Choosing the Perfect TV & Media Unit for Your Living Room

A television is the one object in most living rooms that nobody wants to look at until the moment everybody does. The furniture beneath it has a strangely difficult job: it must carry the room's biggest black rectangle, swallow a tangle of boxes and cables, and still look like a piece of furniture you chose rather than equipment you tolerate. Get it right and the whole room settles. This guide covers the decisions that matter — size, height, storage, cables and style — in the order you should make them.

Start with size: the unit should outreach the screen

The most common mistake is a unit narrower than the television it carries, which makes the TV look as though it's balancing. As a rule of thumb, choose a unit at least 10–15cm wider than the screen on each side — so for a 55-inch television (about 123cm wide), look for a unit of at least 145–150cm. Wider is almost always better: the extra surface gives the screen visual footing and leaves room for a lamp or a plant to soften all that technology.

Depth matters less than it once did — flat screens and slim soundbars sit happily on 35–45cm — but check the depth of anything going inside: sky boxes and consoles typically need 35cm plus cable clearance behind.

Get the height right for your seating

Comfortable viewing puts the centre of the screen roughly at seated eye level, which for most sofas means 90–110cm from the floor. Working backwards: a typical 55-inch screen has its centre about 34cm above its base, so a unit 45–60cm tall usually lands the picture exactly where your eyes want it. If you're wall-mounting the TV above the unit, the same arithmetic applies — resist the temptation to mount high; necks notice within one film.

Plan the cable story before it becomes a cable problem

Count what the unit must serve: television, soundbar, console, set-top box, router, perhaps a record player — each with power, most with HDMI. Look for units with cable outlets in the back panel (or ask us — solid wood backs can be drilled cleanly), and put a multi-way extension inside the cabinet so only one lead runs to the wall. Closed cupboards hide equipment completely; remember that most modern remotes work through wooden doors via Bluetooth or HDMI-CEC, though older infrared boxes need a gap, a mesh door or an IR repeater.

Open shelves, closed doors, or both?

Closed storage wins for anyone who values calm: doors turn a wall of electronics and disc spines into furniture. Open shelving suits things worth seeing — a turntable, a row of favourite books — and helps warm equipment breathe. Most rooms are happiest with a mix: doors below for the ugly necessities, an open shelf for the soundbar and the beautiful things. Drawers earn their keep for remotes, controllers and charging cables — the small clutter that otherwise colonises the sofa.

Choose a style that belongs to the room, not the telly

The strongest media walls treat the television as a guest and the furniture as the host. Solid wood does this particularly well — the warmth and grain of a piece like our Curved California Walnut Media Unit gives the eye somewhere pleasurable to rest beside the screen, where glossy black units simply extend it. Curved silhouettes and fluted fronts are having a deserved moment for exactly this reason: they read as cabinetry, not kit. If your room leans traditional, an oak or dark-stained unit grounds the technology; in a modern space, a floating or low-line piece keeps sight lines clean.

Whatever the style, check the practical basics: solid construction (a loaded unit carries 40kg or more), adjustable feet for older floors, and a finish that shrugs off the occasional mug. Our media units collection spans widescreen low-liners to compact cabinets, many in solid mango and walnut-finished hardwood.

Measure twice, in the room itself

Before ordering, mark the unit's footprint on the floor with masking tape and live with it for a day. Check the door swing of the room, the radiator you'd forgotten, the socket positions, and the walking route to the sofa. Ten minutes with tape prevents the two classic regrets: the unit that crowds the doorway, and the one that looks lost on a long wall. (If the wall is long, go wider than feels necessary — and see our sideboard styling guide, because a sideboard often makes a superb media unit.)

Frequently asked questions

How wide should my TV unit be?

At least 10–15cm wider than the television on each side. For a 55-inch TV (about 123cm), choose a unit of 145cm or more; for a 65-inch (about 145cm), look at 170cm plus.

What height should a TV unit be?

Most units between 45 and 60cm tall put the centre of the screen at seated eye level (90–110cm from the floor), which is the comfortable viewing position.

Can remote controls work through cabinet doors?

Modern devices using Bluetooth or HDMI-CEC work through wooden doors. Older infrared-only boxes need an open shelf, a mesh or glass door, or an inexpensive IR repeater kit.

Can I use a sideboard as a TV unit?

Yes — sideboards are often deeper and more generous than purpose-made TV units and look superb doing the job. Check the height suits your seating and plan a route for cables.

How do I hide the cables?

Run everything to a multi-way extension inside the cabinet so only one cable reaches the wall socket, use the unit's back-panel outlets, and bundle slack with Velcro ties rather than leaving loops on show.