it's $52,000!
And that is why entertainment centers will NEVER go out of style, despite some kidding I may have done on another thread. These are big ticket items - they are not going to phase them out, they are going to make them bigger and better!
Though, I must admit that the ones pictured are realllllly nice looking pieces of furniture! I love the painted ones. I like the black, but a lighter one would probably not completely take over the room, so to speak.

Doors! and make sure they can be opened and then slide in next to the components you intend to house in the unit.

We do not have any sort of media "cabinet", but when the whole digital/HDTV flat screen thing settles out we will upgrade and house it all in a "cabinet" of some sort. There isn't much homelier than media components in OUR estimation; esp. the dark screen of a television. Of all the "uglies" in our home, those are the things that bother me most!

I've seen Habersham furniture and even at very good discount pricing, you have to mortgage the house! LOL How big is the room and what other items will be in the room?

I actually like the Rosemary. There have been a number of threads recently on the doors/no doors question for tv's. You may want to search here as a number of people opted for custom but there were issues concerning viewing wrt to the doors.

We have you beat on the TV. My husband has a 70"..... We had a custom
wall unit built by a local cabinet maker and spent $3500.00
It was all oak and done to the specs my husband laid out on OUR computer.
Our space is about 15x20. The ceiling is about 9 feet at the part of the vault
it sits under. $52,000 is crazy. Good luck and check
out your local cabinet guys for a quote.

And to answer your question, I like the unit linked to below in cherry (or if it was in my house, painted to match our trim which is white-ish).

For my taste (JMHO), the dark one is too dark and too distressed for me and the light one looks dirty. I know the glazing on light finishes is popular right now and I don't mean to offend anyone, it's just personal preference. I do like the lines of the darker one, though. As for doors or no doors, we opted to not have them, and we're happy with that decision. It's another personal preference thing...

Here is a link that might be useful: entertainment center

deborahnj - the look I'm aiming for in my remodel is what I think of as "rustic elegance" or "upscale country." The wall for the unit is 15'w by 8't, and the living room is about 15' x 18' and opens up to the dining room (currently being used as an office but someday will have a beautiful farm table and black chairs.) On the other side, the room opens up to the great room, which has cathedral ceilings and is home to a nicely carved mahogany pool table.

There is a fireplace on the adjacent wall smack dab between the living room and dining room, and we are refacing this with dark natural stone ledge (lots of browns, tan, blacks, gold, etc). The walls will probably be a warm tan and the trim will be an off-off-white similar to the picture below. The only furniture pieces I'm keeping in the living room are my two camel back leather couches, which are a dark caramel color and detailed with nail heads. I like the idea of placing two chairs on either side of the unit, but I'm sure I'll be posting here for different furniture ideas!

Hoosier - the cherry unit is beautiful. I like the simplicity of it. Ours will be on a wood floor, so I'm not sure if using a wood finish would be too much. I am worried about the black overpowering the room though.

ghatta - I guess I'm lucky my DH isn't pushing for a larger unit! I have considered going custom, although I did that once for another cabinet and wasn't too satisfied with the quality - just had bad luck that shouldn't discourage me from this option though.

chelone - I think I'm with you on the doors. DH doesn't agree since he knows we'll leave them open most of the time but I like the idea of being able to close them for company. Habersham had another unit that had a wood panel that slid down to hide the television while exposing beautiful shelving. I thought that was a great idea.

daisy - I agree that a lighter one might be less imposing in my room. Oh, how I wish I had higher ceilings!

trim and pillars

Here is a link that might be useful: wood flooring

We just purchased a 52" Sony flat screen HDTV and faced the same situation as you mention. We found a nice cabinet, through the Summit Ridge line of Hooker Furniture. It houses the television just fine, and the doors are hinged so that they fold neatly to the sides when open. Contrary to what others have said about the disadvantages of doors, we have not found the doors to interfere with viewing of the TV from anywhere in the room when open. I love the option of being able to shut them when we're not using the television, especially one of that size. It also protects the screen from our kids. The unit is about 65" wide and has plenty of drawers and cabinet space in the console to house the DVR, DVD Player, DVDs, and more. Here's a picture:

{{!gwi}}

Those units are beautiful!!! I too just ordered a piece for our "soon to be bigger" TV. I got this from Domain (I only ordered the middle unit b/c w/have windows on the other sides) but got doors to cover the TV and speakers when not being used.
{{!gwi}}

Judd, that is a nice look you are going for. I just wanted to make sure that the piece you select does not dominate the room or fights with your FP as the main focal point. Your description of your sofas sound like they are too die for! Can you post pictures of the room? Sorry to be a pain but everyone knows I'm the "visual" one so that always helps! Also there are great experts here so they will definitely help as well.

