a corner. I don't think the screen is quite as big as yours so it fit in a "computer desk corner type unit thing" that also holds a computer (the TV makes a nice big monitor), keyboard, DVD player, and a Nintendo 64- and has doors, so it can all be nicely hidden. 🙂

We brought the unit with us from our last house, where the living room was open and only had two walls- which also had a large window and the fireplace. In our new house, it appears that the room was designed to hold an old projection screen TV- the kind that took up a corner by itself. But the logical place for a couch is nowhere nearby and faces the fireplace, but isn't lined up with either. So we have decided on a very open room so that we can move furniture around as needed to read, roast marshmallows, play guitars, or use the computer/TV. We'll see how it goes! –The Other Carmel 😉

Love the corner unit! It looks super good in the corner, out of the way. Our baby is slightly off centered next to our fireplace, you gotta put it where it works!

It really is only a matter of time before that unit gets some color added to it. It looks like a wonderful blank canvas for your creativity!

I like the efforts you have put in this, appreciate it for all the great content.

The room is beautiful!!! Have you considered painting the center section that holds the tv black? I think it would really tie into the room

Just to be clear, not the corner unit. But the back wall of the unit. I read my comment and thought it sounds as though I mean the whole unit.

Love that you found a piece. We originally had our baby in the corner, but she's now sitting flat against a wall. We keep moving her around. Talk about commitment issues.

Hmmm…..you've got me thinking

Thanks so much Megan!

Love!

Looks great! We have put ours in the corner in previous homes. We are in our 5th house too. This house had built-ins so where to put the TV was easy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiltdiva/4854364131/in/set-72157623383176660
Just found your blog and enjoy it 🙂

Your picture of Ballard's Reston corner TV hutch+console is the best one I've seen. It showcases the unit's slim lines from the side. Is that a 50inch TV I see? I'm contemplating on buying the Reston, but our TV is 55"; a couple reviewers said they were able to fit the same size. I measured our TV's width at 52" width and the specs say the TV cubby's width is 50.75".

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