I want to build a corner cabinet (cabinet with a small “c”) for our 22″ TV, DVD player, tapes, DVDs etc. It will be around 30″ tall so as not to obscure the big windows in that corner. Prolem is, I have never liked any corner cabinet that’s wandered into my life due to the space that is either wasted, or tends to swallow up stuff that mgrates toward the back. Any ideas for interior design that would make it more efficient? (or exterior for that matter)
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
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fg,
I've made a few corner ent. centers. The triangular nature offers more strength than a similar sized rectangular one. Still, it's good practice to add a ledger bar or wood strip on the long span for strength because modern tv's are front heavy.
A center hole thru all shelving at the rear and faux rear panels keep electrical cords/cables neatly out of the way.Most folks don't walk into corners anyway cause it's "dead" space, so an entertainment corner cabinet is a good idea.
I built one about that tall for my tv, only it is a 36", it holds 60 dvd's as well as my stereo and dvd player. I also put casters on the bottom so I could roll it out from the corner, but I did them in a way where they are not visable so the cabinet looks as though it sits on the floor.
If I were to do it over I would do some things different such as the shelving on slides instead of stationary like I did, also I would make the back completely removable to allow easier access to whatever. What I did do that I liked was rout a really cool venting pattern in the back, even though you cannot see it, I know it is there and it's cool I also was very pleased with the caster idea.
A stand worked much better in my space than a entertainment center and I actually like it better. I did not use any plans, just drew it up and started cutting which is why I did not think some things through as well as I could have looking back.
Hi,
I am in the process of building one. Based on some I have seen in stores.
Shaped a bit like a homeplate, rather than the traditional footprint. I had the foolish notion of constructing five frame-and-panel panels, plus a raised panel door and face frame in front, a three drawer cabinet inside orthodox design with web frame for cassette storage. Used CMT 22.5 degree mitre router bit to join the panels which worked but is some hard to get exactly right.
I would think up something simpler next time,
The first one I made was simpler using pocket hole joints.
FWIW.
Ken
I like the homeplate-shape idea. Am definitely interested in something other than just a triangle. Any possibility you could post a pic? If not, would love to know if you used the sides of "home plate" for any storage, or is it all underneath the TV?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Here are some pictures of my TV cabinet that has the 'home plate' shape. This one is on casters (hidden behind the base molding) so it can be easily rolled out if necessary. The dimensions of the 'home plate' shape were based on the shape of the TV and the center sections (DVD player, Cable Box and DVD storage drawer) are rectangular. The side storage sections follow the shape of the cabinet with rectangular adjustable shelves. There are triangular 'dead areas' in the back.
Thanks for the pics and the details, Dave. Nice looking unit!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hi,
I have no way to send a picture. Now I should learn the paint thing on here or some other and send a drawing.
It is 30'' tall, 23" wide 22" deep, the back panel is 8" wide instead of coming to a 90 deg. There is a shelf under the top for a VCR and the remaining space has 3drawers for storage of cassettes or disks. It seemed awkward to me to find anything otherwise.
Do you mean use the outsides some how? No, I didn't use them for any thing.
Ken
I made an arts and crafts style corner unit.
Thanks for the pic, 3fingers. An impressive project! (I have to giggle a little -- our living room is so small.....) :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
It does not take up any room at all. only 14" from side walls and 36" from back corner. I made a template from the tv and made the cabinet from that.
FG,
I had a coupla corner cabinets made for our new house back in the middle 80's by our kitchen cabinet maker...he did a beautiful job....one corner was for the puter, the other for the TV, Stero, etc. We designed it to accomodate the 21" tv, etc. and came out only as far as the bookcase pieces on each side of hte corner cabinets....kinda like a home plate design but less protrusion into the room.
The problem came when we moved...the piece comes out 4' from the corner on each side....hard to find a room to accomodate the dimensions....windows get in the way. I think your talking about a base only....you might want to keep it low enough to avoid window sills, etc.
Here's a corner cabinet I recently made out of cherry. Sits 30" high and fits in the wall space between the corner and the fireplace mantel, which is about 35". From corner to corner of the top is about 48", which will accomodate a larger tv when the old 25 incher breaks down. Those 42" plasmas sure look nice :-)
Behind the doors is two shelves on full extension glides for my stereo gear (17.5" height) and storage space on each side of the stereo gear for storage space. I like the extension glides as I can pull out my AV receiver and make the connections without pulling the cabinet away from the wall. Surround sound receivers have lots of wires and this cabinet is not light! Sorry, I didn't take any pics with the doors open. Am presently turning some knobs out of cherry to finish off the doors. The top and the shelf below (which the VCR is sitting on) both have holes to pass cables through to the AV components behind the doors. The back is also semi-open for ventilation as electronic gear puts off a lot of heat.
