Torino X-Large TV Unit: 1.8m, seating distance and screens

The Torino X-Large TV Unit is the 180 x 40 x 50cm piece in a range that also lists 120 x 40 x 50cm, 92 x 40 x 50cm and an 80 x 40 x 65cm corner unit. At 1.8m it is the size people choose when the television wall is being treated as a feature rather than as somewhere to put a box.

1.8m along the wall

Measure the clear run at floor level and allow a little at each end, so roughly 190cm of usable wall. The obstructions that catch people out are a radiator (measure to the bracket, not the panel), the arc of a door swing, the return of a chimney breast and a floor vent. A long unit also shows up an out-of-level floor more than a short one does, because the eye has the whole top edge to compare against the skirting.

How far back to sit, and how big a screen

A wide unit invites a wide screen, and the limit is the room rather than the furniture. A common rule of thumb for a 4K screen is to sit between about 1.2 and 1.6 times its diagonal back from it, so measure from the wall to the front of your seat and work out the screen size from there rather than the other way round. On width, a 16:9 panel is roughly 0.87 of its diagonal across: a 65in is about 144cm and a 75in about 166cm, and both leave a margin of top at each end of a 180cm unit, which is the proportion that reads well in a photograph and in a room.

Running it in front of panelling

A unit this long is often paired with a panelled wall behind the screen. Two things to settle before anything is fixed. The panel's own thickness holds the unit forward, so add it to the 40cm depth when you work out the walkway. And the sockets have to finish in front of the panelling or be brought through it, which is a decision for the day the panels go up rather than the day the unit arrives. If you are weighing it up, our slat and acoustic panels list their own sizes and coverage.

A size list, and the gaps in it

This listing gives the sizes and no more: no material, no finish, no colour, nothing about whether the space under the top is open or fitted, and no weight limit. On a 1.8m piece the weight question is the one worth asking, because a long top ends up carrying a screen, a soundbar and whatever else is put down on it. Ask the shop and get the answer on the order. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.

Smaller sizes in the range

The Torino Large TV Unit is the 120cm version, the Torino Small TV Unit the 92cm, and the Lucca X-Large TV Unit is listed at the same 180 x 40 x 50cm in the other range. Photographs and the size list are on the Torino X-Large TV Unit page, with the rest of the TV units beside it.