Here's what I spent doing today...

Or a better start would be here's what my problem is:



The "entertainment center." So when my g/f and I moved in together, this was what she had for a TV stand and it was better than what I was using. And then our peripherals started growing. She got me the PS3 for Christmas and we realized we were out of space. I really just wanted a better use of space and something very specific.

I searched and searched and shopped and shopped. When I really didn't find anything that met our style or function, I decided to just say screw it and go HGTV on it. MDF to the rescue!

I whipped up a little design on some graph paper based on what we were putting where and how tall it needed to be:



I feel like it's extremely simple, but functional. And the plan is 1/2" MDF, at about $27 a sheet. And with the plans as drawn, I can make the entire thing out of one 4'x8' sheet (we actually ended up with four 2' x 4' sheets for simplicity). Much better than some of the $100-$200+ things I found and may not have been totally happy with.

Thankfully her dad practically has his own wood shop. We shot over there today and a couple hours later we had this:







OK, so her dad actually did most of the cutting and such, but as capable as I probably am with this, I didn't want to get between a man and his tools, especially when that guy has all the expertise in this stuff.

So that is obviously unfinished - and we want a super-dark brown to match some IKEA "black-brown" side tables we have. Apparently that's really difficult though - neither Lowe's nor Home Depot had anything really close. But the guy at Lowe's tried to custom mix something for us - and it didn't turn out too bad. But first... there was primer.





And then there was paint!





So it's actually a little darker in person and will look even darker when it is in our poorly lit living room. It is currently drying (and will do so overnight) and then I might put another coat on it tomorrow if I feel like it. Or it might be done. I'm not sure yet. And the finish is actually a little nicer than the pics make it look. The top edge is routed all the way around with a 1/8" rounded edge. Definitely cleans it up.

Obviously I'll follow this up with an "installed" pic... but worst case if I don't like it, we scrap it and we're out about $40 and I make something else. And if it really works out well, I plan on making some sort of CD tower to replace the one we have that really isn't holding as much as it needs to.

 

looks nice

 

Not sure why I was in the Miami forum when I posted this...

 

Thanks jct. I ended up putting a third coat on the upward facing surfaces and sides last night. I'll probably put it in place later today when I get home from work.

 

Now it looks like I need a bigger TV...

 

Lol, Nice job on it! pretty professional how you designed it yourself and actually set off making it i woulda stopped after the design phase and never get around to making it haha props

 

looks good, nice yob

 

Thanks! Ya, I may have had the design laying around for a couple weeks but thought to look for some MDF while we are at Home Depot the other day - they happened to have it so I grabbed it while I was there. Just good timing.

 

That is frikkin' awesome.

 

definitely need a bigger TV.

ive got a sharp 46....LOVE IT.

1080p 120hz baby

 

A bigger tv is "on the list" if you will... I got that 32" last summer some time.

I get discounts on TVs through work too. We make the glass that goes in them (Corning Incorporated) so we get discounts on most of the manufacturers - including Sharp.