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2.12.2013

entertainment center



Today I have a special guest post for you... from my husband! He built us this amazing and unique tv unit for our family room and is going to tell you all about it! Here goes...

A post from Adam:
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The wife has been bugging me to write a little something on the newest addition to our home: our TV
“Command Center” (as I like to call it). We recently hung our TV on the wall (when we noticed our existing stand bowing under the weight of the TV). After that was done, it was time to focus on the entertainment center itself.

We have had this project planned for awhile but never could find a piece that we liked. We looked at Ikea, Overstock.com, and several antique shops but never found something to fit our tastes and our components. So for Christmas I asked for a Kreg Jig and my project started to take life.

The first thing that was really important to us was hidden wires. When I was a kid, I remember hiding wires (you could call it OCD) because I hated seeing them. Hiding the TV and component wires included putting in a new receptacle and a low voltage box behind the TV (to be able to put all of our wires through the wall instead of dangling under the TV).

                     BEFORE                                                NOW HIDDEN IN THE CABINET

Before diving in, something to take into consideration when building furniture is symmetry. Our TV is fairly large, a 50” plasma, so it can really be an eye sore in a room (according to Shannon), so finding a balance between eyesore and visually appealing was my first goal. We started with a few different sketches (some more elaborate than others). 


As an engineer I like to draw things to scale, so I quickly went to my CAD program to draw it up. If you don't have a computer program, you can use a normal drafting scale (or graph paper - like Shannon did above). Drawing to scale really gives you a clear picture of the final product before ever getting out another tool. Our dimensions were very important because the shelf supports needed to fall on studs.

We had seen some really awesome pipe shelves floating around on Google images and other Blogs,
but I wanted something a little more original (and tried to take that idea to the next level). We decided to
use the steel pipe (black pipe) as our legs to get this project running. We also used steel pipe for the
shelving components. 


Getting the right configuration of pipes required a few trips to Home Depot. 


The stand itself is made of Poplar, the “construction wood” of the cabinetry industry. Poplar is usually found to be made into drawer sides and unseen components. Shannon and I try to find the beauty in everything, and we felt we found some really nice texture and color in the wood we chose. It is coated with Winmax Poly Acrylic, which is an awesome water based coating that is easy to work with
and holds up very well.


Instead of going into extreme detail on how I made it (I think there are other blogs and “how tos” out
there that really show you how to use a kreg jig and basic construction skills), I will give some hints and tricks I found to be useful. 

[1] Draw your design out TO SCALE before you start. This will give you a pretty good idea of what you're finished project will look like.

[2] Remember to use a level for everything. Lining up your boards in a kreg jig square
and level is important. Keep your important dimensions fixed and roll with everything else. In
our case, the “fixed” dimensions were the sizes of cable box/dvd player and length between studs.

[3] I have found that most of my projects don’t turn out exactly how I plan them, but they usually come out nicely. 

[4] Always choose square lumber, not bowed or warped.   Be picky about your selections.  

[5] Remember when dealing with electronics, you need to keep them cool.  Leave enough open space for air flow.  We left the majority of the bottom open,  using just enough wood for structural support and holding components.  

[6] When it comes to using the Kreg Jig, test your connections on scrap pieces of wood first. There are many helpful videos on YouTube if you need help figuring out how to use this tool.

[7] Find a style you like and mimic it or warp it to your taste. 

[8] Take a step back every once in awhile to re-measure and rethink your project. We made changes along the way that we're really happy about.

Here are are few more final pictures. Shannon is still working on "styling" the shelves and we have plans to hang a few pieces of art in the near future. 

 

Hopefully our little project gives you some ideas to take your creation to the next level. Thanks for reading.

-Adam (The Barefoot Husband)
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I am in love :) My favorite part is the "nook" for our basket of blankets. That was my "must have" in this project. Come Spring time... that little chair to the right of the entertainment center is going to get a major overhaul. Fun fabric and a bright color maybe!? We'll see!

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[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

31 comments:

  1. I couldn't wait to see what that bucket of pipes was gong to end up as!! Wow!! What a great design and functional too! I love that Adam guest wrote for you and all his useful tips!
    I'm not sure what a Kreg Jig is but I am sure there is one in our garage!!

