DIY: Entertainment Stand

I am so thrilled that I have the opportunity to post about my entertainment stand. I have been waiting since July to do this....I know, ...


I am so thrilled that I have the opportunity to post about my entertainment stand. I have been waiting since July to do this....I know, I am a slacker....life happens. Originally, I had envisioned a black and white piece with old-school vintage cabinet doors and lion knockers (or something similar) as handles, but due to my "budget" my plans changed....it is okay though, I am beyond happy with how it came out... at this current moment, it is the baby in my living room...my pride and joy. 


I love how functional it is and all the storage it provides. It is so sleek and it gives my living room the punch it needs. Believe it or not, since it wraps around the wall it makes my room feel more spacious and cohesive than before. Here is a reminder of how my living room looked before the small remodel. My other TV stand, although not as wide was deeper and made my room feel small and disproportionate. 

Living in a rental unit with no garage or back yard (it does have a porch) limits my opportunity to actually build something full force. Unfortunately, I lack storage so purchasing a table saw and larger tools will not happen for some time. With that said, I knew before I even purchased my materials that this DIY was going to be a semi-diy. Meaning, some of the materials purchased was already assembled. To get required length that I needed for the L-shape entertainment stand I went to my local habitat store and purchased a tall shelf and a cabinet used for a commercial office desk. Both piece were $5 each and lacked the shelving that it should have come with but were sturdy and in good condition. Although not shown, I happen to purchase 2-72" stained shelving boards from the habitat store to go inside of the cabinets. Those boards were $3 each. I mention this because I want you to be aware that you do not always have to buy new, there ARE resources out there to help aid with your DIY if you are on a budget. The only thing I purchased new for this project was the wood for the cabinet doors (the extra was used on the top of the stand and wrapped in fabric) and the 2x4 for my base. I spent a little less than $40 on that, which I think is great. The hardware and all was all thrifted from the habitat store as well. I literally spent less than $65 on this semi-DIY...I hit the jackpot. 

I believe in the past I have stated that I am not great at tutorials for the simple fact that I find it challenging for me to actually stop what I am doing to record the process. I actually tried this time. Hopefully, I can explain it in depth....


1. Measure, measure, measure your space! Determine what you would like to use as your cabinet (or base). I decided to use a bookcase and turn it sideways and a piece to an office desk. I placed my items in the space to get a feel of what work would need to be done (i.e. do I need a filler, is the fit too snug, were my dimensions off?, etc...)

2. Cut the pieces that will sit on top of stand to size. I did not want to see the line where my 2 pieces meet up or the opening in the back corner of my stand so I had pieces cut to sit on top of my stand. The opening in the back corner of my stand is where the cable runs to connect everything. The cables run from under the cabinet and meets up in the back corner....so yeah, I needed to cover that up.

3. Create your support base/toe kick/frame...whatever you want to call it. I knew that I wanted my base/toe kick to be flush with the rest of my piece so I designed the support base and had the pieces cut to match the dimensions of the cabinetry (depth wise). There was some basic math that had to be done! Basically, you just need to remember to take into account the piece of 2x4 that is flush with cabinet and the baseboards and cut the pieces that are your supports (to hold up the cabinet)t to size. For example: We know a 2x4 does not "really" measure 2x4 but if it did...say your piece is 12" deep and sits above your baseboard and your baseboard is 1" deep and you need a support to rest your cabinet on. Well you will need to take 12"(depth of cabinet)-2"(depth of 2x4)-1"(depth of base)=9". So you would cut your support 9" long and attach it with L-brackets. Note: I painted my support base white to give it a built in more cohesive look. 

4. Once you are finished creating your base, sit the cabinets right on top of it. Note: I did not need to attach the cabinets together with brackets or whatnot, they fit very comfortably and snug. However, I did have a 2" gap in the corner of one side of my cabinetry where it butts up to my fireplace...but I fixed that like a pro.  I created a filler by using scrap wood (painted white) and attaching it with L-brackets to give the cabinet a built in feel. Note: The desk cabinet has an opening on one side that allowed me to easily attach my filler to the cabinet. 

5. Step back and admire your work so far! Check the sturdiness of your pieces and make sure that everything fits snuggly.

6. Since I cut the filler myself with my handy dandy jig saw...my line was not straight so I took caulk and I caulked the gap.

7. Voila...No horrible gap to look at anymore.

8. The hard part is somewhat over! Although not shown, place your "wooden top" on top of your cabinets to hide the running of the cables to the tv. I ended up wrapping my spare wood (that was cut to size to fit the space) with fabric. This is the stage where I assembled the tv and dvd, hid the cables and put everything in place. 

9. Not shown...The hard part: measure out your openings and get your doors cut to size attach the doors with butterfly hinges. I decided to NOT paint the doors. I love the wood grain and how modern it looks. After assembling the doors, attach the handles. I made my own template for handles but you can pick one up at Lowes for under $5. 



....Voila....

You Might Also Like

2 comments

  1. Wow! This turned out awesome! And I'm loving your artwork! Thanks for linking up at Found & Foraged!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kyla for your response and for hosting a link party! Whoooohooooo....

      Delete