Our little HGTV (or is it HDTV?) Project

Well it was inevitable, we finally upgraded to HDTV. The problem was that our entertainment center wasn't adequately sized to accomodate the new TV. Our old 30" CRT unit fit fine, but the 52" LCD was never going to make it. The entertainment unit was a "gimme" when we bought the house, we just repainted it to get rid of the dark red color.

Debbie had a vision of what we could do, and I had to make it happen. So we separated the three pieces and took the center main piece out to the garage for "surgery". I cut the top section off first. Then I took the top half and cut it down to make two side storage areas (one for the sub-woofer speaker and the other for the Mac that serves as a media center). Next was to add a new countertop. Deb painted the whole thing in black.

Next it was returned to it's center spot and reattached to the side units. Then a new "bridge" was placed at the top. Decorative mouldings were added top and bottom. LED lights went into the top display areas on each side and behind the screen.

The photos below show the before and after. Net cost was about $150 to convert instead of about $2000 to buy a new unit that wouldn't have had the custom features. All the A/V equipment is in the lower are behind the doors, remote control is via radio so the doors can stay shut. A cooling fan keeps it all comfortable and happy.

Below is a "before" view of the unit. The area with the two closed doors was cut off...


Here's the "after".


A more direct view.


Time for a movie...