Mantel Mount Review – How It’s Transformed Our Television Experience

Okay, I admit it, as much as I love being outdoors, I’m also a sucker for movies.

I’m not sure if it comes from acting on stage in dramas and plays throughout my high school years, or due to the fact that growing up, movies were a special treat, but I’m pretty sure one of the main reasons I love a good flick is simply that I work hard.

I work hard, my husband works hard, and our plate is often pretty full. My mind is usually thinking about, “Did I accomplish what I needed to today?” “What did I forget to do?” “What do I need to do tomorrow?” “Do the kids have any activities this weekend?”

Everything from household chores, to the kids, to work, to my husband’s small business runs through my brain on an almost continual basis but I have found two ways to tune it out. One is being outside, and the other is getting lost in a really good movie!

We recently (and can I say FINALLY!) bought new living room furniture and decided it was time to move our TV from a table to the wall. I wanted to be rid of having to look at the tangled mess of cords and wires (I’m anti-clutter to the extreme).

We both also wanted a mount that would open up our living space, swivel so that the TV could be viewed from a variety of angles, and one that could be easily handled by everyone in our family from the 4 year old and up.

We found all of that and so much more in the Mantel Mount, who provided the mount pictured above, at no cost to facilitate this review.

Mantel Mount 700 Pro Series with Recess Box Review

We might as well just get down to it. There are so many things I can say about why our entire family loves this TV mount!

Top Features of the Mantel Mount MM700

• Heavy Duty Construction (3MM Steel)
• Enhanced Stabilization
• *RB100 1.75″ Flush-To-Wall Recess Kit
• Built-in Sound Bar Attachment
• Heat Sensing Pull Down Handles
• Paintable Wall Covers
• Adjustable Stops & Auto-Straightening
• 29″ Vertical Travel, Up to 60° Swivel

Installing the Mantel Mount

If I’m being totally honest, installing the TV mount and recess box was a little daunting at first. There was a moment in the beginning of, “what did we get ourselves into,” but my husband and I persevered.

Let me tell you, absolutely and unequivocally, at the end of it we both said, “This was totally worth it!”

Some of our trouble was probably due to the fact that this was the first TV mount either of us had ever installed and for my husband that was the more difficult portion of the task.

There’s no doubt in my mind that if you’ve installed a TV mount before, this one will be just as easy. In fact, once the process was complete, even my husband commented that looking back, he could have installed the mount twice as fast, it was just simply the first mount he had ever installed.  

We chuckle at our struggle because we absolutely know we made it much harder that it needed to be.

Still, through it all, every time we sit down to watch TV we’re so glad we have the Mantel Mount!

Installing The Recess Box

This particular TV mount comes with a recess box kit that actually allows for your TV mount to be set inside of your wall, which in turn, means that your television, when fully resting, sits virtually flush against the wall.

This is the part of the installation where my husband, who has years of construction experience shined.

Not all Mantel Mount television mounts require the recess box, but if you want the flush-to-the-wall experience, you will need to plan on installing or having someone else install the recess box.

Recess Box Features

• 1.75″ Flush To Wall Mounting
• Simple To Install
• Easily Fits Between Studs
• Concealed Mounting Hardware
• Center Arm Folds Into Wall
• Dimensions: 30.5″w x 10.6″h x 5.3″d

My husband first grabbed his stud finder (then had to listen to me crack studmuffin and other stud-themed jokes) and marked where the specific studs were in the wall where we planned to mount our television.

Using a pencil, he lightly marked the specific section where our recess box would fit between the studs. Mantel Mount provided a cardboard template which allowed him to trace preciously the size of the recess box for the installation.

Our daughter, Eva, got in on the action by holding up the shop vac hose to catch dust and falling particles as Ben used a drywall saw to cut out the drywall section he had marked.

Once the hole for the recess box was cut, Ben double-checked to make sure the recess box fit perfectly flush to the wall. We did have to remove a bit of insulation to get the box to fit perfectly.

Using his socket wrench, he first secured the top and bottom wall brackets to the recess box. The recess box was then again reset into the wall and hung securely by screwing the top and bottom brackets to the studs.

Slide on the hardware concealers and voila! Your Mantel Mount can now be easily set into the recess box!

If you have any doubts about being able to install the mount and recess box yourself I’m sure you could hire a contractor to do the job for you.

The ability to see the television from any seat in our living room has made our entire family’s movie-watching experience fantastic! We no longer have to settle for glare or strained necks.

Everyone in our family is able to move the mount up and down, swivel it from side to side, and place it back into its recess box with ease.

I love this mount, not only for the way it has transformed our television-watching experience, but also for the way it has taken my entertainment center from cluttered to sleek.

My favorite movie isn’t the only show-stopper happening in my living room – I’d say my Mantel Mount has more than taken over that role!

Buy One – There’s A Mantel Mount to Fit Any Budget!

It never fails that almost every time we sit down to watch a movie, my husband or I remark at how much we love our Mantel Mount.  

The MM700 with recess box is a little bit of an investment, but it’s one that you will only have to make once, and a purchase that will truly transform your TV entertainment experience.

If you aren’t quite ready to make that leap, or your budget is a little tighter, Mantel Mount has an entire product line of television mounts that will fit your wallet while still improving family movie night.

Perfect for any home, and an absolute must if you want to hang your TV over your fireplace, there’s no other mount on the market like it!

Click HERE to visit Mantel Mount to begin choosing the right wall mount for your home or office!

April 2024 Review Update

This review was originally published in May of 2017. I wanted to post an update to let you know that we are still using our Mantel Mount and still loving it!

We even moved and took time to very carefully remove it from the wall of our old home to install it in our new home. I would recommend this mount to all of my family and friends and you too!

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