Wall units and entertainment centers are some of the most popular furniture pieces for homes today. As the field of home entertainment technology has grown, furniture manufacturers have done a good job in keeping up with its display and storage needs. Whether you want to display your home entertainment equipment or hide it, there are stylish furniture choices that will be right for you. Today’s furniture comes in many different styles and sizes because televisions themselves have changed in size and shape, becoming wider, flatter, and thinner.

Wall Units And Entertainment Centers Planning

When planning how to display, store and use your electronic entertainment media at home, it is wise to start by making a complete inventory of all the equipment you have currently, as well as listing any you plan to add in the near future. Once you have a clear picture of what you need to house and store, you can begin to search for wall units and entertainment centers that can accommodate your electronics where they are easily accessed for use.

Do you want to have storage in the same furniture units as your equipment for DVDs, videos, CDs and other entertainment media?  Look for entertainment units with this necessary storage. Look for an expandable furniture piece, such as an entertainment wall. Some furniture manufacturers design systems with expandability to accommodate televisions from 45 inches in width to 67 inches, allowing you to purchase a newer, wider screen television in the future without having to get a new wall unit.

Check for manufacturers who integrate convenient hook up systems in their units to provide ease in adding new electronic components.  Such integrated cord management systems offer you several advantages besides being easy to hook up. The system selected keeps cords neat and out of the way and out of sight. Some wall units and entertainment centers include integrated surge protectors within them to shield the electronics from voltage spikes and surges of power. As an added bonus, these manufacturers may also make other matching furniture pieces such as tables or a cabinet so that you can coordination other style elements in the room with your entertainment storage furniture.

Measure, Select, Install and Organize Your Wall Units And Entertainment Centers

Older furniture pieces manufactured for electronics are not configured to accommodate today’s wide screen televisions. Measure all your electronics pieces carefully so you can choose furniture with the right shelf space for each. Be sure to measure the:

• Television
• DVD player
• Audio equipment
• Gaming Season
• VCR
• Speakers
• Surround Sound System

Also measure the room in which you will use all your equipment. Your furniture piece (or pieces) should fit the wall where you want them arranged. Do not choose wall units and entertainment centers that are so large no room remains for moving around them to turn equipment on and off and store and retrieve your media. The furniture should offer ventilation because electronics can generate a great deal of heat that needs to be able to dissipate.

Make sure there are plenty of electrical outlets where your equipment will be placed. If you plan to use WebTV and TiVo you also need to place it near a phone jack. When installing your equipment, label all the wires with the name of the equipment to which they belong. Use colored ties to bind related wires together for less clutter and easy identification.

Furniture For A Practical Use

Today’s manufacturers build large wall units, hardwood pieces, flat screen centers, modern and contemporary designs, and units with lots of storage.  Electronic entertainment equipment can easily be housed in wall units and entertainment centers that blend with and compliment any home décor style.  Furniture manufacturers create such furniture in a variety of finishes and hardware.

You can select pieces finished in oak solids and selected oak veneers, a cherry finish with brushed nickel hardware, antique brass hardware to compliment warm pecan veneers, and rubbed black and white surfaces with accents such as raised door panels, beehive cabinet glass, and brass draw pulls and door knobs. Whether your personal home décor is modern, minimalist, elegant, country or traditional, there is an entertainment furniture piece that is just right for your needs.

Lane is a well known manufacturer of quality mid-priced furniture. Among their wall units and entertainment centers, they offer their Showtime Entertainment Center that comes with removable shelves and inner sides to accommodate today’s large televisions. Two sliding doors hide two pull-out drawers that are outfitted with DVD/CD trays inside.

There are also removable partitions for the drawers when you want to store game units. Lane builds ventilation slots into the back of their cabinets to cool down the electronics when they are in use. Wall cut-out holes for cords are also included. The piece is finished with a beautiful and unique curved front bow shape to beautiful display its contents. Its total overall dimensions are 74” wide by 25” deep by 72” high.

Another manufacturer’s Walnut Creek wall units offer impressive storage capacity in a nice traditional style of maple veneers and a warm hand-applied finish. One four piece unit includes a console, two side piers with decorative wood and glass doors, and a fixed bridge piece that offers more storage over the television.  This large unit measures 116” by 19” by 84”. Two other Walnut Creek wall units and entertainment centers include another four piece center with smaller overall dimensions and small bookshelf side piers and an impressive six piece center with a console, a fixed bridge, two side pier cabinets and two side pier bookshelves with drawers that is 150” by 19” by 84” in size.

When making your selection, be sure the pieces are solid and steady, the drawers open smoothly and the doors align and open easily. Choosing furniture with adjustable shelves will make it easy to incorporate new electronics into your wall units and entertainment centers in the future.