Ask The Expert
February 15, 2011Line of Sight: What is it and Why is it Important
March 1, 2011A media room is a place in your home that could benefit from the addition of cabinetry. Are you ready to dedicate an entire room to an entertainment area? Or are you looking to make your current family room/media room hybrid a more functional space? Either way, we offer design and cabinetry solutions that will make a difference. Like the kitchen, a media room is a space where we are likely to spend a lot of our time when we are at home, so installing cabinets serves to both organize the space and provide aesthetic appeal. After all a media room is full of equipment, right? DVDs and CDs (and their cases), wires and chargers, books and manuals, not to mention all of the high-tech toys themselves: gaming consoles and controllers, media players and remote controls, speakers…the list goes on and on. Looking for ideas? Read on!
DVDs and CDs
Even today, when downloading movies, music, and television shows is more popular than ever, we all still have scads of CDs and DVDs—and their cases—infiltrating our tabletops and jumbled in drawers. You can choose traditional, ready-made entertainment system storage or you can “steal” from cabinets intended for the kitchen; pull out trays and shallow drawers can be repurposed for CD storage. Kitchen cabinets come in such a wide range of customizable options—sizes, door options, adjustable shelving, slides—it’s a shame to limit their versatility to just one room of the house.
Speaker cabinets
Speaker cabinets don’t just keep your speakers in one place; after all, it’s not like they are just going to get up and walk away if you don’t have them in a cabinet! No, a good quality speaker cabinet enhances the look and design of your media room while also improving the sound quality. There are many factors that go into choosing the right speaker cabinet: type of speaker, room size and shape, and preferred speaker placement/location. Our designers are happy to discuss your options to help you make the best decision to optimize the sound in your media room.
Dimensions
You know that old saying, “Measure twice, cut once”? It’s an old adage for a reason. Designing a media room requires that you meticulously measure each component. What good is a cabinet or an entertainment system if it’s too small for the thing(s) it’s built to house? Before you fall in love with, and buy, a cabinet or set of cabinets you need to be armed with the dimensions of every TV, every DVD player and game console, and every projector you want to install. And keep in mind that technology is growing at a rapid pace, so it’s important to plan for the future. Over the years you will upgrade and add equipment to your media room toy box, so keep an eye toward the future when you are in the planning process. Considering where you might want to take the room a few years down the road can help you make important design decisions now. Bring in photos from magazines or websites that will help our designers create the look you are going for.
Designing a media room can seem like a daunting task but our designers and sales professionals at Cabinets & Designs are ready to help. Whether you are working on a remodel in your existing home or you are starting from scratch with new construction, we can work within your budget to create a room that is comfortable and functional.