18 April Featured Space: Living Room - Component Control

Earlier this week I wrote up a quick blog focusing on remote controls, and today I am going to focus on the better half of those controllers, the components.

Many individuals choose to store their components within media cabinets, in which the TV is housed and the components have their designated shelves and cabinets.  And that is all well in good, in fact, I found a picture of how ours once lived:

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the functionality and ability to keep our TV our components organized.  In fact, my only complaint about this setup is that our kids could reach it ALL.  I mean, tons of finger marks on the TV and sandwich crust in the DVD player... 

Then one day we decided to add some warmth to the lower level, literally.  We added a fireplace to the mix, and the only place that it made sense in our space, was on the angle wall with the TV on it.  So in went the fireplace and above it went a flat panel TV.

Next was the hard part... these wall mount TV's come with hard to hide cords and no place for components.  But I am going to take a moment to brag.  I married a man with smarts.  And his dad has some smarts too.  And they are REALLY handy when it comes to any type of house project.  So this lucky girl brainstormed with her smart hub and father-in-law, and a solution was created!  One that I am grateful for each day I spend lounging in our family room watching movies with the munchkins or catching up on some awful reality television drama.  

So what was the all mighty amazing plan?  Well, we knew that we didn't want to see cords.  And we also knew that we didn't want our goods to be accessible to sweet and sticky little fingers.  So the only solution was to build a cabinet, into a wall.  So that's exactly what we they did!

We actually purchased the cabinet {book shelf} and glass door from Ikea.  Our only standards were that we wanted something white and something deep enough to hold all of the devises.  

Once we had the bookshelf assembled, my hub and his pa sawed a great big hole in our wall, through to a utility storage room.  Then, they just framed out a box to hold the cabinet in the wall studs:

 And screwed through the studs into the cabinet it secure it into place!  {I make it sound so easy don't I?  It couldn't have been that hard though, they were done in a flash!}

Once the cabinet was in place, a bunch of holes were made in the backing of the cabinet, to ensure good ventilation for all of the running components, and to allow the cords to run in {behind the wall} to and from the TV:

The last part was to install the door, put some white caulk around the cabinet on the front side, and then stand back and admire the uber organized handy work!

We just pop the door open if anything is going to be running for long periods of time, to again, ensure good airflow and to avoid any overheating problems:

And last but not least, as you may have already noticed, I popped a decorative decal on the glass door, just to do my part!  It was a cute and good idea in theory, however, it can get in the way of using the remotes through the door at times.  But that doesn't bother us enough to change it!

The best part is that the cabinet has enough space to hold all of the fun stuff, without taking away any floor space, and without being in reach of tiny kid fingers and while looking somewhat fashionable at the same time!  Gotta heart those multiple plus factors!!

I have to say, I almost giggled when I looked at the difference from the before and after.  It's always fun to look back of old house pictures to see how it has evolved over our years!

Of course this storage solution worked especially well for us because we had a wall that we could easily have access to from another room!  It was all about thinking about our wishes, brainstorming and implementing!

Any other creative ideas out there to share with us, and adorable component storage?  How about cute and creative ways to beautify the stark and sterile electronics in your living spaces?  Anyone take on something something like this awesomeness that Court from Breaking Down the Big, Beige Box created with her media cabinet doors:

I just get crazy giddy when individuals can find crafty and creative ways to conceal their goods!  I would heart to see your creativity as well!