Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Decorating Dilemma

When we bought the house we're in now, we brought with us most of our furniture which was purchased with our other home in mind. This television cabinet barely fits between two windows in the living room. It is really a little large for the space, but we have made do. Now, the television is old, and looks like it won't last much longer. Of course the new flat televisions won't fit this monstrosity of a cabinet! I think my sister is going to take it off my hands and use it in her bedroom. We sure don't have room for it here! We're thinking of buying a LCD flat panel television to fit the space between the windows...which is between42 and 43 inches.
We will probably have it hung of the wall. Most of the media cabinets that I like are wider than 42 or 43 inches!

While out antiquing, I'm on the look out for a piece that could be put below the television to hold the DVD and such. I considered this old oak ice box spotted at an antique store last week. It would fit, and has shelves in the bottom. It is hard to know what would look good, fit the space, and hold our stuff. This piece was really pretty tiger oak, and would not have to have anything done but holes drilled in the back.
Any ideas? What are the rest of you doing about this? I think most people will be faced with this at one time or another. Our home is about 13 years old, and not really laid out for a huge flat screen TV in the living area. If you have solved your TV problem, please tell me about it!
Have a great day,

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Morning Diane! Tv's are a nightmare to work around! I was telling my husband there is nothing on it and cable is outrageous so we should get rid of it! He looked at me like I was speaking a different language! My real reason is they are ugly. The ice chest is beautiful. It would look good I think because of the contrast between the modern flat panel and the antique chest. Plus storage would be great without overpowering the space. Polished up I'll bet that would glow. I love contrast and it would be unique. I enjoyed learning more about you through your award - Congrats. I love the colors of those glass bowls you showed. My problem is I like just about everything!!!lol Have a great day - Jeannette

Rue said...

Good morning Diane :)

I'm having the same issue with our future new house. We have a 42 inch flat screen and it won't fit in the family room, so we'll have to get a smaller one. I don't want it hanging on the wall because it doesn't quite go with a 1902 house, but I like your idea and might have to do something similar :)

rue

Dawn said...

I am really awful at decorating. I don't have a good sense about it. I'm not the right person to give advice. I will say the ice chest is really nice. I like the look of oak! I'd love to see what you do though!

take care,
Dawn

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I love that antique ice box just for the nostalgia behind it.

We recently purchased a flat screen TV and we put it in our bedroom on our dresser! It's the only place we watch TV. consistently. I don't have one in my living room. I have a small TV in my kitchen that gets a lot of use too.
Since I have a high and narrow city house my "family room" is in the basement, and our old box TV still works. so we won't change that until it breaks. Then we will have the same dilemma you are facing now, as the hutch there won't hold a flat screen.

One thing about flat screens --the plasma ones give off a lot of heat! My brother had to move his thermostat when he had a plasma TV installed on his family room wall!
We have the other type and it's not as hot.


Hugs, Pat

Gone said...

TV's!! They're UGLY!! They're a PAIN to decorate around.

I vote...GET RID OF THEM!!

No, wait...we can't do that! LOL!! I'd miss seeing Dog, the Bounty Hunter; Home Hunters; Paula Dean; Barefoot Contessa...oh, my, no...don't get rid of them!! I take it back! Really! LOL!!!

***making note to self - learn to decorate around TV's and make oodles and oodles of $$$***

Thanks for stopping in Diane and leaving your thoughtful comments. And, whenever I post (or just write out) my TO DO LIST...I get MORE done!!!

LOL!!

Off to painting................

Joy said...

I'm so glad you found my blog, with your search for rub 'n buff. It's so nice to come visit you.
As to your question about paint...I use a regular latex paint with a satin finish when I brush it on. When I spray paint a piece of furniture, I use Rustoleum satin finish paint.
Hope that helps!
Have a wonderful day.

Alexandra MacVean said...

I love the antique box..it is beautiful..and I think it would accent your beautiful wood floors.

We already have the TV needed, so we won't have to change over. The down side, is that my husband had to have this gigantic TV...imagine your TV being twice the size it is now...that's what we have...and it limits me as to where I can place it in our living room as well.

Hope you have a good day.

montacoo said...

Hi diane, so my name is Monta...I wanted to tell you what I did about this situation...I used an old steamer trunk to put my tv on...It's black with some beautiful brass edges..and Old.....LOL...But it's not too low and the perfect width for my flat screen...I didn't want to hang mine on the wall, so I came up with this solution...It looks great...Just a suggestion...I also love the icebox...LOL...I would probably buy it too, cuz it's so nostalgic... anyways, have ablessed day... Monta :))

bj said...

good morning, diane...thank you for coming by my place. I hope you will come again soon...
we still have our small tv but wanting a BIG one sooooo much. i know we will wait, however, until the old one goes out. then, i am not sure about what we will get. be sure to post your new one so we can see it and the old ice box !!
xo bj

Mya said...

Diane,
I feel your pain. I think a flat screen would be the way to go for you but I understand your problem with all the electronic junk. We have a built in cabinet/bookcase that use for the tv. We wanted to do the flat screen above the fireplace but it is a fancy marble and the focal point of the room . A TV and electronics junk would not fit in. So we stayed with the status quo. Good luck finding the right piece of furniture.
-Mya

Nicol said...

I wish I had a better idea for you. I love the ice box and think that would work great, although I would also hate drilling holes in an antique piece of furniture.

I haven't been faced with this problem yet. My TV is in an armoir which takes up a lot of space. For me personally I hate having the TV showing unless it is in the family room. I hope that I won't have to find a different solution any time soon.

Unknown said...

Im feeling ya... When our tv goes out... not sure what road we will take... Susie h~

Anonymous said...

Diane,
I had the same situation! I finally found me a corner tv stand for my problems....But I love your idea....It will be great! It gonna be Cute to me. Hope you have a great day.

Anonymous said...

Diane,

In our last house we put our flat screen tv on a buffet table. It worked well with all the cabinets and shelves below.

This house we had to use a smaller tv in the living room and placed the flat screen in the loft/play room. We watch movies there and just use the family room for regular tv.

Hope this helps.

Brandee

Free Art Printables said...

I like the chest alot. I think it would look good...will it be stable enough? Otherwise even an old dresser might work? Thanks so much fro stopping by to say hi! I am glad some one else has this problem! Jen R

Anonymous said...

TV's can be so tricky. We've been having the same problem at our house, too. My husband wants to put a flat screen above our fireplace and I just want a simple decorative mirror. We've been debating it for over a year now and so we now neither have the flat screen or mirror. *LOL*

What I want to get is one of those cabinets that has the section for the flat screen slide up out of the top when you want to watch tv and then when you are done, it slides back inside and then just looks like a piece of furniture. They are a bit pricey at the furniture stores, but I love the idea of it. :-)

Whatever you decide, you'll have to post a picture of it for us!
:-)

~Angel