To place media equipment and fit it organically into the interior, you need to think in advance about purchasing special furniture. Manufacturers offer a wide range of pencil cases, stands and walls, differing in size, shape, color, and material of manufacture. In order not to be disappointed, you need to choose a chest of drawers for a TV that will provide a good viewing angle when watching your favorite movies, will fit into the room, and will also accommodate remote controls, disks, flash drives, headphones and other small things. You should study in advance what types of structures exist and how they differ from each other.
TV chest of drawers - features of models
The TV chest of drawers is versatile and functional. It can be used in different rooms and is a small-sized furniture product. To organize storage, it is equipped with drawers, which makes it easier to access the contents.
Its purpose is the same as that of the cabinet, but these items have a number of differences.
- Dimensions. Bedside tables have more compact dimensions compared to chests of drawers.
- Parameter ratio. The width of the chest of drawers is less than the height, and the inverse relationship is typical for the cabinet.
- Equipment. For storage, the bedside table has open or closed compartments with shelves. The chest of drawers mainly consists of drawers, which provides it with large capacity.
If we consider a chest of drawers for a TV, then it should contain holes in the back wall for the output of wires, open compartments for installing related equipment.
Some models are complemented by a stand or bracket.
TV above the fireplace: to be or not to be?
In the distant past, the fireplace was the main dominant feature of the hall or living room. This is a kind of prototype of a TV, because you can endlessly watch the playing flame in a rectangular hole. In modern interiors, the TV and fireplace are malicious antagonists, defending the main role in the room, attracting attention to themselves. The best way out of the situation is to zone the living room with upholstered furniture, placing the TV and fireplace on opposite sides.
A controversial option is to place the TV above the fireplace. In this case, the monitor will be above eye level, which is not entirely comfortable for viewing. Therefore, a decision must be made in advance, at the planning stage.
Frame
The body of the product is formed by the sidewalls, the upper and lower horizons, and the rear panel.
For production use:
- wood has high performance and decorative properties. It is environmentally safe, durable, and goes well with various interior styles. The disadvantages include: significant cost and impressive weight;
- MDF exhibits similar characteristics and is cheaper. Fiberboards offer great design possibilities;
- Chipboard is a budget material with average properties. Particle boards are not designed to withstand significant loads and can become deformed. Certain categories pose a health hazard because they emit harmful substances;
- plastic helps reduce the overall weight of the structure and is practical. Its disadvantages: poor resistance to mechanical stress, increased fragility;
- glass looks stylish, visually lightens the design, and can withstand heavy loads. However, glass surfaces require frequent cleaning and careful handling;
- metal is usually used to create a frame in combination with other materials. It increases the load-bearing capacity of the product, but at the same time adds bulkiness. Such models will look appropriate only in some modern trends.
To finish the surfaces of the body, the following are used: varnish, paint, PVC film, lamination, natural veneer.
The dimensions of the chest of drawers are selected depending on the installation location and the dimensions of the TV.
- The height of floor-standing models starts from 85 cm. Wall-mounted versions are more compact.
- The length of the structure is at least 50 cm, otherwise the functionality of the product decreases. This parameter can reach 130 cm or more.
- The depth varies from 30 to 60 cm.
Types of designs and their features
Depending on the installation method, floor-standing and hanging options are distinguished.
In the initial version, the TV chest of drawers is located on the floor, in many cases next to the wall surface. It rests on legs, which determine the level of stability of the structure. There are several possible options.
- Legs that are attached to the corners of furniture. They are not able to make adjustments to possible gender differences. Supports equipped with screws and wide washers cope with this task. Thanks to the twisting, an excellent horizontal fit is achieved. The disadvantages include the ugly appearance.
- The plinth in the form of cross bars can hide the adjustment screws and provide additional support in the front. With its help, you can move furniture close to the wall without damaging the baseboard. This can be achieved by cutting the sides.
- Casters with a system of stops and turns give the chest of drawers mobility.
The hanging model is attached to the wall, creating a weightless effect. With a similar installation method, the main thing is to ensure high quality fastening. For these purposes use:
- anchor bolts;
- special furniture canopies.
For products more than two meters wide, an additional fastening point is added in the very center of the furniture.
In the next article we will talk about the topic of a TV stand in a loft style. Let's try to describe this topic in more detail.
Types of structures
There are two types of TV chest of drawers based on installation method.
The floor-standing version rests on legs, a system of wheels or a plinth. Such a structure can be installed anywhere in the room and moved without any problems, guided by your desires.
- The legs are made of wood or metal. They are attached to the body of the product vertically or at an angle. Some elements allow you to adjust the height, which allows you to smooth out possible unevenness and achieve the ideal position of the furniture.
