A Corner Entertainment Center: More Styles than you can Imagine!

I was recently shopping around for a corner entertainment center, and was surprised by the selection available. I had only seen small units before that your TV sits upon, with maybe a few shelves beneath for the dvd player, game units etc. But what I found was a lot more impressive, units ranging from full furniture pieces to the smaller units I was familiar with and everything in between. Lets take a look at some of the available styles.

One of the first units I saw, which is the type I like on a regular wall unit, is an armoire. I had no idea that you could get a corner entertainment center in an armoire style! I love being able to close off the tv, especially when it is kept in the living room. Because of the corner style, the doors fold back (versus sliding) to reveal the TV and other components. On many armoire units, the TV is kept in a cabinet on top and the components are on the bottom, so those units had four doors. Other units had just two full length doors. This is a great option if you only have room to put the TV in the corner and you are looking for a nice piece of furniture.

You can also find a full furniture piece that is not an armoire, but still a piece of case furniture with shelves, including one that goes above the television. The TV sits in the unit. The bottom part has shelves, drawers or cabinets for various components. One unit I saw that was specifically designed for the new flat panel TV style was unique because it required the TV to be connected to hang on the back wall of the unit.

Perhaps you just like the idea of having the TV in the corner, but have plenty of room. If that is the case, then you can find a corner entertainment center similar to either style above, but it also has matching shelf units on both sides to extend along the walls.

The basic “TV stand” also does not meet the convention of small stands in a corner entertainment center, the type you purchase at a massive discount store. There are some really nice stands that are full pieces of furniture in some really nice styles. One I saw that I particularly liked was made of dark wood, I believe walnut, with glass doors in the middle (for components) and three narrow drawers down both sides of the middle compartment. Some of the styles I have seen include Quaker, Mission and Dutch Modern. Others I have seen have the more modern look, with a black or silver finish and glass shelves. Of course, the stands come in varying widths, depending on what you need.

And, of course, you can just get the basic TV stand I originally thought of when I thought of a corner entertainment center. Though even some of these are better than I remember. I saw one that was taller than usual, and was labeled as being “bedroom-height”. Clever, I thought, because you do want your TV up higher when watching from bed (plus, it helps keep your dresser free for other things!). I also found some metal and wood ones that had a shelf above the TV for knick-knacks in which the metal came in different colors, such as pink, purple and blue. This is great if you let you children have a TV in their room.

So, now I have to choose,what style corner entertainment center is best for me? I just don’t know, I guess I will have to ask my husband for his opinion too!