If you’re like me, you’ve always dreamed of a flat screen TV hanging on your wall. You might be excited to make the process happen quickly, but make sure not to skip over the research before you begin. When you’re ready to begin the process, the first step is choosing the right type of wall mount for your space. Once you’ve answered the following questions, you’ll know exactly what you need!

First: How large/heavy is your TV?

You’ll need to purchase a wall mount that can hold the appropriate amount of weight and is the right screen size for the TV you own or plan on buying. This information is typically provided online or on the wall mount packaging.

Don’t forget to keep your future plans in mind. If you currently have a mid-size TV, but anticipate investing in a 60” within the next few years, it might be wise to go with a heavy-duty mount that will easily accommodate the larger TV down the line.

Second: Based on the space you have to work with, what functionality would you like the TV to have?

If your living room is small and square, you may want to stick with a flat (sometimes called Low Profile) wall mount. Out of all types of wall mounts, the flat mount holds the television closest to the wall, but it will not allow you to tilt or swivel the TV. Flat mounts work best when you can see the television easily from any angle – that is to say, there are no corners or seating areas in your space that would view the television from an odd angle.

If you intend to hang your television at a unique height, you may want to purchase a tilting wall mount. These mounts do just what their name says: Tilt. If you intend to hang a TV above a fireplace, for example, a tilt wall mount would allow you to tilt the screen so that guests can best see the screen from the couch. This helps avoid glare, as well as discoloration issues that can arise when viewing plasma TVs from the wrong angle.

If you are working with a space that is particularly long, or if you have multiple seating areas in one room, you may opt for a swiveling wall mount. These wall mounts allow you to turn the direction of the TV. For example, my home has a living room seating area on one side of a long, rectangular room, and a desk seating area on the other side, as well as a cut out window that allows me to peer into the living room from the kitchen. In this situation, by using a swiveling wall mount, I can choose to watch TV from the couch, desk, or while cooking at the stove.

There are also wall mounts that combine tilting and swiveling. While my primary objective when hanging my TV was to find a swiveling wall mount, the mount I chose also tilts.

Third: Do the research to find the right price.

When it comes to wall mounts, there is a wide variety of pricing. Be sure to do your research to find the cheapest price. Unless you’ve gotten a discount, wall mounts tend to be significantly cheaper when purchased online.

For example, I first purchased a wall mount from Home Depot for about $150. It seemed like a good deal until I began doing research online and found an identical wall mount for only $60 through Monoprice.com. Unsurprisingly, I promptly returned the Home Depot mount and purchased the cheaper one!

Do you have a wall mount for your TV?

This is a guest post from Carly Taylor. Carly blogs at Createlive, where she writes about living creatively through food, fitness, home improvement and DIY decor.