We’d been dreaming about replacing our “entertainment center” (and I am being generous — it was just a tv stand), but the ones I’d found online were a little pricey (like over $1,000) and not even for custom ones. So, I convinced Chris to build us one instead!
This was the situation before. The ‘entertainment center’ was comprised of a lot of wires and a sad formica tv stand.
We started with some beautiful poplar boards from the home improvement store.
We measured the width of our actual television and adding another half (e.g. if you tv is 50 inches wide, add another 25 inches). This left space for us to off-set the shelf on the wall. We determined the height based on our components – especially the sub speaker. Then, we basically built a box! A long, narrow, heavy, wooden box. The shelf for the long speaker to sit atop and under which the cable box would be nestled, was made the length of the speaker for a custom look.
PS – Kreg jigs are super helpful in making furniture, tables, and boxes! If you don’t already have one, run to the home improvement store right now. Go!
We built a c-shaped frame out of 2×4 and then bolted/screwed it into the studs on the wall. This frame served as the hanger for our floating shelf. Then, we slid the box over top of the hanger and screwed it in from the top and sides. So, the hanger was attached to the wall studs and the box was attached to the hanger.
Here’s my crude sketch of what we were building.
We put a coat of oil on the poplar and it brought out the grain so nicely! It has held up well too. Nearly three years later, it’s still in great shape. We just oil the surface once a year.
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