Those entertainment centers are beautiful and your room sounds wonderful. I have an entertainment center very similar in style to what you are looking at. It is in the distressed black finish and I was worried it would overpower my small living room (about 14' x 20' with 10 ft ceilings) but I LOVE it. It gets many compliments and I only say that because others make me feel better about my decision when they say how good it looks :) My fireplace is stained wood and my tables in the room are wood with an iron base, and I think it all works.

Best of luck!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of entertainment center

umd98 -- Gorgeous entertainment center!! Just LOVE it! :)

Wow! Beautiful entertainment units posted above - thanks for posting your pictures!

umd98 - your unit is so handsome and definitely does not appear to overpower the room. My ceiling is only 8' so I'd have to go shorter on the unit to get the same effect.

deborah - I know what you mean about being visual as I am the same. I will try to post "before" pictures tomorrow, but literally everything is changing within the next two months. New flooring, windows, drywall, fireplace facing, etc. Plus - everything moved from the addition is stacked up in my great room, so things aren't too pretty around here!

Pardon me for saying so, but I think if you get the Sebastian you should hold seances in your living room and charge exhorbitant amounts, or open a funeral parlor. The thing gives me the creeps.

The Rosemary is quite pretty.

Those posted here are quite pretty.

$52K - hahahaha, hehehehe, hohohoho!

52K - are they are out of their flippin' minds??

We got ours from The Custom Shoppe - it was pricey, but compared to 52K - dirt cheap!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Custom Shoppe

juddgirl2 -- the first picture you showed reminds me of a pair of bookshelves we bought that I absolutely love. I didn't think I would like the black distressed stain with a brown stain inside, but it has turned out to be one of our favorite pieces. So my vote is for #1.

{{!gwi}}

I would also vote for doors that slide back into the unit when not in use. While we don't always close them when the tv is off, it is nice to hide everything when company comes over. Here is our unit from Stanley Furniture (which by the way has a good selection at very reasonable prices).
{{!gwi}}

Let me preface this morning's conversation with the helpmeet by offering the following information:

Our primary TV is inherited from my BIL. It's about 12 yrs. old, a Sony Trinitron (in the 40" range) with a flat screen. It weighs A TON and it's on some really cheap, roadside stand comprised of black particle board... . The other components are in grave danger of crushing should the "media center" give way under its present load. We cancelled cable some years ago and there is a set of "rabbit ears" on top of the whole "entertainment center". :) (no kidding, we get 4 channels and if there's "nothing on" we read or watch a DVD).

His comment regarding media centres without doors was that they looked "more like a shrine to the TV itself than furniture". That comes from a GUY, one only too willing to drink beer, watch professional sports, and eat chips or popcorn all day long on Sundays. But a guy with a very refined aesthetic, nonetheless.

juddgirl
The only thing I can add would be
- The doors on the entertainment units frequently impinge viewing - LCD's are frequently difficult to view from side angles by nature - I believe plasmas may be even more so - Compund that will doors that don't sit BEHIND the unit - will make viewing even more difficult from said angles -
I know this will be a substantial purchase -esp if you go custom - So, I would really want to see the "final product" so to speak w/the real life tv in it first - I realize this is easier said than done.

- 2nd is since everything is changing in the next 2 mos - I would suggest waiting - really getting a feel for the space - arranging furniture the way you think you will have it etc...
Agree w/the above poster - re: not wanting that as a huge focal pt - esp given the other nice appointments

good luck

jejvtr - your suggestion to wait until the space is finished before deciding on such a large piece is a good one, I think. I'm just so impatient and know that it will take quite a bit of lead time to have one made, so I was trying to coordinate everything to come together at once.

I think I'll at least wait until my drywall and fireplace are done. At that time, everything should be cleaned up a bit around here and I can post pictures - I'm too embarrassed to do so right now - it's a mess around here!

gardenchick - your bookcase and tv unit are lovely - I really like the contrast between the stained backboard and the black finish. Our furniture is almost identical to yours - same colors, styles, etc., so it's nice to see how nicely put together your room is. Thanks for posting pictures!

snookums - thank you for the referral. I'm definitely going to head over to that website and see if there is a retailer in my area. Also, thanks (to you and all those who agreed that $52K is outrageous. I was almost afraid to post for fear of only getting responses that this was a perfectly reasonable amount of money to pay if you want quality :-)

oceanna - I loved your reference to seances! I don't get that feeling from the unit and actually really like the rope detailing on this one (maybe it's just the color that gives you that vibe?) but you made me laugh!

Also, I guess I should mention that 52K was the high end in the price range for the Ridgewood. If I wanted a lesser finish, it would only have cost around 48K :-)