How To Select An Entertainment Center

Home Theater System Just as "clothes make the man," (or "person") the cases or shelves you use to store your home theater can make the difference between a merely functional yet unattractive entertainment center or a home theater that is truly a showpiece. The best way to select accessories for your home theater is to think about the decor of the room that contains your home theater.

Is it classic or contemporary? Are you interested in hardwood cases, or futuristic metallic design? It is also important to take into account the kind of equipment you have. Most panel televisions have a very contemporary look to them anyway, so they might or might not blend so well into a Victorian living room, for example. It is best to choose the entertainment center design that suits your decor and your equipment, and perhaps you should leave the Victorian furniture for the dining room!

You can purchase high-quality hardwood entertainment centers that hold every piece of your home entertainment unit and more. These components often look like large bookshelves, and the sides can be used to hold favorite books, your TV guides and your CD collection. You can find a hardwood cabinet that holds a wide screen TV with shelves at the bottom for your DVD Player and VCR. The speakers can be place on both ends of the cabinet (tower speakers with a wooden base are a good option to match a hardwood home entertainment cabinet).

To protect your equipment, you might consider a home entertainment center that is actually a combination of hardwood and glass, with easy to open and close glass doors. You might decide to conceal your equipment completely in a home entertainment armoire with top and bottom sections that open and close. This is a good idea if you prefer a hardwood look to your room and if you feel that your home theater equipment might interfere with the general decor of your room. This is also a good option for those with small children who might want to poke their hands and fingers on buttons or inside DVD slots.

These armoires can easily be locked so that your children cannot access your equipment. Many of these hardwood entertainment centers have holes in the back, so there is no need to feed unsightly wires around the front and sides. They are usually very easy to assemble with notches and pegs.

For those who prefer a more streamlined, contemporary design for their home entertainment centers, there are very basic cabinets that emphasis you're equipment rather than their own design. A large, plasma TV panel can extend above small narrow or glass shelves, which can store your DVD Player, or VCR. These cabinets do not usually have sufficient storage areas for CDs, DVDs or speakers, so you will want to purchase separate units of these try placing your CDs on a chrome CD tower that can come in various geometric and novelty designs. You can choose speakers that match your television, and there are many speakers that are available with large rectangular, metallic heads and poles for bases. If you are looking for something a bit larger to hold everything you need, try a chrome and glass cabinet with easy to open doors. You can even place a lock on your cabinet, which will protect your equipment from children. Tinted glass is also a good choice for your entertainment center.

If you are dealing with limited space, you may want to consider installing shelves for your equipment rather than investing in cabinets for your home theater. Make sure that the shelves can hold 15% more weight than you need. You wide screen television will need a very sturdy shelf, or alternatively, try a panel that you can mount on the wall at an angle. You speakers can be installed on the top corners of the walls, and you can place your DVD and VCR on shelves below the television. Purchase a stylish storage tower for you CDs and DVDs, and you have successfully set up your entertainment center for a small room.

Whether you prefer to place your equipment in elaborately designed cabinets or simple do-it-yourself shelves, you can create an entertainment center that reflects your decor, you needs and your personality!

Eric Love is The Home Theater Guy and he writes daily about all aspects of home theater | home theater systems. Click here to find out more about Home Theater Furniture.