I have been longing to build a TV console for over a year. Finally its done now and looks amazing! Its a 6feet long modern TV stand or Media console using plywood & pine wood that I designed and built for our home! In this blog I am sharing with you all the details about this design and build. You can also find the total build cost at the end of this blog.
DESIGN PROCESS
Function and aesthetics should always run hand in hand in my design rule book. So, the first thing I would do to design any furniture or space is to list down these key points – how will this furniture be used, where will it be, what will be stored in it, what will be around it and is there any possibility to make it multifunction.
Function:
In this case, apart from acting as a stand for our TV & Xbox, we needed a closed storage to keep our video & photography gears and an organized charging dock, where we can charge all the batteries for our gears and be organized.
We could mount the Tv on wall but that is not always an option when you live in rental homes. Having a stand like this will help avoid visible cables running from TV to power socket. Also no need to worry about filling wall holes when you move.
Aesthetics:
Next main criteria in my design process is aesthetics. I am usually fond of modern and clean looking furniture. This TV stand is going to be a focal point of the living area. So, in order to match the color scheme in my home, this furniture is going to be painted white. But, I want to incorporate some contrast in the massing of the furniture with some material & texture difference.
Pine wood is something I have been working with for a long time. It creates a nice contrast on white furniture and I love its natural light wood look. Its easily available in my local store and its cheaper than other wood varieties. In my previous projects, I have stained pine in dark shade, painted it, white washed it and even left it natural. It has always been my go to material for such projects. So, definitely I will be incorporating pine wood in my design.
I made this DIY coffee table and DIY full height mirror dressing vanity with the same color scheme as well. Check them out too if you are into modern furniture.
Based on my chain of thoughts on the furniture’s use and desired look, I came up with three options. You know, every designer has a secret preference even though they designed all the shown choices. I had mine too and my darling husband picked the same one!. so yay!! :). With the concept finalized, I made detail drawing and cut list for the build.
FINAL DESIGN
Overall dimension of the TV stand is 6ft long, 16.75 inches deep and 25 inches height. On right there is a open shelf on top and a drawer on the bottom. This drawer will have everything set up to be the charging station with dedicated space for power strip and all the chargers, batteries of all our video and photography gears. On the left we have a drop down door equipped with hydraulic gas strut, hidden hinges and also has a height adjustable shelf inside. This door and drawer face have 30 degree angles that perfectly compliment the angled metal legs and the pine wood strips. These wood strips also add the right amount of texture and eye catching color contrast to the simple white furniture form.
Tools used:
- Miter saw
- Table saw
- Power drill
- Pocket hole jig
- 18g brad nailer
- Electric Sander
- Clamps
- Trim router
- Flush Trim Router Bit Set 1/4 Inch Shank
- Electric paint sprayer
- Shelf pin hole jig
- Concealed hinge jig
Materials used:
- 3/4″ thk plywood full sheet – 2 nos
- 1/4″ thk Luan ply – 2’x6′
- Pine wood – 1/2″ thick x 6″ wide x 4′ long – 6nos
- 8″ Metal legs
- Hydraulic Gas Strut
- Full Overlay Soft Close Frameless hinge
- Zinsser Primer
- Paint
- Soft close drawer slides
- Kaizen foam
- Power strip
- pocket screws
- Wood glue
- Sandpaper
- Wood putty
- Polyacrylic clear sealer
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BUILDING THE DIY TV STAND or MEDIA CONSOLE
The video below will show you the entire build process of this TV stand. The full written tutorial follows as well.
STEP – 1: BUILD THE CARCASS
Cut 3/4 inch plywood to required sizes and build the box. Six feet long top and bottom panels are connected with three verticals using pocket holes.
Then measure the space on either sides of the center vertical panel and cut the shelf pieces.
On the right side, the shelf is fixed over a couple of verticals on either sides. Since, this shelf is little longer than 3 feet, the verticals will provide good support.
Next, comes the slant piece that goes on top of the right shelf. It’s nothing but a 30 deg angle cut on both sides. Measure and fix them with glue and brad nails.
STEP – 2: CUT THE DOORS
Now, Let’s cut the ply to make the doors. On the left, we are going to have a drop down door and a drawer on the other side. This drawer will become our one-stop charging dock station. Cutting the doors are a little tricky as there are angles in the design. So, I place the plywood on the front and traced the angles. Then cut with circular saw and a guide. Its important to check the measurement frequently before you make a cut. It can easily go wrong. So, measure twice and cut once! I did mess up during my last cut and had to start all over again with a new sheet of plywood. Anyway, finally got it right.
TIP: When you cut the doors, leave a little overhang on the outer edges. This way, you can trim the edge to flush after installing the hinges and drawer face.
