Media Wall with Venetian Plaster Finish in Irvine
A full-width media wall built from scratch in an Irvine living room. Recessed TV, a wide electric fire, lit display alcoves and two cabinets either side, the whole face finished in Venetian plaster and topped with a coved cornice.
Media walls — Irvine, North Ayrshire
Project overview
This one takes up the whole wall. A recessed TV sits centrally above a wide electric fire, with lit display alcoves and closed cabinets stacked either side, and a deep coved cornice carried across the top to tie it into the ceiling. Everything you can see was built on site — there is nothing off the shelf in it.
Getting the openings right
The whole thing is decided before any board goes on. The TV recess has to suit the screen with tolerance for the bracket and enough depth for cables to run behind, and the fire aperture has to match the unit exactly, with its clearances respected. Both are formed in the timber frame at the start. Get either wrong by ten millimetres and you find out at the very end, once everything is boarded, filled and finished.
Alcoves, cabinets and lighting
The alcoves are lit from above so the light washes down the back of each one — which is why the plaster finish shows the way it does. Below them, closed cabinets in a pale oak give storage without adding visual weight, and the contrast against the dark face is deliberate: it stops a wall this size feeling heavy.
The Venetian plaster finish
The face is finished in Venetian plaster rather than painted, applied by a specialist plasterer once the joinery was complete. It gives depth and movement across a large surface that flat paint cannot, and it changes through the day as the light moves. On a wall this size that matters — a single flat colour over this area would read as a slab. Co-ordinating the joinery with the finishing trade is part of the job: the surface has to be right for the plasterer to work onto, and the alcove lighting has to be set out before either of us starts.
Scope of works
- Full-width media wall designed and built on site
- Timber frame with recessed TV opening formed to suit the screen
- Aperture formed for a wide electric fire
- Display alcoves built either side with concealed lighting
- Two cabinets fitted below the alcoves
- Coved cornice carried across the top
- Face finished in Venetian plaster by a specialist plasterer
The job
Photos from this project
The finished media wall Fire lit, alcoves washed with light Alcove, lighting and finish The timber frame going up Boarded, before plastering
Common questions
How long does a media wall take to build?
It depends on the size and what is going into it, but a full-width wall like this is a multi-day job rather than an afternoon. The frame, boarding, fitting out and finishing are all separate stages, and the finish cannot be rushed.
Can you build a media wall to fit any TV and fire?
Yes, and it is the right way round — the openings are formed to suit the actual units, not the other way about. It is worth having both chosen before the frame goes up, so the recess and the fire aperture are set out to the real dimensions and clearances.
What finishes can a media wall have?
Painted, panelled, slatted, tiled or plastered. This one is Venetian plaster, which gives depth and movement across a large face. The finish makes as much difference to the end result as the joinery underneath it.
Read more about our media walls across Ayrshire, see what else we do for homeowners in Irvine, or see more completed projects.
