Finding the ideal place for your TV screen

If you have limited space, hanging your TV on the wall would be ideal. Photos by Ismail Kezaala

What you need to know:

  • Cable trunking is an enclosure used to protect wires from the elements such as dust, and water. Most commonly, these trunkings are a rectangular cross-section but you will also find some circular ones and all these are held by clips; either plastic or metallic, nailed or screwed into the wall to keep the trunking from getting displaced or loose.

With every step we make towards technological invention or call them improvements, some things become obsolete. Talk about that Sembule TV or the Sony kind that graced our parents’ sitting rooms on that not-so-good looking TV stand or stool, if you may. It was the pride of the home and whoever had it was the “king” of the village.

And with its weight, there was no thought of putting it anywhere but the TV stand. However, today, it is all about the flat screen and its slick look and light weight means you may as well do away with that TV stand. So the battle lines are drawn, will it be a TV stand or a wall mounting?

Space
If you have enough space in your sitting or living room, a TV stand will not stand out as a sore thumb but another beautiful piece that will grace the room. Tina Murungi is one of such people with a spacious sitting room and says she still loves the good old TV stand. “I have enough room in my sitting room and I would not mind filling it with a trendy TV stand. Besides, it can carry a flower vase or two that will add beauty and freshness to my room from the flowers I put every morning.”

However, if there is a struggle for space, then TV mounting may be your go-to solution. Irene Kaheru, an interior designer, says, rather than have a cramped up room, going for TV mounting will save the day. “A mounted TV will save you from clutter and turn your TV into beautiful piece in the room.”

Size
It would be rather bad to be presumptuous that everyone has a flat screen. That settled, if you still have the good old big TV screen, then a TV stand will still be your companion seeing that it might be too heavy to mount.

Storage
While mounting your TV may seem trendy, if you are in need of storage space, you may want to consider a TV stand. Tom Muwanguzi, a furniture retailer, says, “When in search of storage space, home owners need to move away from buying rather hollow TV stands and going for those with drawers so that you can conceal some things such as sub woofers, TV remotes, CD racks and the like.”

Mariam Bake, a home owner, loves the idea of having a TV stand because it also hides cables from sight. “It is so bothersome when you look at a mounted TV with cables crisscrossing beneath the TV.”

Tony Kiguli, an electrician, says the issue of cluttered wires can be solved by putting them in a cable trunking. “Wires can and will always look messy when not in order and the same can be said for those of mounted TVs as several equipment is attached to the TV. Nonetheless, creating a trunking that leads to the socket will help clear the mess.”

Kiguli, however, cautions home owners that they need to be certain about the appliance wires they are putting there as it is not logical to continually change them lest one creates a mess on their wall.

Ownership
While mounting may seem great, if you are a tenant, you need to look at your tenancy agreement lest you lose your security deposit. Tim Mukisa, a landlord, says some tenants find drilling holes into their walls a very sticky issue.

“Looking at what your landlord allows will guide you on whether you can or cannot mount your TV screen seeing that holes need to be drilled in the wall to place the wall brackets.”

Child protection
If your children like to sample every gadget in their presence, then mounting your TV is ideal. However, it is important to know the ideal height or else your efforts will go down the drain.

Kaheru says a height above where the average 10-year-old can reach will work because we also have to remember that it should not be so high lest viewing becomes strenuous.

A TV stand is good for big rooms and homes that need extra storage space in the living room.

“That height should also take in the socket otherwise the children will tinker with it at their own pleasure which is not only dangerous as you never know what they may fix into it but also spoils the TV in the long run.”
Sharing her experience, Rose Kajumba, a home owner, says :

“My TV is mounted because it was falling apart, thanks to my children. For that, I had to find a safe place for it. But I could not imagine cluttering my wall with all the gadgets that were connected to it such as the speakers. For that, the TV stand still plays a role seeing that it has cabinets and drawers to accommodate all that.”

TRUNKING

Cable trunking is an enclosure used to protect wires from the elements such as dust, and water. Most commonly, these trunkings are a rectangular cross-section but you will also find some circular ones and all these are held by clips; either plastic or metallic, nailed or screwed into the wall to keep the trunking from getting displaced or loose.
With keeping these cables in one place, Tony Kiguli, an electrician, says they also keep the cables from looking messy when a TV is mounted as they hold more than one cable or wire within. “Children will also not pull them which offers safety for them, the TV set as well as the home.”
Irene Kaheru, an interior designer, adds that with these trunkings running along the wall, one can paint them the same colour as the walls thus blending well into the house décor.