apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

There is the furniture route and then there is the expensive route. I read on here quite a bit about problems that people can solve through technology. Belkin will soon release a device which wireless streams over HDMI (high def connection to the TV), but this will retail for about $700.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/10/belkins-flywire-does-1080p-without-wires/

While it would probably be cheaper to go with furniture, I love the uncluttered look of a big ol plasma hung on a wall.

Have you thought about using a floating shelf?

Why not just mount a floating credenza on the wall roughly 30 inches off the floor - preferably something with a combination of open shelves and enclosed storage for remotes, etc.?

It should be longer than the TV is wide, but narrower than the space between the windows.

There's not a rule that the cable box needs to be right underneath the TV. Why not have some sort of bookcase/table under the window and put it over there.

PS the TV is way too high on the wall. Lower it at least a foot.

I think some type of long credenza would like nice below the tv, but if you feel you are lacking space, and if you are going to run the cables behind the walls, why not go the extra step and run them over horizontally to a new outlet by the corner window? Then the cable box could just sit in something minimial and out of the way in the corner? Then you won't need an extra piece of furniture at all.

I would lower the tv some too. I think a credenza would be nice. If there isn't too much going on in the room visually, maybe one that is long enough to be underneath the window on the right for extra storage (who says you have to be symmetrical?).

Lack shelf from ikea hung well above the TV for cable box or they make TV mounts, google it, that will mount your cable box vertically behind the tv on the wall, but then your tv will stick out about 4 inches more. be foward thinking about when you may want to add a dvd player, apple tv, or wii. You will probably get more electronics that will plug into your tv.

One thing to keep in mind - you may want to check and see what kind of remote control technology your cable box uses. I was pleasantly surprised to find that mine uses an RF (radio frequency?) remote, not IR (infrared). This means that you don't need a line-of-sight between the remote and the box. In my case that give me the freedom to put the box in a closet behind my TV wall. The RF signal goes right through the wall and works perfectly.

The short version of the story is that if you have an RF remote, you could put the box somewhere entirely hidden, as long as you run power into it and the video output to the TV.

Or... you could put the cable box flush against the wall with the "face" of the box on the floor. That would let you hide it behind something much more shallow in depth than a component cabinet.

If it was my space I would lower the TV a little, then I would drill a hole and run the cables behind the wall. I would add a floating shelf or small scale cabinet (think Ikea's MATTILA floating glass door cabinet) to hide your components but still keep the floor open to maximize space.

...both of my options only work if you have an RF remote, obviously.

this seems like the best option to me: http://www.dwr.com/product/categories/storage/media storage/muro-media-storage-unfinished.do

it barely takes up space and all the cords will be hidden behind the unit so there's no need to have to go into the wall the hide it all. plus it canbe finished to match the wall so it vitually disappears

lets try that link again

http://www.dwr.com/product/categories/storage/media storage/muro-media-storage-unfinished.do

Get a small, white floating credenza in high gloss white. It'll be a little pop of freshness right next to the big window. And you can keep the cable box, movies, and other clutter in there without needing to bend way down to get it, like a little counter on the wall.

The TV looks really high. I would lower and get something like this- I love the detailing on the MASH Studio wall cabinet-

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/mash-studios/11845

do I pick up an asian-y decorating vibe? if so, I like those altars from Red Egg (.com). you see them everywhere now, but I still like.

yeah, and I agree that the TV needs to come down a bit

Bungalow 5 has a very nice narrow console it's open underneath, so your equipment won't be hidden away, but it's very good looking...It's called Marina. You can guide all the cords down one leg so it's not a mess.
www.bungalow5.com

I had this same dilemma. For a cheep solution (v. credenza) - I used conduit or metal pipe to hide the cables and c-clamped it to the wall with nice finishing’s at each end – it gave it an industrial look. As for my DVD player, surge protector and cable box, I placed them under a Nelson bench directly below my TV.

A DIY route would be to build a box to hide the cables and the cable box. Minimizing the dimensions would mean standing the cable box on its side, with the bottom of the unit facing the wall. It could then be covered by a box that's slightly wider than the cable box is deep, and slightly deeper than the cable box is high.

Example cable box dimensions: 18"W x 3"H x 8"D
Example DIY enclosure dimensions: 10"W x h"H x 4"D
(where h=the distance from the floor to the bottom of your TV)

So there would be 3 or 4 pieces:
1 @ 10" x h"
2 @ 4" x h"
1 @ 10 " x 4" (optional shelf for the cable box)

Top-down view of the box: ┌───┐

Coupl'a ideas..
Try Onmi-Mount http://www.omnimount.com/consumer/
They have a widevariety of ways to address this: add a shelf below, that attaches to the mount, which would support the cable box; or just a shelf, or a shelf on TOP of the TV that the cable box can site on....

