Family Room Part II: A new 'vizio'n

Back to the current project; so we've decided to transition our family room into the actual family room (rather than the living/dining room). One of the most important areas of the room is the wall on which the 42" Vizio will reside. It took many drawings just to determine a basic layout for the room (we tried the TV on literally every single wall); and now that that is, thankfully, done...we have to figure out how the actual wall will be arranged. So, we have 149" of wall space to play with. I would love to use our current TV stand (a stained reddish wood 50's dresser that belonged to Chris' Grandparents), but I fear that it will look diminutive on that wall. Now, our search for a low and long media/entertainment unit/credenza thing officially begins. (NOTE: Chris claims this is the perfect time to get a new, and possibly bigger, TV...hence the title)

Contestant # 1

Name: Ann Wall Unit

Of: Modloft

Price: $1,400-$1,800 (!!!)

Ok, I know. The price is a big OMG jaw dropper. This is Chris' winner. I, the frugal wife, am trying every attempt to save a thousand dollars by NOT getting this one. Not considering price...I agree with Chris, this is the best choice for the room. Its 123" width leaves us with a usable amount of space on either side (but not a gaping hole that must be used)...and the quality will likely be higher than that which you would expect from Ikea or Target, etc...(Sorry Target. I still heart you)

Contestant # 2

Name: Lack Shelving Unit
Of: Ikea
Price: $79

::overlap::

::side by side::

::stacked::

Thanks to the genius posters over at Ikea Hacker, and many other Ikea recyclable sites, the Lack family of products (and many others) has become almost transformer-like. A simple 90 degree turn, and presto! You've got yourself a wall unit at a very, very reasonable price. I was really 'gung-ho' about this idea initially... then I saw the unit's dimensions. If we were to go with the 'side by side' model... we'd have literally, like, a quarter of an inch on either side. With the 'overlap' model, we'd have room on each side, but we would have to custom fabricate two legs (the taller two specifically) which seems like a lot more trouble than it is worth for an eighty dollar shelf. Lastly, (and this goes for several of our media unit options) what do we do with the 'Medusa cord festival' we'd have exposed?

Contestant # 3

Name: Italia TV Panel
Of: Inspired by MDF Italia
Price: Unknown

Yes, it's a wall on a wall; but, I think it might really break up the space by adding another layer. The manufacture is overseas, and for all I know this thing costs a gazillion dollars. Oh yeah...it comes in more colors than just red. I suppose the pros of this unit would be, great cable management, and a really clean look. The cons...though clean, I'm not completely sold on the look just yet.

Contestant # 4

Name: Lack Wall Shelves

Of: Ikea
Price: $29 per shelf

This design is actually really in-expensive and (in my opinion) really nice looking. This would definitely be my first choice...if I lived in a magazine. This design is probably a lot better on paper than in practice (or on computer screen than in...ummm...I'll think of something later). Aside from being fairly unrealistic...these shelves lack (pun intended) an appropriate amount of depth. At only 10 and a quarter inches, all of our components would be, in the words of the great (not really) 90's Aerosmith tune, "living on the edge".

Here are some other possibilities.

:: 2 West Elm Hudson Media side by side ::

We'll see who takes home sweepstakes.

To be continue......