Good Questions: Entertainment Center Alternatives?

2008_05_02 wall unit.jpg

I need A.T. help! I was shopping at Walmart the other day (yes, gasp horrors), and finally found the entertainment center I've been looking for. Not too big, lots of storage, doesn't look like a box. The price was right (130$), the color was right (dark wood, brownish black), but then I looked a little closer. The "finish", and I use the word loosely here, is essentially paper glued to whatever composite sawdust construct the thing is built out of. I have no problem with mdf, etc, but I do have a problem with furniture with a tearable finish. I have been unable to find anything of a similar design, affordable or not. Can anyone help?

Thanks,
Cecily

Thanks for the question Cecily. I'm not sure how you feel about Ikea finishes or if you are into DIY solutions, but with a little adjustment and additional components, this Lack entertainment unit could be made to look similar to what you have in the picture.

Any other suggestions for Cecily?

Comments (6)

Hm, yeah... don't shop at Walmart? Go somewhere with better business practices, unions, and, I don't know, some prioritization of quality over profit?

Why do you want such a big "entertainment center" anyway?

The Omega Wall Unit from Scandinavian Designs is very similar in appearance... but not so much price.

http://www.scandinaviandesigns.com/?page=shop/flypage&page_back=shop/category_items&offset=0&product_id=1440&category_id=1daa0d19ea4b945e437120f02c136ddd

Hope that helps

Now that you have a picture of what you want, you might look into having someone make it for you. I know many of us don't have the space for tools, but if you're handy, you could have it built and finish it yourself to save on costs.

One word -- ponoko. As in, <A HREF="http://www.ponoko.com/">ponoko.com</A>. Go there, upload your design, have them make it for you and then ship it to you.

If you can't give them a design, there are plenty of places where you can get others to do the design for you. You can even host design competitions, and take the best.

I just purchased the "Besta" unit from Ikea, which is really nice - and it was easy to set up.

<br/>

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2820/bestauo4.jpg

Sorry, forgot the link ;)