"Antique" and "Entertainment Centers" are terms loosely applied to these three options; in fact, none of them are actual antiques, they just look old, and only one of them is intended to be used for media--but we thought all three would be great. Multi-purposing a piece of furniture allows for multi-tasking in small spaces, and changes the feel of rooms no matter the size when it's used in unexpected ways.
This one comes from Anthropologie. It's the Marcela dresser, and provides great storage for living room accoutrements. It retails for $1500.
I thought this would be the *last* place we'd have to look at shabby chic.
You could buy something off any craigslist in the country to get the look of he Marcella. Why anyone would pay $1500 for it is way beyond me.
I love antiques but to me there's nothing attractive about beat up whitewash or peeling paint on living room furniture.
view boomer's profile
Terry at the White Attic in Chicago has been converting mid century credenzas and dressers to accommadate media components. They really make great media centers, especially when paired with a flat panel TV.
view techgirllaura's profile
Unless I'm missing something, two of the photos are just ordinary dressers. So "multi-purposing" is just setting your TV on top of your dresser.
Conversion to be a full media center would require drilling some holes in the back for cords so you could put your components in the drawers. Not too difficult, though I'm assuming DVD players and such don't need additional ventilation.
view wende in the twin cities's profile
Your receiver/amplifier most definately needs ventilation.
Those 1000 glorious watts of surround sound have a large heat byproduct.
DVD players generate heat too, and also require ventilation.
Your set top box/DVR has at least one hard drive in it, constantly spinning, which also needs ventilation.
The inside of a cabinet with no ventilation would be like an *oven* after watching a couple of DVDs with the surround sound cranked up.
So you don't want to use just an ordinary dresser for hiding components.
Very bad idea.
I'd go with the suggestion by techgirllaura. A purpose built conversion by someone knowledgeable about airflow requirements would be best.
And you don't need line-of-sight visual access for a remote - what the higher end installers do is use RF (radio frequency) based remotes, and connect RF to IR repeaters inside the cabinet or closet where the electronics are hidden. It's a little spendy but if you're having a custom cabinet made, it's not that much extra.
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Components do need ventilation, as does the TV. Some good conversions replace the back with a screen or similarly vented piece. Creative use of screens on the front are also a good solution. I've seen some that have been spray painted gold that add a nice bit of sophistication to a media center. I do like the lace cut front of the second item featured here, it's functional and attractive, IMHO....
view techgirllaura's profile