    Beautiful! (and great work Barefoot husband!)

    ~ Darlene

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  2. That looks really good! I love the black pipe, and I just recently added a black-pipe-shelf in my shop. Nice work.

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  3. This looks great! What a wonderfully sweet husband you have. Thanks for sharing such a great idea. We just upgraded our television from a huge tube television to a flat panel (a hand-me-down from my parents). We were happy just to get rid of the beast, but really dislike the look of a 'naked' flat panel. My inspiration gears are turning now.

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  4. very cool Shannon! big fan of the shelves built to fit around the TV too!

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  5. This looks really cool. I love the black pipe design - it has a very modern/industrial look the way you put it together. I'm considering some type of iron pipe shelf for our basement and will definitely keep this in mind in my pursuits.

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  6. Oh wow! That's a cool and unique entertainment center!!!

    Navy Wifey Peters @ Submarine Sunday Link Party
    http://www.usscrafty.blogspot.com/2013/02/submarine-sunday-18.html

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  7. I love this!!! I shared it on my FB page :) Thanks for linking up!

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  8. Very cool and very well thought out! Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday this week!

    Take care,

    Trish

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  9. Very very cool!

    Also, where did you find that crocheted looking ottoman? Love it too

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  10. Shannon I am new to your blog but so glad I came across your little space! This entertainment center is beautiful! It's so clean and crisp! You can never go wrong with industrial! Would love if you shared at the party tonight! xo Bridgett

    http://www.osiemoats.com/2013/02/link-up-party-2.html
    Done

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  11. LOVE IT! My boyfriend and I were going to do this sort of thing in our living room but chickened out. Maybe we'll revisit the idea now!

    You can check me out at http://Craftadon.com

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  12. This is really very cool! What a great post!

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  13. Wow! This is super amazing. I love how you added the pipes. I think when furniture is one of a kind, you can just feel all of the love that went into making it.
    Good job!

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  14. Awesome! Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday! I'll be featuring this in my DIY round-up!

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  15. Great job! I love how it hides all of those unruly wires. Thanks for sharing at Fluster's Creative Muster. Looking forward to seeing what you link up next week.

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  16. Wow! That looks fantastic! He is very talented. Thanks for sharing with us at Transformed Tuesday. Hugs, Peggy

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  17. Very cool~ Love it! Love the industrial legs! Thanks for sharing!
    Kim

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  18. Stopping by to let you know I am featuring you tomorrow on Made in a Day! Stop by and grab a Feature Button! You deserve it! Great job Adam!
    Kim

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  19. Love this!! Featuring you and your "Barefoot Husband" today at Think Tank Thursday.

    http://www.saving4six.com/2013/02/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-18.html#comment-form

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  20. WOW! This is amazing!! I just love it. Your before looks like ours...but with a little clutter stacked around it. Hubby keeps bugging me to decorate. Little does he know that he's going to need to help! LOL! Love this!!!! Thanks for sharing this at my Pin Me Linky Party.

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  21. Thanks so much for sharing last week at the Humble Brag! LOVE THIS and am featuring you tonight on the blog and also pinned it. :)

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  22. I LOVE it... TV Command Center! Perfect name :) And your hubby wrote the post, how fun is that!

    Thanks for sharing at last weekend's link party @The Weekend re-Treat!

    Hope we'll see you again this week!

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  23. LOVE! We've been trying to find a good tv unit to hide all of our wires :( guess we're just gonna have to make our ow too! But y'alls looks fabulous!

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  24. Your entertainment system is amazing! Go you! I've pinned it.

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  25. What a great DIY! Saw you over at Fox Hollow Cottage, and I had to stop by! Life to the full! Melissa

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  26. So cool!! I love the industrial look and the poplar natural grain warms it up. I HATE seeing wires too. Love your solution. Visiting from Fox Hollow Cottage. -K

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  27. I was so tickled to feature this and I've been pinning and sharing it. Such a wonderful project and tutorial!!

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  28. it's awesome collection of modern entertainment center tv for home. I like you blog post. keep it up !!!

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  29. We love black pipe and the contrast with the poplar is really nice. The clean lines and asymmetry make it a very cool piece!

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  30. Love black pipe and it looks so nice next to the poplar. Very modern and clean - nice job!

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