STEP – 3: LEFT SHELF
Next, measure the space on the left side and cut the shelf piece. This shelf is going to be height adjustable. So, make shelf pin holes using this kreg jig.
STEP – 4: DRAWER INSTALL
Like I mentioned before, the right side of the cabinet is going to have open shelf on top and a 3 feet long drawer on bottom. So, next we are going to build a drawer box. But before that, we have to add one more vertical for installing the drawer. To do this, measure the space and cut 3/4 inch plywood. Then place a spacer and secure it with glue & brad nails. Later we can add a blank wood piece to create an accent.
Drawer Box making: Measure the space and reduce the thickness of the two slides. It will be mostly an inch. Then, cut the sides and connect them first. Checked if it is square and then fix the bottom. You could make the base with ½ inch plywood as well, but I intended to use-up all the 3-quarter inch plywood I bought for this project.
After the drawer box is done, install the slides and drawer.
STEP – 5: BACK PANEL
Now place the cabinet rear side facing up. Time to make rabbet all around the cabinet to install the back panel in flush level.
After that, cut 1/4 inch thick panel to required size to cover the back. Use jig saw to cut the curve edges of the back panel to fit the slot made with rabbet router bit. I used a quarter inch board that I already had in my stash. As it was not long enough, I decided to split it into two halves. However, I left the drawer’s back open to run a power cord for the charging station.
DOORS ROUGH FIT:
Once the back part is done, lets move to the front. Install the hinges to mount the drop down door on left. Next clamp the drawer face and attach it with screws from the inside. This is only a rough fit to see if everything works and to trim the edge of the door to be in flush level with the cabinet.
Now remove the drawer, shelf and door for the following steps.
STEP – 6: PLYWOOD EDGE PREPARATION & SANDING
Before getting into sanding & painting, we have to prepare the plywood edges. There are a number of ways to finish the edges of plywood. Common ways are to add edge banding before assembling or adding wood strips to hide the plywood edges. But I am not a fan of either of these. So, for this cabinet I am going to sand all the edges first and add wood putty to fill all those edges & sand again to smoothen it out.
Once all the edges are smooth, sand the entire furniture with 220 grit sand paper.
STEP – 7: PAINTING
Before priming & painting you have to prep the surface by cleaning out all the dust particles with tack cloth. This is sticky to touch, so wear gloves and clean inside out.
Before painting a plywood furniture, you have to prime it with at least one coat of good primer. I used the following paint and primer for this project.
If you are using paint sprayer, cover all the surfaces around. or if you are going to use a paint brush or roller, use a quality brush or roller to get a flawless finish.
I did one coat of primer and two coats of paint. Between each coat, it is very important to sand all the surface to get rid of the wood hairs that rise up and to get a smooth finish.
Once dry, I lay the cabinet upside down and paint the bottom as well.
STEP – 8: LEG INSTALL
Now, install the metal legs. These are 8inch tall angles legs in matt black and gold accent. Since, this furniture is going to be loaded with TV and other items, I suggest to get metal ones with maximum load capacity. I got these from amazon and they can support upto 300kg.
STEP – 9: REINSTALL DOOR, DRAWER & SHELF
Now put everything back in its place. Also, add drop down gas springs to slow down the drop down door while opening and closing. Actually, installing gas springs kind of compromised the positioning of adjustable shelves. But Still, I could use top and bottom holes to mount the shelf.
STEP – 10: ADDING WOOD STRIPS
Finally, time to cut and fix the wood strips. These are ½ inch thick and have to be at the same angle as the door edge. So cut them at 30 degrees and fix with glue & brad nail. Then, fill the holes with wood putty and finish with clear sealer.
STEP – 11: CUSTOM BACK PANEL
You can personalize the back panel in any way you like. To spruce up a bit, I added some pattern to the open shelf’s back panel and spray painted it gold. Then installed them with screws, so that we can remove and access them if we need to.
STEP – 12: SET THE UP CHARGING STATION
I used Kaizen foam as a base and added a Power strip inside the drawer. Then, laid out all the chargers and batteries to make it easily accessible. You can also carve out the kaizen foam to give permanent space for each item. I might do that later. As of now, I just laid everything over the foam.
COST to build this DIY TV STAND or MEDIA CONSOLE
Excluding the tools, the total cost of the build was less than $300. Its one of a kind, modern, stylish designer furniture, built to suit personal style and needs. Something like this will definitely cost a lot more if you buy from a store.
Below are some of the comparable TV stands you can buy from store.
FINAL REVEAL
Pin it if you like it!
Check out this DIY Coffee table that I made for our Living room. Its white marble with glitters and gold accent made with epoxy resin
Or check out this ‘All in one’ SPACE SAVING Dressing vanity