- Wheels provide mobility. It is recommended to choose swivel-type fittings for good maneuverability, equipped with stoppers. The last device guarantees the immobility of the structure in the selected location. The soft rim will protect the floor covering from damage and minimize the noise level.
- The plinth is a podium-shaped device that is mounted to the bottom. A simpler version is formed by sidewalls and a front strip. The plinth base is considered the most stable and simple. Its disadvantage is associated with the difficulties that arise during cleaning.
Hanging chests of drawers look light and unload the interior, but they can only be fixed on a load-bearing wall. For these purposes, use furniture hinges or a mounting strip.
- Furniture fastenings are affordable, ensure a tight fit of the product to the wall surface, but have restrictions on load. For long models, you will have to increase the number of fixation points.
- The mounting plate with adjustable hinges is more reliable. Reinforced fittings can withstand weights of up to 120-130 kg. There is a possibility of fine adjustment within 20 mm. However, a set of parts is more expensive, and there is a gap between the wall and the rear panel.
The peculiarity of hanging models is that they cannot be freely moved from place to place. If rearranged, the wall will need to be repaired and new holes drilled. It is important to avoid overloading the product beyond the permissible limit.
Manufacturing materials
The furniture is intended for the installation of expensive equipment, and therefore must be particularly durable and reliable. A high-quality tabletop installed on a chest of drawers can support the weight of a home theater.
Relatively recently, manufacturers offered furniture for television equipment exclusively from natural solid wood or laminated chipboard. The use of the latest technologies allows us to significantly expand the list of materials used:
- natural massif - the most expensive and respectable models are created from valuable wood species. Dressers made of natural wood allow you to create a feeling of special luxury and chic in your interior;
- plastic - plastic elements will significantly lighten the weight of the entire structure. But it should be borne in mind that cheap plastic does not have a large margin of safety;
- MDF and laminated chipboard - products made from modern materials are practical and relatively inexpensive. The material allows you to implement various style solutions;
- metal - exquisite wrought iron chests of drawers are heavy and are most often used to furnish spacious country mansions. In small rooms, massive metal objects look too bulky;
- glass - a spectacular glass TV chest looks very attractive. Thick tempered glass can withstand heavy loads. Any image can be applied to the surface of the chest of drawers.
Glass
Metal
MDF
Chipboard
Wood
Internal filling
The TV cabinet contains drawers, open and closed compartments. Shelves without doors often have no back walls. This is necessary for natural cooling of the equipment. A special section for storing disks would be useful. Niches for installing speakers are useful.
The equipment depends on the installation location of the product.
The bedroom will need larger drawers.
In the living room, the chest of drawers is filled with books and documents; part of the space with glass doors is used to place a collection or decorative items.
What to look for when choosing
A TV stand is not just furniture that occupies a certain space, but an important component of the interior. Before you give preference to one or another model of chest of drawers, you should make sure of its practicality and reliability. The quality of all fastening and moving elements and the stability of the entire structure should be checked. The sides of the frame should have no gaps and fit tightly to each other.
In the absence of the necessary free space, designers advise choosing a corner configuration. In this case, there is a real opportunity to most rationally place not only a plasma screen, but also a large number of personal belongings.
Models consisting of three separate sections can accommodate not only media equipment, but also fiction or a collection of souvenirs. Stylish chests of drawers with a glass front allow you to add a few visual centimeters to a small room. If you plan to use a TV chest of drawers in a children's room, then special attention should be paid to its environmental friendliness and the safety of decorative elements and fittings.
The living room is a common room for all family members, so the surface of the chest of drawers should not be too dirty. Wooden facades require regular, especially careful maintenance, otherwise the furniture will quickly lose its aesthetic appearance. It’s not difficult to choose a chest of drawers for your TV. The main thing is to correctly determine its size, color scheme and think through the internal storage system in advance.
Facades
A TV chest of drawers usually has a combined façade with open and closed areas. But you can find models that resemble a rack. This option simplifies the search for objects, provides good ventilation for equipment, but requires the user to maintain order and cleanliness.
Completely enclosed structures are considered more practical in this regard.
For this purpose, hinged, folding, sliding doors and drawers of different sizes are used.
- The swing system is a reliable, easy-to-use and durable option. The doors are mounted to the sides using hinges, which provide free access to the contents. Plowing is carried out by moving the handle towards you. A modern-style TV chest of drawers can be equipped with an opening system that moves with a light touch. For normal operation, it is necessary to maintain enough free space in front of the facade.
- The folding version differs from the previous version in the installation location and additional equipment. The fixation points in this case are located on the bottom of the chest of drawers and the bottom of the door. A special device ensures smooth opening and takes on part of the weight of the door leaf.