And if a shelf or freestanding console....something that has its own character to fill that area and be interesting to look at...

you could try a more eclectic looking shelf..this from Greener Grass Design
http://www.greenergrassdesign.com/thorstenvaneltenmrmoonshelfbyrichardhutten.html

or from Sprout, another shelf idea:
http://store.sprouthome.com/ruwosh.html

or from Viva Terra an interesting, but narrow console
http://www.vivaterra.com/pls/enetrixp/!stmenu_template.main?complex_id_in=482007.826941.907971.2006260.page

If this was not the wall to the outside of the home you might have even been able to consider creating a recess in the wall to stick the cable box into. The wall being where it is though there is probably some installation and stuff in the way. Hang a floaty shelf, proportional or slightly longer than the TV then mix in some "art".

Take a look at the Kiva Console or Kiva Media Storage unit at Room and Board: http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product.do?method=get&id=724258&coll=378387&cat=85

We've had this same problem in the master bedroom. We solved it in the short run with a cable-suspended shelf (e.g., from Container Store or Chiasso). It really doesn't look very good, mainly because the cable box is HUGE (it's a digital cable box with DVR), so floating a shelf big enough looks really ungainly. Many options that WOULD look cool (like a LACK shelf from IKEA), really won't work if you have one of these large cable/DVR boxes.

Ultimately, I'm going to relocate the cable box out of the way somewhere. Smarthome.com is a good resource for devices that capture the remote control signal and redirect it to your component's location. We are already using an IR transmitter in our family room so that we can keep the AV components in a cabinet out of site. Since this has worked out, we will do the same in the MBR.

I have a similar situation in my home. What I and my husband did was put up wall mounted wire shelving on the wall below the tv. We were able to put all off our media equipment on those. We put a couple long and narrow wire baskets below the shelving to conceal the power strips and power supplies for the gadgets in. Wire shelving wouldn't look to bad either as it would echo the wire chairs that are already in the room.

Those wires must somehow go behind the wall or hidden by a floating shelf or credenza. Make your life a bit easier and lower that tv.

Because of the look of your furniture, I think very long and very low; from door to corner. That would be very sleek and very modern while providing a ton of storage. If you had door made of frosted glass or metal grating, the remotes would work fine and be hidden. Part of it could even serve as a window seat.

For a cost effective solution, you could hack the IKEA Expedit as series of shelves. Somewhere on this blog is one hacked into a floating credenza.

I don't think you could go wrong with this one:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80100190

i agree with vertigo. because of the wires, the DWR unit seems a good solve (esp to hide those jinky wires)... or you can drill into your wall and port them that way and have them exit below a shelf or within a credenza... no DVD player? VCR? receiver?

The cable box looks like it's not too deep, so I would get a bookshelf to place under the tv. Put the cable box either on the top, or a shelf below, drilling a hole to thread the cables behind the bookshelf. I also think your tv is too high, but I'm betting you don't want to bother remounting. If I were you, I would place the tv so it's just above the bookshelf, hiding the cables altogether.

You can hack something from Ikea - float a piece of plywood or masonite in front of the cables, attach it to the wall, and attach one or more shelves in front of it.

Looking at what I can see of your space. I feel this might spark a little interest and becomse a conversation piece.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90134104

I replicated and improved upon the DWR piece at a fraction of the cost--photos and more info here:

http://drewhuening.com/DIY_TV_mount.html

...and a fixed DWR link:

http://www.dwr.com/product/categories/storage/media%20storage/muro-media-storage-unfinished.do

http://www.decorp.com

They're a bit expensive, however they complete the "invisible" look, as you can paint over them.

-Ruth

I do agree with lowering the TV first.
The next step is to spend $99 at Costco online and buy the following:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11291519&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|93|23006|56275&N=4017840&Mo=1&pos=6&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=56275&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC11457-Cat23006&topnav=

I just installed it on my wall and It looks awesome.

Here's a good idea:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_XGRz6uWGK3I/SGfKe5VbWxI/AAAAAAAADow/M7PSruD98ck/s1600-h/18.jpg

From Ikea hackers.

Maybe you could build a slanted shelf, so that the cable box front is slanted up towards the ceiling? The remote should still work.

Or plant the cable box's bottom against the wall in one of these:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80137872
or this:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70137919

and use one of these:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10098776