week3: entertainment center hack

this week's post will be about some modifications we made to our media console. we got it from west elm, it was the perfect size and style that we wanted. but it was actually intended to be a sideboard or buffet, so it did not have any accommodations for cables, cords and wires. this is what our setup looked like:



cords all over the place, speakers on the floor, components in disarray. oh, and a hinge on one of the doors came off, leaving a hole in the side. yeah.

so the plan was simple: drill two holes in the back to allow for cords: one near the outlet and one near the top (for all the cords that connect to the tv itself). reconfigure the components so they could all fit inside. place speakers on new speaker stands (which were a christmas gift). and fix the hole in the side and reattach the door. i also took this opportunity to replace the outlet and cover behind the console.

we used a cordless drill and a 1.5-in spade bit to to make the holes. (we practiced first on a piece of plywood to make sure the holes would be large enough for the plugs/cords to pass through.)



then we sanded down the edges of the holes to eliminate any splinters or rough edges.





sean reconnected all the components, including some that were formerly on top the console. and we assembled the speaker stands that he got for christmas (warning: this was much more difficult than expected and involved some colorful language).



finally, we fixed the hole where the hinge needed to attach using toothpicks and wood glue, then reattached the door. ET VOILA!! much better!!



as an extra bonus, we get much better sound through the speakers now that the carpet-muffling effect is eliminated. nice!