A shop bought TV unit is built to a standard size, and almost no Irish sitting room is a standard size. Chimney breasts, alcoves that are not the same width as each other, skirting that runs at an angle. A built in unit is made to the wall you actually have, so it sits flush, hides the cables and uses every inch of the recess.
What is the difference between a built in TV unit and a shop bought one?
A built in unit is made to the exact dimensions of your wall and fixed in place. A freestanding one is made to a standard size and left to sit in front of the wall.
That difference matters most in an older Irish house. Alcoves either side of a chimney breast are rarely identical, floors are rarely level, and walls are rarely square. A freestanding unit shows every one of those gaps. A made to measure unit is cut to the room, scribed to the wall and skirting, and finished so it reads as part of the house rather than furniture pushed against it.
It also solves the cable problem properly. Sockets, aerial points and HDMI runs are planned before anything is built, so power goes where the equipment goes and nothing trails down the wall.
What is a wall mounted TV unit?
It is a unit fixed back to the wall rather than standing on the floor, with the television mounted above it and the cables running down behind it.
Fixing back to the wall keeps the unit rigid, leaves the floor clear underneath it, and lets the cables run straight down into the unit behind the plasterboard. A floating TV unit is the same idea with nothing touching the floor at all, which makes a short room read as longer and makes cleaning under it easy. The fixing, the cable route and the sockets are all planned in the 3D design before anything is made.
This is different from a media wall. A media wall builds a frame forward off the existing wall so the screen sits recessed and an electric fire sets into an opening below it, which is a bigger and dearer job. If that is what you picture, our media walls page carries the specification, the fire opening size and what a real one came to.
Should the TV be mounted on the wall or sit on the unit?
Either works, but decide before the unit is designed, because the two need different things behind them.
A wall mounted TV needs a solid fixing point and a cable route behind the plasterboard, which is straightforward if it is planned and awkward if it is not. A TV sitting on the unit needs the top surface at the right height for where people sit, which is usually lower than most people guess.
The test is your own sofa. Sit down, look straight ahead, and the middle of the screen should be roughly at eye level. Higher than that and you are looking up at it all evening.
What about the alcoves either side?
Alcove units are the natural partner to a TV unit, and they are the part of the job that is impossible to buy off a shelf.
Every alcove is a different width, and often the two either side of the same chimney breast differ by an inch or more. That is exactly why made to measure earns its place here. Shelving, cupboards below and open shelves above is the usual arrangement, with the cupboard doors hiding the clutter and the shelves carrying the books and photos.
If you want the whole wall to read as one piece, the TV unit and both alcoves are designed together, with matching finishes and a continuous line across the wall.
How is it fitted?
It is measured, made and then fitted by the same team, usually inside a day once the unit is ready.
Your photos, video and sizes show the wall as it really is, including any lean, and the design is drawn in 3D so you see the finished thing before anything is cut. Manufacture happens off site. Fitting means scribing to the wall, fixing securely, and finishing the joins so nothing looks bolted on.
Everything we make in wood carries a two year warranty against defects.
How it works
Send us photos, a short video and rough sizes of the space and tell us what you want. Our designers draw it in 3D so you see the finished piece in your own room, and you get one complete itemised quote. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
Who are our built in TV units for?
Everything we build is premium and made to the highest spec: made to measure, designed in 3D, scribed to the walls and fitted by our own team, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than after you have waited for a quote. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.
One team for this and the rest of the job
The same team that makes this fits it, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes, internal doors and windows. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four. See the rest of our fitted furniture.
Frequently asked questions
Can you build around an existing chimney breast?
Yes, that is the most common job. The unit is measured to the chimney breast and both alcoves, which are usually slightly different widths, and made to fit each one exactly.
Can you hide the cables?
Yes. Cable routes are planned at design stage so power and aerial points sit behind the equipment, with nothing trailing down the wall.
Do you make matching units for the alcoves?
Yes. Most people do the whole wall as one piece, with the unit and both alcoves designed together in the same finish.
Is a built in TV unit worth it over a shop bought one?
If your alcoves are uneven or the wall is short, yes. A built in unit fits the actual wall and hides the cables properly.