How to Make a Television Stand for Home Entertainment

Most homes today have a variety of home entertainment electronics in the living room. Although there are is a wide variety of TV stands on the market, it's often difficult to find one that meets your specific needs. If you make a custom built home entertainment stand everything can fit perfectly. Follow these easy steps then you'll be able to sit back and enjoy your home entertainment center.

Step 1 – Measure the Components

Measure the TV and other components that you want to place in the entertainment centre. You'll need the depth, height and width of each one in order to design the customized stand.

Step 2 – Design the Stand

Use a paper and a pencil to design your stand. Using paper with grid squares on it can be helpful to ensure that the drawing is to scale. Think about what components you will use more frequently – will the focus be on movie watching, gaming or audio? You may also want to add some space for the storage of DVDs or CDs. Consider how you want the stand to look but ensure that your design will be functional and also within your capabilities to build. Adding doors can help protect the system from accidental damage and will help hide a mess. Also, be sure the doors and unit fit in with other furniture of your home.

Step 3 – Buy the Materials

The type of material you use for your stand will depend on your personal preferences and also the other furniture in the room. When choosing materials consider the weight of the components and also the wear and tear.

Step 4 – Prepare the Materials

Once you have cut the wood for the unit to the required sizes you may want to stain and varnish it before assembling the unit. Remember to provide a section in the unit that will allow for the connection of the cables of each component. This can be easily accomplished by cutting a hole in the shelves. Or, you can also make a false back for the unit to hide all of the cables.

Step 5 – Assemble the Stand

Once the stain and varnish have completely dried you can begin to assemble the stand. Take your time with the assembly and ensure that all of the fixings are secure.

Step 6 – Install the Components

The final stage is to place all of the components in the stand and connect all of the necessary wiring. It's a good idea to plan the connections that you will use before you start to put them into the unit and ensure that you have the required number of cables. This will save you from having to disconnect anything halfway through the installation. Make sure that all of the devices are interconnected properly by testing everything thoroughly. If there are any problems it's best to fix them quickly rather than leaving them until later. It is also advisable to use a surge protecting power strip to ensure your safety and also protect the equipment from a power surge.