apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The Alu Media Wall looks pretty sweet, too bad I already installed my television. This would have saved me a lot of hassle though. Price is about right too.

http://dwr.com/images/zoom/zm_8866_10.jpg
That's almost the exact color of my wall, though my floors don't look as sexy as the one shown in the photo.

If you are going to have a bench/console/table right in front of the TV anyway, why mount it at all? Why not save yourself even more hassle and put it in a stand and set it on the bench?

i want an AT:Toronto. who's with me?

Archie, I'm sure my toddlers would find a way to knock it off the bench.

Furthermore, the TV would be likely to be at the incorrect viewing height (or it would be for the kind of credenzas I like and bought) and you have an issue of where to mount the center speaker.

Thats right Archie, and if your going to have that bench in front of the TV then why dont you save your money and by a regular fat back television. Hey and instead of buying that glorified bench/wall, why don't you ditch the combination and just get a simple television stand

All I am saying is why cause all of that hassle to mount a TV 6 inches above a bench? Is a stand really that bad?

As an AV guy who has actually designed systems as a business I think this is a great solution. There are certain types of installations where this is exactly what the client wants. They want the look of a floating TV panel but they can't or don't want to rip open their walls (renters for instance).

In many modern spaces a cabinet big enough to raise the TV to a good viewing height would look out of place. This gives you a nice low-slung look while still keeping the TV at a nice height. Most TV stands can only raise the TV a few inches without requiring some sort of wall anchor to keep them from being unstable.

Would I use this in an installation where the client was serious about surround sound? Probably not, because the center speaker would look odd on the platform. But for people wanting a nice simple setup a self contained system like this would be great.

In NYC, the cost of mounting a TV to the wall (cost of mount, electrical, materials, labor) would probably be at least $650-$700. For $1400 I think this is a pricy solution, but a fairly elegant one.

i don't get it, why buy a piece if furniture that may become obsolete. put the flat screen on a wall or stand that sits on a beautiful piece of wood furniture for a rich warm look, and can still be used when flat screen tv's are replaced by the next technology.

patrick, the next technology - be it OLED or SED (the current front runners in the next gen race) - will be flat panel in form factor. Projectors will always remain niche products.

BTW, I agree with all you said again Max.

I have also thought about an AT: Toronto. It would be great to see Canadian prices and local products.

I have been looking for something like this, but without the bench in front. I would love to mount my flat screen at a higher level than my current long and low console. Anyone seen a mount that is as thin as this one, without the bench, so that it would go behind a piece of furniture. I have pictures a large "L" shape, with with the bottom of the L going underneath the existing furniture, and the side of the L going up the wall. Not sure if I am explaining this clearly, but has anyone seen something like this?

I should have mentioned, I am a renter, so I cannot mount the TV directly on the wall.

This was my dilemma when I moved into my 125 year old unit. Because it was an older building, there were no studs to attach my cantilevered moving arm mount that I searched months for. I hated the idea of a bench or piece of furniture in my modern space, and I couldn’t find a piece that I could live with. With the TV along a shorter wall, I needed something that would allow me to move the TV to face my viewing area but also move back along the wall when I was not using it.

I finally came upon the often sold-out Shadowbox Media Stand from CB2. And it just so happened that the day I was looking for it to pick up where my mount left off, a truck with several units were scheduled to arrive that afternoon. I reserved and paid for one and scheduled delivery for that Saturday. The dark chocolate color matched the color of my existing 6-foot long lowboy that houses all of my home theater components. It was also the perfect height for viewing and the same height as the lowboy. I just now need to figure out what to do with the extra shelves in the media stand, as my home theater handles all the audio and visual switching.

If anyone wants to see the set up, let me know and I’ll snap an insta-matic for you.

Grendel, I've not seen anything like that. However, I would propose the following solution. Find a local metal working shop and have them custom weld a frame for you. Make sure there are a few supports that you can attach your plasma mount to.

The shop should be able to essentially make an L shape with some small metal gussets at the bend of the L for stability. I doubt this would cost much at all.

Then you have a few options:

1. Get the whole thing powder coated and have a nice industrial looking object.

2. Have the metal shop fabricate a sheet-metal overlay for the frame with holes knocked out to run wires through. Think of it like a metal slipcover.

3. Make a fabric slip cover (be sure to check the heat output of your TV before this!) for the frame.

Max, thanks for the great suggestions! Anyone recommend a metalworker in Brooklyn who would do a small job like this? I live in Carroll Gardens.

Thanks!

Regarding that L shaped piece of furniture. My parents made me a headboard like that out of plywood. For various reasons, I wanted something sturdier than a headboard attached to the frame, mostly because our bed is not up against a wall and we like to sit up and read, etc. Plus I needed something tall enough to serve as a partial room divider to help break up the space. They sanded well and painted it with Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel Gloss White and it looks great. Something similar could easily be done for a flat screen by inserting cutouts for the wiring and mounting. There are small wood braces in the L but they are also gloss white and not noticeable.