How to Choose a TV Unit: Size, Height & Style Guide

A TV unit does more than hold up your television — it organises a tangle of devices and cables, anchors one whole wall of the living room and sets a big part of the room’s style. Choose well and your setup looks neat, intentional and easy to live with; choose badly and it’s either too small to look right or too cluttered to use. This guide covers the essentials: sizing the unit to your TV, the right height for comfortable viewing, storage and cable management, and the styles to suit your space.

1. Sizing it to your TV

The golden rule is that the TV unit should be wider than the television — ideally by a good margin. As a guide, aim for the unit to be at least 15–30cm wider than your TV on each side, so the screen doesn’t overhang the edges and the whole arrangement looks balanced and stable. Remember TVs are measured diagonally across the screen, so check the actual width of your set (including the stand feet, if it’s not wall-mounted) rather than going by the inch size alone. A unit that’s too narrow makes even a great TV look precarious and the room look unfinished.

2. The right viewing height

Comfort comes down to height. For relaxed viewing, the centre of the screen should sit at roughly eye level when you’re seated on your sofa — for most people that means the bottom of the TV sits around 50–65cm from the floor. Measure your eye height while sitting on your actual sofa, then choose a unit height that puts the screen’s centre close to that line. A unit that’s too tall forces you to look up (tiring on the neck over a film), while a very low one can feel like you’re peering down. If you wall-mount the TV instead, the same eye-level principle applies, with the unit below for storage.

3. Measuring your space

Beyond the TV itself, measure the wall and the room. Check the unit’s width fits the wall with a little breathing room, and that its depth doesn’t intrude into walkways — TV units vary a lot in depth. Note the position of plug sockets, the aerial and any media points, so the unit sits where the connections are. And as with any large piece, plan the route into the room. Mark the footprint on the floor with masking tape to be sure it sits comfortably without dominating.

4. Storage & what to keep

Think about everything that needs a home around the TV: a soundbar, games console, streaming box, router, remotes and perhaps DVDs or games. Then choose storage to match:

• Open shelves suit devices that need ventilation and an unobstructed signal for the remote (consoles, AV receivers, streaming boxes).
• Closed cupboards and drawers hide clutter, spare cables and games — look for designs that still let the remote signal through, such as fabric-fronted or slatted doors.
• A mix of both is usually ideal: open space for the devices you control, closed space for the mess you’d rather not see.

For larger collections, consider extending the storage along the wall with a matching sideboard or coffee table from the same range.

5. Cable management

The difference between a tidy TV setup and a messy one is almost always the cables. Look for units with built-in cable management — cut-outs and channels in the back panels that route wires neatly down to a single point and out of sight. Make sure there’s a gap or hole behind the unit for cables to reach the wall sockets, and that ventilated devices have airflow. Grouping cables with ties and labelling them as you set up saves a real headache later. A little planning here keeps the whole arrangement looking calm and deliberate rather than chaotic.

6. Styles & configurations

TV units come in several formats to suit different rooms and amounts of kit:

• Low, wide stands are the classic look — sleek, grounding and ideal when you want the TV to sit on top at the right height.
• Corner units make clever use of an awkward corner, angling the TV into the room and freeing up the main walls.
• Tall and combination units with cabinets and shelving above and beside the TV suit those who want maximum storage or a media-wall look.
• Floating / wall-mounted units keep the floor clear beneath, making the room feel more open and the floor easier to clean.

7. Materials & finishes

As with other living-room furniture, the finish sets the tone and the upkeep. Wood is warm, classic and hard-wearing; painted and matt finishes feel soft and contemporary; high-gloss looks sleek and reflects light to lift a darker room; and mixed materials like wood with metal legs add a modern edge. Darker finishes can help a black TV blend in and recede when it’s off, while lighter finishes keep the wall feeling airy. Choose a finish that wipes clean easily, as TV units gather dust and fingerprints around the controls.

8. Coordinating your room

Because the TV unit usually shares the room with a sofa, coffee table and storage, it pays to think about how they sit together. The easiest route to a cohesive look is to choose pieces from the same living-room range, so the TV unit, coffee table and sideboard share a finish and design language. If you’re mixing, keep the wood tones or painted shades in the same family and echo details like leg style and handles. Scale matters too: a low, wide unit balances a large sofa, while a more compact unit suits a smaller seating arrangement.

9. Buying with confidence

Every Elystra TV unit comes with fast delivery, a 30-day returns promise and the option to spread the cost with Klarna in interest-free instalments. Size the unit wider than your TV, set the screen at seated eye level, plan your storage and cables, and pick a style and finish that pull the room together. Browse our full range of TV and media units to find yours.