For Christmas I gave Candyce’s parents a custom built-in media storage next to their fireplace. The home was built in 2002 or 2003 back when few people had flat panel TVs. So the builder created a deep vertical recess in the wall next to the fireplace about the size of an old phone booth. I guess the idea was to have a discreet place to tuck in a television, a DVD player, and your DVD collection.
Unfortunately, the recess just does not function well with a modern-day flat panel television. Most homeowners in the neighborhood choose to hang their TVs above their fireplace because there it is centered in the room and has ample width for wide screens.
My goal was to build a cabinet within the recess that would hide the family’s TV junk like the DVD player, Blu Ray Player, X-Box, Wii, and Tivo. Plus, there needed to be plenty of room for the gaming accessories including the DJ Hero turntable, Rock Band instruments, and the numerous game controllers. I felt like that corner of the home had way too much packed into it and it always stressed me out. Plus everyone tripped over the stuff on their way out the back door. It was a hot mess.
So take a look at the photos…after the click, be sure to read the notes on the lower left.
I chose to use Pine for the shelves and Oak stained gray and then weathered for the exterior. I felt that the room had too many competing warm wood tone and I didn’t want to add yet another. The weathered gray also looks like driftwood that gathers on the shore. It’s casual and beachy.
Some details I added:
- Full-extension drawers
- Drilled holes with routed edges at the back center of each shelf. This makes it easy to feed wires up and down the cabinet
- The top half houses the media units that generate a lot of heat. The doors for this area will have stamped aluminum faces that will allow for plenty of air circulation.
- I plan on building custom bins made of Poplar to store DVDs, games, and controllers. Two bins will fit side-by-side on two shelves.
I believe that I would’ve gotten the project finished had it not been for the rain that slowed the drying of the stain on the wood. I look forward to finishing it in the future.
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