- The sliding design is more expensive, but looks stylish and saves space. The doors move on rollers along guides in the plane of the facade, and do not extend beyond the product. However, the mechanism takes up part of the useful volume, makes a lot of noise, and requires periodic adjustment and cleaning of the bottom rail from dust and small debris. In addition, it should be mentioned that some part of the chest of drawers is always blocked by doors.
- The drawers work thanks to a guide system. The most widespread are roller and ball type fittings. The roller mechanism is inexpensive, can withstand weight up to 25 kg, but makes a lot of noise when moving; a quarter of the box remains inside the case. A ball device will cost a little more. But this minus completely covers up the impressive list of advantages: smoothness, noiselessness, long service life, permissible load up to 60-65 kg, full extension. Functionality will be added: dampers and closers.
Varieties
A modern TV chest of drawers can be high or low, complex or simple in design. By location we can distinguish:
- wall-mounted - furniture is mounted directly on the wall. During the installation process, you can independently adjust the mounting height;
- wall-mounted - stationary models are especially durable, reliable and are adjacent to the surface with the back wall;
- island - a TV chest of drawers with drawers that open in both directions can be used as a decorative separator of functional areas.
In addition, models can be with open shelves, have blank, glass or mirror doors.
Wall-mounted
Ostrovny
Wall
With pull-out storage system
Chests of drawers are usually called only those pieces of furniture that have a number of drawers located one above the other. The number of retractable compartments varies from two to eight; in tall models there can be ten to twelve of them.
The most convenient are chests of drawers with drawers of different depths; in this case, every item, regardless of its size, will always be at hand. For greater comfort, manufacturers have provided various types of retractable mechanisms:
- wooden guides - so that the box slides easily on wooden runners, they should be periodically cleaned and waxed;
- roller mechanisms - a drawer on rollers is not designed for heavy loads; in addition, it extends only to 2/3 of its volume;
- ball guides - a convenient mechanism ensures full extension of the drawers and is particularly durable.
Innovative technologies allow you to close drawers with just a flick of the wrist. This is possible thanks to special closers.
With open shelves
Chests of drawers for TV equipped with open shelves will fit perfectly into any modern interior. The convenient design is more like a rack - this allows you to most rationally arrange the DVD player, music discs, and speakers.
A subtype of multimedia equipment has a durable tabletop that can withstand the weight of a home theater. In the modern model, spacious open shelves are organically combined with drawers and closed sections. On the side console you can place an antique vase, a small figurine or fiction.
Chests of drawers with open shelves have a unique design. Models made in a modern style look the most original. Transparent glass shelves allow you to create a feeling of special lightness and spaciousness in a small room.
With doors
In terms of the number of construction and design options, a chest of drawers is not comparable to a cabinet, and in some cases it can successfully replace it. Low chests of drawers with doors are more suitable for large plasma panels.
Traditional tall chests of drawers with many drawers and closed sections are most often used in bedrooms or children's rooms for installing small LCD TVs.
Doors can be sliding or hinged. Modern models with glass or mirror surfaces look most impressive. The glass facade of the chest of drawers is decorated with sandblasting, innovative Lacobel technique or decorative photo printing.
Solid hinged doors allow you to hide the entire contents of the chest of drawers from prying eyes. Reliable fittings are selected in the same interior style. The design can be supplemented with chrome racks and small open shelves.
With radius facade elements
Radius chests of drawers differ from standard models in the absence of sharp corners and the unusual shape of the facade. Compared to other living room furniture, it has a number of advantages:
- compactness - a chest of drawers for a TV takes up little usable space and at the same time has a large capacity;
- safety - radius furniture does not have sharp corners and does not interfere with free movement around the room;
- expansion of space - light reflective facades can visually expand a small space;
- aesthetics - luxurious TV chests in a classic style allow you to create exclusive interiors.
Large pieces of furniture with smooth radial elements can correct the non-standard architectural shape of the living room, creating a light, elegant atmosphere. Radial chests of drawers for TV have curvilinear contours, close to a semicircle or ellipse, they are made in all known interior styles, from modern to minimalism.
With legs
Not a single piece of cabinet furniture has so many shapes, designs, and sizes. Designers often use a chest of drawers as a spectacular decorative element.
Initially the furniture was stationary. The chest of drawers was installed on beautifully curved legs or a durable base and was moved only when necessary, for example, remodeling the room or moving to another apartment.
Classic models are decorated with graceful carved legs. Chests of drawers on casters are more suitable for arranging modern interiors. Mobile structures are easy to move from place to place. In spacious studio apartments, a chest of drawers can serve as a convenient roomy partition.
