apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When Mike wanted to mount his 42-inch Philips LCD to the wall he had two problems. Where he wanted to install the big boob tube, above the fireplace mantle, was a large mirror permanently attached to the wall.
Being in a rental he didn't want to damage the wall by trying to remove the mirror, so he built a shallow MDF box around it that he could then attach his flat screen to.

The box is mounted to a 2-by2 foot frame, which is anchored to the wall using toggle bolts. Mike spruced things up by installing crown molding at the top of the box for a more finished look.

The added benefit of the box is that it has enough room within it to hide all of the necessary power and component cables. The snake out from the side to his and Nicole's components which sit in a cabinet on the left of the fireplace.
The cables that are visible, to the left of the fireplace, are bound in white "accordion" style flexible tubing. The whole thing cost around $100!

To blend modern with vintage, Mike and Nicole display their "modest, but growing collection" of vintage radios on the bottom, and vintage cameras up top.