TV Stand
Buying a TV stand to match your television is often overlooked in terms of importance. Not only does your TV stand have to look good, it has to be suited to the size and style of your new TV, be it 32”, 50” or even bigger, as well as the weight, is it a brand new state of the art, light weight, thin LCD TV, a slightly older, slightly heavier LCD TV or a good old CRT television.
Design and Material
Design is normally number one on a buyers list when they shop for a new TV stand. How it looks and what material its made of are of great importance to how the stand is going to suit the room its going to be occupying for the foreseeable future. The last thing we want is for the stand to be totally out of place, a modern black glass TV stand in an old country cottage, or the opposite, a traditional oak TV stand in a ultra modern apartment. Clearly this is what we're trying to avoid. As unlikely as it seems, the materials and the construction even have an effect on picture quality. There are many of different details which we will be having a closer look at later.
Dimensions
While considering the design of your new TV stand you have to take into account the space that the stand is going to be occupying. If your 1 bedroom apartment isn't particularly big do you really want a 60” TV with a matching stand taking up all of the space in your living room? Of course the dimensions of the stand have to match that of the TV. A stand too narrow for your TV and you risk having your lovely TV end up on the floor when the stand buckles under the weight. Choose a stand that's too big and you lose out on all important living space. Although having a stand too big for your TV will make it the focal point of your room, should you wish it.
You have to take depth into account here as well, not so much with new LCD TVs, but with older CRT televisions you don't want the deep TV hanging off the front or back of the stand and risk it falling off, its fairly unsightly too.
Features
Most if not all LCD TVs come with the ability to be mounted on a wall, this is a potential feature of many designs. To have the effect of being wall mount but without drilling holes in your wall and having wires running all over the place is ideal. It also leaves you plenty of space on the TV stand for your DVD/Bluray player, games console Etc. Some stands come with multiple adjustable shelves which may be a bonus for you, maybe the amplifier you have for your surround sound system is taller than the average DVD player or maybe its the centre speaker of the surround sound system itself that's tall, will they fit on your stand? If the shelves can be moved it certainly will!
Another potential useful feature could be casters or wheels on the bottom of the stand. Perhaps you're having friends over for a party and the TV needs to be out of the way, either moved across the room or moved out the room entirely. Casters as going to save you a lot of trouble, moving the TV and everything that goes along with it in one move!
Making A TV Stand
Shopping for home theatre equipment can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of possible configurations of television, DVD player, amplifier and speakers to consider before you even start thinking about brands, or worse yet – setting it all up neatly.
One of the key parts of your home theatre setup is also one that is surprisingly often overlooked, or picked solely on the basis of cost – your TV stand. There are plenty of good models around, that will cater to any system, but one of the more satisfying options for a home handyperson is to make your own stand!
If you do want to try making your own TV stand, there are a few basic tools you will need. A cordless drill with a screwdriver bit will be indispensable, as will a jigsaw if you have one. If you have access to a table saw you will have no problems cutting wood to size, but if not your hardware store may be able to cut most of your wood to size to save some time.
Before you start planning, consider the style of your theater seating and other furniture. If you have fairly traditional or rustic styled seats, a stained wood TV cabinet with beveled edges and ornate trim might fit the bill; for contemporary furniture you may be better off either constructing your TV stand out of laminated particle board, which comes in a range of colors, or using wood and painting with a gloss enamel afterwards. If you are really creative, and handy with your tools, there are even options to use alternative materials like Perspex, or checker plate steel. If you are taking this route, try auto supply stores – many sell a plastic based version of checker plate, used for decoration.
For a simple wooden TV stand, you will need:
- Plywood or particle board for the sides
- Sturdy pine for the legs and rails
- Sturdier wood for the top and shelves (using interlocking floorboards is cheaper than buying one larger board)
- Dowels for joining
The basic design is simple – start by cutting four posts to the height you want your stand to be. Then, cut four rails to fit between these, top and bottom for each. Lay out these pieces on your work surface to make 2 rectangular shapes. Now, start joining these frames together by drilling matching holes for the dowel joints, and fitting the dowels in these holes with some wood glue to secure them. Clamp or put pressure on the joints while they dry. You should end up with two frames, which can now be joined together by the addition of two more rails for the left and right sides to make a cube. Now, it is just a matter of using wood screws to attach the sides and top of the TV stand. For a professional finish, countersink these screws and use some wood putty to fill in the holes afterward. Voila! A professional quality, homemade TV stand is yours – with only a half day work and well under $100 in costs. All that remains is stain and varnish, and enjoy your new stand.