How to complete your home theatre with an entertainment unit

Types of Entertainment Unit

There are actually a number of different pieces to choose from; we have outlined the main ones below. If you have a flat screen television that you would like to mount, this can be achieved either inside the unit or on a purpose-built feature back panel or mounted on the wall behind it if it is suitable.

• Entertainment Centres - Also known as wall units, entertainment centres are large pieces of furniture that often contain drawers, cabinets and shelving to store and display a wide array of items, and sometimes even workstations.
• Media Units - Also known as TV consoles or stands, these are quite long depending on your wall length (with the television placed on top) and cables running through a bench top cable outlet, and generally feature additional storage in the form of drawers, shelving and cabinets, these can be built in, floating look, or freestanding with legs or kicker.
• Media Chests/Armoires - This slender furniture takes up less floor space and, instead, use vertical space. Armoires feature doors to hide the television equipment away and sometimes the TV as well, whilst chests resemble tall dressers, the TV can pop up with an ergo motion lift out of this piece of furniture and it is often placed at the end of a bed.

Entertainment Unit Styles

There are also a number of different styles of unit to choose from; it is important that you choose one that matches your existing décor. Begin by identifying the room’s style and start the selection process from there. Popular styles include:

• Contemporary pieces are often manufactured using two pack poly matt or satin paint finishes in your color choice. They feature clean and crisp lines with very little ornamentation, but often include lighting for ambient or dramatic effect.
• Modern pieces also feature clean and crisp lines, but you will find that this style of furniture is often manufactured from timber veneer or timber grain laminates, and with stone or concrete look accents.
• Traditional pieces generally feature capping at the top, with Victorian profile doors and panels and sometimes timber bench tops to add warmth or tie in with floorboards for that classic look to align with the period of your home.
• Country or Hampton Style entertainment units are usually made of a lighter coloured timber veneer or feature a distressed painted or whitewashed finish for that rustic look, and often have a simpler profile door such as a shaker style, or tongue 'n' groove paneling, sometimes with black feature handles.

Placement of Entertainment Units

Where you ultimately place the unit will depend upon your lounge room's layout, the location of power and cable outlets, and plenty of other factors. There are, however, some general rules of thumb that you should follow:

• In front of a window is not the ideal location for a centre, as the backlighting will make it difficult to see the screen and you're blocking natural light from entering the room. If your power or cable outlets happen to be below a window, run some extra cable to a different wall. For the ideal viewing location, try to centre the middle of your entertainment unit with the middle of the largest seat in the room. This is generally the couch; if you have an L-shaped one, line the television up with the longest seating side of the couch.

   

Are you ready to design the perfect unit for your home? It's time to partner with Spaceworks. Our team of skilled interior designers and architects will work with you to create a finished piece that perfectly meets your needs and complements home.