Contemporary Floating Enterainment Center

Today I installed a small project for a child's room. The idea was a built-in unit to house a game system and DVD player, plus provide storage for games, DVDs and controllers.

This is a client I've worked with before, they have a taste for contemporary furniture. Their son, whose room this unit is for, is just entering adolescence, so they will be getting rid of all his old "children's" furniture and buying a new bedroom suite. They wanted a built-in cabinet that would look cool and be easy to match to furniture on the market in both color and style, while still coordinating with other built-ins I've done throughout the house.

After some discussion, they opted for black stained oak finish, which is easy to match with furniture pieces, and a simple, slightly softened contemporary design. They specifically wanted the unit to 'float' above the carpet to match a vanity I built elsewhere in the house.

Here's the approved CAD design (I didn't use black for the CAD because it makes details difficult to see)

This view shows the drawers open to reveal dividers to accommodate DVDs and video games. The dividers are removable.
Holes in the back and bottom of the upper compartments allow for wiring which will eventually be run behind the drywall up to a wall-mounted TV, centered above the cabinet. Free-floating shelves may also be added to the space.

The drawers are 16" deep with full-extension glides, leaving 2" behind them inside the cabinet to accommodate wiring and power. The bottom of the cabinet is open to allow airflow to help cool components.

Since the TV will be wall mounted above the unit, the counter top becomes a display area for books, trophies, photos or whatever else a teenage boy wants to put there. Unlike a full height 'armoire' style unit (which was removed to make room for the new cabinet) the low profile of this cabinet does not dominate the room and allows greater flexibility in using the space.