A television does not have to be a black wall

The default lounge still aims every seat at a dark rectangle. That rectangle then dictates the sideboard, the lamps, and the conversation.

If you do watch, sit the screen on a cabinet that is wider than the set so the wall does not become a floating tablet. If you barely watch, a trolley that can leave the room is more honest than a monument.

In the studio, try the seating aimed at each other with the screen on a side wall. If the room immediately feels like a room again, you have your answer.

Furniture should not apologise for a device. The device can sit where it does the least damage to the evening.