Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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
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
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.











We'll see who takes home sweepstakes.


To be continue......

7 comments:

  1. I love that you're writing about this.
    False floating wall. Plywood, cut-to-size with hole for TV, floor-to- ceiling, spaced about 5" into the room, wall covered in fabric. Lights behind the false wall for a glow, wall sconces, cords all hidden. Cheap shelves on the sides. I've got a staple gun...

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  2. Well, I like the Italia TV Panel and the west elm. You know that cords are my enemy and anything you can do to hide them gets my vote. Can't wait to see what you decide.

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  3. You might check out Craigslist or a local auction block for sideboards (I hadn't heard of them until my wife brought one home)... at least, that's what /we/ did.

    http://www.chadwellchronicles.com/2009/09/house-update.html

    Although, from what I can tell of the two minutes I've looked at your blog, it seems like you're going for a more modern, simple look.

    Anyway, good luck and stay away from the IKEA shelves-- that's just too terrifying for me to trust putting 42" of screen...

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  4. I like the West Elm shelves. They have doors that close and you can hide all the clutter. =)

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  5. And what computer program do you use to do all these layouts? I'd love to do that so I have an idea of what something will look like in my house. It makes it so much easier than actually putting something up, not liking it, and having to replace it.

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  6. Thanks for your votes everyone!

    Graham- We've been scouting for sideboards as well. Hopefully we'll find something inexpensive but with a modern twist. Plus, there have been some nifty craiglist buys...posts to come. Stay tuned!

    Natalie- We use Google Sketchup for all of our drawings. It's relatively simple to use and most importantly, free for download!! You'll find lots of useful tutorials on youtube etc. Let us know if you have any questions. We're here to help.

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  7. Wow, so many great choices! I'm sure you'll come up with something great... I do love the West Elm setup though :)

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