You just bought a fabulous new big screen TV. Now your budget is a little short for a new entertainment center. Don't despair. You have plenty of options that you can make yourself. Just look around your house or hunt through consignment stores for the ingredients to create a homemade center that will house your TV and all of your media components. Does this Spark an idea?
Dressers and Console Tables
Make an entertainment center out of an old dresser, dining room side board or console table. A dresser or side board works well because it's usually wide and strong enough to support your TV and has drawers or cabinets that are great storage areas for DVDs, CDs and electrical cords. If the piece is not large enough or strong enough, hang the TV over the dresser and use the furniture as storage. Console tables look stylish when used as a stand for your entertainment equipment. Consider using baskets beneath it for storage. The console must be strong enough to support the weight of the equipment, so test it out before you put your new investment on top of it.
Wooden Book Cases
Wooden book cases are ideal for media centers because they can hold your equipment as well as baskets for storing DVDs, CDs and other media gadgets. They do have limitations, however. Tall bookcases will limit television width. Shallow bookcases will limit deep components. Long horizontal bookcases are best, allowing you to put the TV on top and the components on shelves below. If the shelf unit has a back to it, you'll have to drill holes to allow the cords of your components to go through the back. Use a furniture cord hole cover kit to disguise the hole.
Trunks
Using trunks as coffee tables is all the rage, so take it step further and use a trunk as a base for your media equipment. The top of the trunk must be flat. If you have doubts that it will be able to support the equipment, buy a piece of thick plywood and have it cut to the size of the trunk surface, then place it on top of the trunk. Avoid using the inside of the trunk for storage, as it will be unrealistic to open the trunk once the equipment is on top. Stain the wood a nice color that complements the trunk.
The Old College Try
You used wooden planks and cinder blocks to make media shelves in college. Upgrade that idea using a piece of wood on top of two filing cabinets or end tables. Buy a thick piece of plywood and have it cut to the size you need. Use a wood stain so it matches the color of the end tables or paint the wooden top and the filing cabinets the same color, such as white or black. The filing cabinets will make great storage spaces for your media accessories, and the the end tables will likely have drawers or shelves that will make ideal storage areas.
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