Corner
For furnishing small-sized city apartments, the most popular piece of cabinet furniture is the corner chest of drawers. The middle compartment of the convenient cabinet has special open shelves for installing media equipment.
Depending on the size of the tabletop, the cabinet can serve as an excellent stand for a flat plasma panel. Thanks to the presence of a large number of drawers, side consoles and open niches, the furniture can be an excellent replacement for a bulky wardrobe or bookcase.
The mobile corner chest of drawers is equipped with special furniture wheels and has cable channels for masking wires. The rotating stand allows you to set the most convenient radius for watching TV.
The dimensions of the chest of drawers largely depend on the dimensions of the plasma panel. Experts advise choosing long models; in addition to the TV, they can accommodate speakers, a DVD player, and a collection of music CDs.
TV placement options
There are several possible ways to place a television receiver.
- The simplest option is installation on a chest of drawers. In this case, the equipment must be equipped with a special support leg, preferably with the ability to rotate.
- Equipping furniture with a bracket will allow you to free up the tabletop for other purposes, change the height, angle of rotation and tilt of the equipment. It will also provide a cable channel for masking numerous wires.
- A similar device can be purchased separately and used to mount the TV to a concrete or brick wall. The brackets have different designs, and the degree of load is determined by the weight of the device. There should be a gap of about 10 cm on all sides for free air circulation, which will help avoid overheating of the equipment.
Rules for placing a chest of drawers with TV in the interior of the room
When choosing a place to install a chest of drawers under a TV, it is recommended to focus on a number of rules.
- Sunlight should not reach the screen. If other options are not available, blackout curtains will be required.
- The height corresponds to the eye level of a sitting person. The eye should fall on the top third of the screen. Typically in the living room this value is 1.2 m, in the bedroom 1 m.
- The manufacturer's recommendations will help you determine the correct distance between the TV and the viewing location, taking into account various parameters: diagonal, resolution, device type.
- Be sure to have outlets within reach.
- It is worth making sure that the place is located away from any heat sources.
Tips for choosing
In the interior, a chest of drawers is a very useful element. In order for the product to serve for many years and delight its owners, you need to know what to look for when choosing. It is recommended to follow these tips:
- the chest of drawers must be mobile so that it can be moved to another place at any time;
- you need to make sure that the product has holes for wires;
- the furniture must be stable, otherwise the TV may fall from it;
- it is necessary to determine in advance the optimal height of the product, since this parameter determines how convenient it will be to watch your favorite films;
- the drawers must be spacious so that you can hide all the necessary things in them;
- It is desirable that the fittings be discreet, but at the same time reliable.
As for design, it all depends only on the interior and your own preferences. You can choose a short, long, high or low chest of drawers, with doors or open shelves. The main thing is that the furniture looks good in the room and fulfills its function.
Mobility
Presence of holes for wires
Sustainability
Dimensions
Capacity
Styles
Interior design plays an important role in the selection of furniture. The chest of drawers should also fit harmoniously into the overall composition.
- Classic involves purchasing a solid structure, decorated with carvings and shaped fittings made of bronze or brass. The shape of the product is simple, the legs act as supporting elements.
- Models for the Empire, Baroque, and Rococo styles look more luxurious. They are characterized by smooth curves, an abundance of decor in the form of figured overlays, inlays, carvings, and gilding. The material used is wood.
- Provence combines elegance and simplicity. Aged whitewashed surfaces are decorated with hand painting, images using the decoupage technique, and forged elements.
- High-tech means strict forms, increased functionality, lack of decoration, and modern technological materials.
- Scandinavian style involves the use of light wood furniture, simple geometry, and laconic design. It is possible to use glass facades.
A TV chest of drawers should be harmoniously combined with the size of the equipment and the room, be stable, reliable and have good capacity.
Style and color
To successfully select a chest of drawers, you need to carefully consider its design, color, and decor. Classic involves the use of solid wood or veneer imitating expensive tree species. Carved details, inlay, and cast bronze handles are used as decorative elements.
In living rooms decorated in country or Provence style, a chest of drawers is an important stylistic element. The model should be light and airy. Surfaces often have a snow-white tint with a patina. These are products with thin graceful legs, decorated with floral prints and handmade paintings.
Laconic high-tech and urbanism can be decorated in a wide variety of colors. The most interesting looking models are those with frosted and transparent glass inserts, decorated with shiny chrome fittings.
The American loft style prefers free space. Large areas without partitions require additional zoning. In this case, a chest of drawers will be the best option. Models often have artificially aged surfaces, blackened metal in places, or imitation of randomly knocked together wooden boxes with a company logo.
The most expensive pieces of furniture are used to furnish unique eco-styles. The photo shows elegant wicker models made of bamboo, rattan and grapevine.