Media Wall for Chiswick Family Living Room
This Chiswick Edwardian family home living room had the classic configuration: a chimney breast on the long wall with shallow alcoves either side, a fireplace in the centre of the chimney breast, and a tangle of cables, TV equipment and freestanding bookshelves. The owners wanted a single coordinated media wall that absorbed the AV, the books and the storage into one composition.
Project Snapshot
- property
- Chiswick Edwardian family home
- room
- Family living room
- service
- Media wall with concealed AV
- furniture
- Media wall, alcove cabinets, open oak shelving
- finish
- Warm neutral painted, oak shelving
- challenge
- Concealing media equipment without losing the room's character
- result
- A living room that handles modern AV behind a calm architectural composition
The Brief
What the customer asked for
A wall-length media unit incorporating closed cabinets either side of the chimney breast, open oak shelving above the cabinets, and a TV mount on the chimney-breast wall with concealed AV cabling. The aesthetic was warm and family-friendly rather than overtly contemporary.
the challenge
What the room required
Living-room media walls have to handle multiple competing requirements: TV mount, AV ventilation, cable routing, book storage, display shelving, and lower closed cabinetry for toys and miscellaneous storage. The challenge was designing a composition that handled all of those while reading as architecture rather than as a wall of cabinets.
The Solution
ZONE 1
Closed alcove cabinets
Either side of the chimney breast: full-height closed cabinets at low level for toys and AV equipment, with concealed ventilation behind the doors and routed cable management.
ZONE 2
Open oak shelving
Above the closed cabinets: open oak shelving for books and decorative items. The shelving spacing follows a proportioned rhythm rather than equal increments.
ZONE 3
Chimney-breast TV
The TV mounts on the chimney breast itself with concealed cable routing through the wall down to the AV cabinet at low level. The chimney breast remains the room's architectural focal point.
THE RESULT
The living room handles modern AV - TV, soundbar, streaming devices, games console — entirely behind closed cabinetry, with cable routing concealed in the wall. The open shelving handles the family's books and decorative items. The room reads as a calm family living room rather than as a tech installation.
