Synopsis: With television screens much wider and consoles much thinner than ever before, the furniture design possibilities for housing video equipment have grown exponentially. Steve Casey, who has been designing home theater, entertainment centers, and other pieces built around televisions for nearly 30 years, has had the chance to rethink the typical entertainment center and to create cabinetry and furniture for TVs that was not practical or even possible just a few years ago. Here, he shares highlights of what he has learned.

I’ve been designing and building custom furniture since 1978, much of it devoted to home theater, entertainment centers, and other pieces built around televisions. Recent years have brought major changes in TV technology, creating new furniture possibilities and making my work much more interesting.

TV screens are wider than ever, but the most important change for furniture makers is in how thin the sets have become. Two types of sets have led the way. The first are flat-panel sets with plasma or liquid crystal screens. Some of these displays measure 60 in. diagonally but are only about 5 in. deep. The other type of set is the largescreen projection TV, which used to be housed in a giant cabinet but now averages only about 17 in. deep. The advantage of the latter type is that they cost thousands of dollars less than plasma or LCD sets with comparable screen sizes.

The new sets allow designers to rethink the typical entertainment center and to create cabinetry and furniture for TVs that was not practical or even possible just a few years ago. Televisions today are attractive enough that they don’t have to be hidden behind doors in the now-too-familiar black box. Many new designs put the set on display. Here are a few ideas.

Options for flat screens

Because TVs now…