Our client had a custom built maple entertainment center with tall cabinets on the left and right, and a media console in the center to hold the TV. With the new wide-screen TV he replaced the center cabinet. Great idea, but the original cabinet makers were no longer in business. The first (relatively inexpensive) replacement didn't match the existing cabinets. I was asked to try again. This is the final result.

The piece we made was the 50 inch wide center cabinet, with two drawers, half the total height (as specified), two sections for electronics that are the other half of the height, and a flat top where the existing speaker stand and TV could be placed. With the front totally open, ventilation was not an issue.

The original cabinets were fine, except that the legs were not made from maple, thus didn't match. And as you can see, the style of the first replacement cabinet for the center didn't match at all.

While we were making legs for the new center cabinet, we also made maple legs to replace those on the original side cabinets. I think we did pretty well matching the style of the original cabinets. These pictures were taken the day the cabinet was installed - we expect the maple to darken slightly so the color will match as well.

This entertainment center was a fun design challenge. The homeowners normally watched TV at one end of a long narrow living room. A couple easy chairs were near a fairly deep alcove in the side of the room. The plan was to normally keep the TV in the alcove, convenient for viewing by two people. If a larger group wanted to watch TV, pull the TV out, visible from the whole living room. The TV would be on a rolling cart that could be stored (and used) in the alcove, or rolled out for group viewing. Casters were hidden under the cart (minimal clearance to roll on the hardwood floors) The associated electronics were on a shelf under the TV, with media or other storage in the drawers.

When the TV was in the alcove, there was room for additional bookcase storage. To make best use of the available space, tall bookshelves were put on the side of the alcove (rather than the back). The bottom portion of the bookshelves, which would be blocked by the TV cart, can be accessed for storing long items through doors on the front - what might be called the side of the bookcase. In this photo, the TV cart is partially forward. A picture will eventually go on the wall, above the TV, between the bookcases.