The Cool House: Notes on a Television

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Notes on a Television


Lots of off-blog comments on the size of our bedroom TV - and a posted one. Apparently a 27" screen doesn't cut it; we must miss all the fine details of the programmes and we are surely harming our eyes squinting at the teeny-tiny screen. I must thank everyone who expressed concern for our well-being and inform you all that this TV is ... shock, horror.... the one we used as our sitting room set from 2000-2008.
Until summer 2004, when we moved into this house, we didn't even have a TV in the bedroom, a fact commented upon by every realtor that walked into the master suite - I know, it's a wonder we ever sold our last house - but what we didn't have we didn't miss. Then we came to The Cool House and I thought how nice it would be to lie in bed and watch movies so I lobbied hard to put in our second set, a 23" CRT TV that was, I'll admit, a little challenging to view, in the bedroom.
Over the course of the past five years I got used to having the black box in the room, watching food porn early on Saturday morning or house porn late at night. Then last weekend these Scripps channels were pulled off our local cable provider, which coincided with our temporary move to the guest bedroom that (shock again) has no cable outlet. I was staring down a black hole of six weeks or so without a TV to snuggle up to. I almost balked at the thought but eventually agreed to a television-free period. Well interwebs, I have to tell you that it's been a week and I haven't missed the TV for one second. We read magazines, books both in print and on Kindle and listen to NPR. It's just like the good old days - except now we know what we had.
The question is: When we finally move back to our bedroom should we replace the teeny teevee with a big LED/LCD flat screen or should we just not bother with a television in the master at all?

11 comments:

Unknown said...

lcd - it is cheaper AND when it is cold you can bung in a dvd of a fire to keep you warm. you can also us it as a BLOODY HUGE electric picture frames as most tellys do picture show off a sd card, usb etc

heidi said...

I prefer no TV in the bedroom. Unless you're at a hotel, then anything goes.

Nadine @ BDG said...

TV, very rarely do I turn it on but on the odd Sunday afternoon it might be nice to snuggle up with a cup of tea and a movie. As for size, the tv in our bedroom is tiny-- there but not there. There are some clever ways to hang flatscreens so they aren't such an eyesore-- what's the guy's take on this?

Why S? said...

No TV in the master is our rule. I think it's also bad feng shui. It's just sets the wrong vibe for the bedroom.

Jean Martha said...

I'm of the 'no tv in the love shack' camp. That said...we have a projector so clearly I cave easily.

modernemama said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
modernemama said...

OMG! I am imagining the shadow puppet theatre Jean Martha plays when the projector is running.....

Magpie said...

I think your bedroom TV is bigger than ours - though ours is a flatscreen. I never watch TV in the bedroom though. Well, I hardly ever watch TV at all.

house things said...

Go with an lcd. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to watch it. I have a tv in the bedroom but don't watch it all the time. Some nights I read, others television.

modernemama said...

Kathleen - you have self-control, sadly I don't. If it's there I will be seduced by its shiny black surface & the possibilities of the remote control...

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

I hear you...I too, am both a Cablevision customer and food/house porn junkie, and I've found the whole thing to be a bit of a well-needed intervention for me. I'm thinking of getting rid of all TVs!! (OK, not really. Think of it as my methadone step-down to detox or something...baby steps...).

ANYWAY...I really don't like to have a TV in the bedroom. I've heard, too, that if you associate "bed" with "TV time" you'll have trouble sleeping. Much like eating in areas of your house other than the kitchen table can lead to chronic grazing/overeating or something like that. Mike insists on bedroom TV -- and since having him (ergo the TV) in my bedroom I rather enjoy late night movies every now and again. But I could easily (and would rather) do without.