Entertainment Center

Old decisions and new technology are the basic factors for this entertainment center I coincidentally ran into just after creating this blog.  The clients Anne and Braude are new friends, fellow potent little people; and upon visiting their place for the first time, a situation they had came to surface.  Braude said he was thinking of getting a new television but was not so keen on ditching his current furniture to accommodate a sleek, much larger flat panel.  While giving up the mildly sentimental furniture was not totally out of the picture, it was the purchasing of new, equally crafted pieces that seemed unreasonable.

Upon hearing this dilemma I stepped in and offered my two cents.  I suggested expanding the current cabinet in lieu of new furniture, a quick simple move eliminating waste, saving money, and preserving sentiment.  Though initially quite shocked that this was possible, I assured them it was.  There the project started; I explained the basic idea, and how the new work would require less than a day of the television cabinet being out of commission and off I went.

The resulting solution adds 12” to the overall width to accommodate the television and makes existing storage more useful.  New shelves were made from red oak veneer plywood that matches the existing cabinet and Douglas Fir support beams spanning the width of the cabinet.  Spacer boxes were made for the upper and lower portions of the cabinet and perform double duty by anchoring the addition high and low but also conceal attachment to the existing cabinet.  All parts were made and prepared off-site as to minimize the disturbance of the living space, i.e. letting oil stain fully cure and off-gas.

Matching the original stain would have been time consuming and near impossible to perfect, so I opted for a contrasting white stain.  This change in color easily identifies all the new pieces involved in giving the cabinet its second life.  Another added benefit to the unit is that it now has the ability to break down into parts and move much easier, a complaint from the owners.

Since I choose not to own television of my own, I live vicariously through people who do, I am without a doubt doubly motivated for this project as I may have a chance to spend some time in its presence in the future.  As an added bonus Anne and Braude were pleasantly surprised but ultimatley thrilled with the final result.  The reality and detailing of the finished cabinet was much more than they had imagined, the effect thoughtful design should have.


Once I get a chance to snap some finish photos I will get them up here.  For now the model is an accurate depiction of the built project.