Compact TV stands and corner TV stands are convenient in smaller apartments, dorm rooms and offices, but even large homes can benefit from the clean look and discreet presence. Lately, television consoles, stands and storage racks have been entertaining updated designs, sporting storage for your media essentials in models that are tastefully coordinated to the rest of your furniture. And with more people upgrading to leaner flat panel televsions, they are seeing that the smaller size of a TV stand is all they need. This TV stand buying guide will help you choose how to buy a TV stand that supports your TV without taking anything from the look and feel of your living room furniture.
The furniture industry usually reserves the term "entertainment center" for the largest and TV cabinets, big enough for the television, a cadre of audio or video components and a full CD-DVD collection. TV stands tend to be smaller than full entertainment centers, while still having enough shelves for a few components and some media storage. For smaller homes, or for smaller rooms in larger homes, a TV stand may be all the furniture you need.
Whatever style you choose, be aware of the dimensions of your room and your television. If you have a flat screen TV, depth won't be an issue because the TV stand will be deeper than the television. If you have a traditional CRT television, buy an entertainment stand that's deep enough so the TV won't hang over the front or back, a mistake that's both unsightly and hazardous.
Small television consoles are ideal if the TV set is the only thing you want to prop up, but if you want to spread out, choose a console TV cabinet. Extra-wide TV consoles provide plenty of display space on which to place ceramic vases, photos of family and friends or a couple of add-on speakers.
Your TV stand's height should be based on preference, but consider this rule of thumb: Position your TV so the lower half of the screen is level to your TV-viewing sight-line. If you have tall chairs, consider getting a tall TV stand; if you prefer a low couch, then a short TV cabinet would be a better choice.
As for shelves, TV entertainment centers usually come with at least one or two, but they can feature as many as six or eight. Find something that supports your media library. A TV stand with adjustable shelves allows you to tailor the configuration to your audio-video components and distinguish a CD shelf from a DVD shelf.
TV hutches
Hutches, traditionally, are television stands that are enclosed; they have doors or drawers for hiding electronics components from view. These are especially popular among those who want to keep their television from being the focal point of their furniture.
TV consoles and credenzas
Consoles and credenzas make excellent entertainment stands, being fairly short (around 30 inches tall or less) and wide enough to support most any television. One of the best features of consoles and credenzas is the storage space. If you need something to house a television along with other living room essentials like blankets and throw pillows, a TV credenza is a fantastic solution. TV consoles and credenzas may or may not have drawers or doors, but they always feature backs and side panels, which is what distinguishes them from platforms.
Platform TV stands
Pared-down platform TV stands are designed to please your inner minimalist. Platforms feature one or more uprights for shelves, but their frames are usually free of backs, sides or doors. Glass and metal are their most common materials, though wood is also available.
Corner TV stands
Corner TV stands are designed as right triangles, so they can ease into a corner against both walls. They make perfect sense for small living rooms and give you the most entertainment bang for your buck. You can find a corner TV stand built to the specifications of an a console TV stand or a platform TV stand.
Wood TV stands
For any TV stand, solis wood is the best, but not the only, choice:
Hardwoods -- such as oak, maple, cherry, teak, mahogany and ebony -- are premium woods, generally harder to work and more attractive, which means they're more expensive. If you can afford it, a lasting wooden TV stand makes an excellent investment.
Softwoods -- including pine, spruce, cedar, fir and redwood -- are lower in price, but not necessarily softer. "Hard" and "soft" are actually genetic descriptives; balsa wood, for example, is a hardwood. Solid wood's decorative upside is the grain, and a beautiful grain -- in an attractive plasma TV stand, for example -- can be very complementary. Be sure to devote a little time to proper upkeep, and your solid wood media stand will last generations.
Wood veneer is made by gluing thin strips of real wood to a substrate. Premium woods are used to cover less expensive woods and engineered wood products. The appearance can be just as good as solid, but it's much less expensive, which is why modern TV stands make frequent use of veneer. After all, an attractive discount TV stand is something everyone can enjoy.
Engineered woods include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), medium density fiberboard (MDF) and other products. Often made from mill waste, wood scraps and other materials that would otherwise end up in the trash, they are glued and bonded into sheets. These environmentally-friendly, recycled products reduce the need for tree cutting and, in some ways, are better than solid wood because they cost less and do not warp.
Metal TV stands
In metal TV stands, stainless steel is the alloy of choice, though aluminum and brass can be found occasionally. A stainless steel TV stand won't rust, and it takes both powder coating and chrome plating extremely well, which means it's available in a variety of attractive finishes. A sleek, modern TV stand built from steel provides the perfect accent to the high-tech audio and video components on its shelves.
Glass TV stands
Glass is used mostly in shelves but occasionally in doors. Regular glass (or "annealed glass") shatters into large, knife-sharp fragments, making it unsuitable for furniture. Heat-treated glass (or "toughened glass") is twice as strong as annealed. Tempered glass, treated with heat and chemicals, has four to six times the strength of annealed. When it shatters, it forms tiny, cube-like bits instead of large shards. Tempered glass is the best choice in any glass TV stand. Tempered glass should always be clearly marked, so be sure you are getting the safety and durability you deserve.
Every kind of television stand needs regular dusting, and some need a little more than that. Steel and glass television stands should be cleaned with commercial glass and general home cleansers when necessary, which might be once or twice a year. Wooden TV stands tend to be finished with stain, lacquer or shellac. Each finish requires specific maintenance, and some require extra care. If you treat it well, your television stand will last for years.
Swivel
If you have a large room, like to switch from couch to chair and your television isn't too large, then you might enjoy a TV stand with a swivel. Swivels also come in handy for reducing glare. If you want the stand close to the wall, you will get a greater range of motion by making it a boxy CRT stand instead of a flat widescreen stand. Just point the television wherever you want and enjoy the picture.
Casters
Wheels, often attached to smaller TV cabinets, allow you to transfer your TV stand from room to room whenever you need to do so.
How can I clean up my cables?
Between the TV itself and the accessories, you might have the feeling that you're dealing with miles of cables and cords. In some TV entertainment centers, you can snake the cables through tubes almost invisibly. These tubes are called "cable management systems" and they're a noteworthy feature, especially on console TV stands or platform TV stands with open designs.
Is it going to be hard to assemble?
A lot of furniture requires assembly, and one way to make it easier is to have someone help. A second person to help you lift heavier pieces and to help figure out the instructions can make the project go much more quickly. If you are really worried about assembling furniture, you may want to search for pieces that come fully or mostly assembled.
Fill your shelves with the latest gadgets
What's a TV cabinet without out a TV and a Blu-Ray player? It's just not the same. Of course, the latest electronics carry the highest price tags, but you can drop in on the Overstock.com electronics store for clearance-sale-every-day prices on enough home entertainment products to satisfy anyone.
There's nothing on TV!
Everybody feels that way sometimes. But now you can do something about it. From Hollywood classics of the 1930s and 40s to your favorite program's latest season, documentaries, music performances, cartoons and more, you can stock your TV cabinet or media cabinet shelves without emptying your wallet in the Overstock.com entertainment store.
A place to relax
Nothing beats relaxing with family and friends and watching a DVD, especially if you have comfortable living room furniture. Here on Overstock.com, we have chairs, sofas and loveseats that you will love to stretch out on while you're having movie night. Just add popcorn for a perfect evening.
