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Building a Home

built-in or furniture for TV

14 years ago

We are building a home and have an alcove where a tv entertainment center should be. It's about 1 foot too small for my current 2 bookcases and TV cabinet( Don't even ask!) I really don't have much else in the way of componets other than DVD player( BOSE 3-2-1)and cable box. The current cabinet will stick out too much, I think. Current TV is 37" and about 10 years old. It is the focal point in the room with the fireplace to the right and cornered.

Here's my question. Should I have the trim guy build out a cabinet and maybe two shelves above it or should I purchase furniture. This assumes I purchase a 42" flat screen. The house interior is simple and quiet. Not much movement in the design. The traditional entertainment center look will not work for our style for our style. It is the focal point (along with large windows along another wall) with the FP to the left and cornered.

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Comments (4)

bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
14 years ago
With electronics changing so much so fast, I personally don't think it makes sense anymore to have built-in furniture to accomodate the stuff.
For example, the traditional entertainment center no longer has an opening large enough for most of our TVs. Or, if we pick a smaller TV that will fit into the entertainment center, then a huge amount of space is wasted behind the flat screen TV - and one of the advantages of having a flat screen is lost. I figure the next generation of TV's will probably be even flatter and will allow you to choose a screensaver of some sort so that, when not in use, it looks like a picture or maybe an aquarium or a window - and not like a TV at all. Either that or there'll be some sort of small cube that projects a 3D image right into the air in front of you. LOL!

We're going back to old fashioned book-cases (which will be nice since I've got about a thousand books!) and will hang the new TV (flat screen of course) on a wall. The rest of our electronics (DVD player, CD player, etc) will go into a credenza below the TV so it is mostly out of sight. And, all the CDs, DVDs etc. will go into a near-by closet. IF/when 3D-projecting-cube TVs come on the market, I'll hang a painting where my old fashioned flat screen TV used to be and not have to redecorate my entire house - or, at least that's the plan! LOL
frog_hopper
14 years ago
I agree with bevangel. I assume you know that a 42" flat screen is less than 42 inches wide, and that the 42 inches is the diagonal measurement of the screen. The set will actually be less than 42 inches wide.
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Another vote for why is the TV so high when there's not even a fireplace you have to clear? You want it at eye level for seated people. (Well, really, *I* want it over a console to the left of the bump, but you've already ruled that out.) You'll have difficulty building anything in on either side without partially blocking the closet and/or window. I think I'd just do a furniture piece of some sort on each side, with a painting over at least one of them. Or a slim bookcase to the left, since you already have an end table and lamp there, and then something with a little more presence on the right...
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The only thing you can do with this without changing the shelving at all would be to try to find a small piece of furniture with a couple of drawers that would fit into the space. With minimal change you could take two of the shelves that are behind the TV and move them into the space aligned with the current shelving. Remove the existing trim on the shelf above the doors and replace it with one piece going all the way across with the new shelves in place. If you could get a set of doors for the front center it would be better than open shelving. No matter what you do the new TV is always going to look awkward floating in front of the shelves. These shelves are stationary - someone anchored them to the walls, but that does not make them permanent. They really are not that hard to remove and you can do it yourself at zero cost. You may be able to use one or both sides in another room - maybe the babies room for some extra storage - a place for toys and books. You could use both on opposite sides of one wall and place a single shelf between the two and create a desk for future homework time.
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lindybarts
14 years ago
Well I personally like the built in look over a separate piece of furniture. I think as long as you make an adequate opening, you should be able to fit many tv's inside. We did build ours out to an exact screen size but it's large enough that I think we'll be okay if technology changes. We might have extra space around it but it won't be too small. If the TV's get even thinner, it won't show the extra space behind the TV since it's built into the wall. There are alot of good TV buying guides online that can help make your decision on which type to buy for your needs. We opted for the DLP and are loving it.

Here is ours and you can see we still have some wiggle room around it. The shelf above can be moved if we need more room above. But I don't think we'll get a size bigger than this one....ROFL!

Here is a link that might be useful: TV Buying Guide
carolyn53562
14 years ago
We are in the same dilemma and our house was finished 2 years ago except for the TV hole (which is big) in the wall and the fireplace mantel. We finally have finally decided to got with a built-in cabinet. We will have 24" high cabinets for the components and then the open space above the cabinets will change as our TVs change (we have a small TV now and will put shelves on either side of the TV for now that can be removed if we ever decide to move the 60" TV there from the basement) and we can also just put in book shelves later if we decide to do that. I would have preferred to put furniture in the "hole", but can't find anything that fits. If we were doing it over, we would have found the furniture first and then built the hole to fit the furniture.

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