The stain matched two end tables in the room, otherwise I would have gone lighter. Used Pratt and Lambert #38 brush on varnish, which is a great product that finishes off as smooth as a baby's bottom, and doesn't require a spray booth. FW Feb-04 edition descibes the finish process.
My wife says this piece feels as if it has always been there, which is a good sign that the design worked for this spot.
Edited 8/29/2004 3:22 pm ET by Ken
Hey, Ken, thanks! It's beautiful and I really appreciate you posting pics here. I'm falling in love with slide-outs as I finish some storage in the shop, and would want to incorporate them into a TV unit. Did you do the plans from scratch? That's likely to be over my head by quite a bit, but if I can find some similar plans, should be able to modify without getting into toooooooo much trouble.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Forestgirl-
Here's a picture of an entertainment center I did a couple of months ago that has a swivel pullout for the TV. Don't let the size of the TV fool you - it only weighs 80#. The pullout is rated for over 200#.
Either you are really short Ken, or your TV is massive! =)
Hey FG, I know it's kinda a wild/stupid idea but what if you made it trapezoidal (instead of triangular). That way you wouldn't have the back pointy corner to lose stuff.
Or even wilder/stupider, you could make the inside of the cabinet a trapezoid, and put the thing on casters. Then use the back corner for long term storage. (winter blankets in the summer, etc...)
Well, I guess I have that big screen t.v. I've always wanted afterall. . . :-)
Forestgirl, thanks for the compliment. Yes, I came up with the plans from scratch after seeing a piece that gave me some design inspiration. For me, the difficult part is getting the inspiration, which sounds like the same boat that you are in. Scratch plans really aren't all that difficult. It just takes some time with pencil and paper and brushing off some geometry (that I've forgotten since ninth grade) before I start cutting. Erasing sure is cheaper than buying more wood! Get some good graph paper and a straight-edge and get drafting. For me, I started with how much wall space I had and went from there. I also wound up creating a full size template using a large piece of paper (taped up newspaper would work) which I placed on the floor in the corner to make sure I had the right proportions.
There is some wasted space in the back corner, but this made a good place for dropping all the cables for the stereo / VCR / DVD player / camcorder. I also mounted a power strip / surge protector back there for the gear. I think some wasted space comes with the territory when you are putting square stuff (stereo/ etc.) in a triangular space.
Attached is a pic of the inside of the cabinet and some shop drawings I created for the base before I started. Sorry that it's so faint, they were in pencil. Note: the drawings were a starting point and not an ending point. I may have changed some dimension on the fly and not marked up the drawing, so use with extreme caution. . .
Edited 8/29/2004 8:07 pm ET by Ken
Ken, i saved your plans for future reference. my brother wants to build a cabinet like this. the drawings are kind of hard to read. can you tell me the length of the top from the back corner to the center of the front. the tv he is looking at is 24" deep.
Thanks, Bob
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Hi Bob,the top is 31 7/16" from the rear corner to the front edge.
Yes, pencil doesn't scan real well, though it helps to enlarge the acrobat drawing I attached earlier to 100%. Note though that the plans are for the cabinet carcass, not the top. I built the frame first, then sized the top to what looked right to my eye, so I didn't make any shop diagrams for it. I'll see if I can make up a drawing of the top dimensions in the next day or so.
Ken
Bob,here's a drawing of the top with some dimensions. I made the top out of 3/4 inch cherry plywood and banded the front edges with 1 3/4" wide solid cherry. At it's widest point at the left corner to the right corner, the top is 48 13/16 inches wide.Ken
thanks ken. i passed it on to my brother. i think he is going with this type design, but it may not be exactly like yours. i do like yours though. thanks
Ken can you please tell me what CAD you used to draw your plan? I am shopping for a good; but cheap autocad
Hi Pierre,the plan was made with a graphics editor I use for web publishing, not a CAD tool. It's not a method I'd recommend. Lot's of threads in this forum regarding CAD software though.Ken
DesignCad 3D Max 14 is the software that several of us bought awhile back. Since version 15 is the current version, 14 is real cheap. It's getting a bit hard to find, though. I see it at Pricegrabber. for $27.95
You might be able to find it even cheaper. Google for it using the name string above, but I'd suggest staying away from any "express" version.
Note that the "Plans" folder here at Knots is also set aside for CAD discussions, so if you get a copy, you can ask questions there. Lot's of CAD experts here at Knots!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I've had such a thing on my "honey-do list" for "awhile" now, LOL. After kicking the idea around in that massive empty thing that sits on my shoulders, I came up with the idea of what has been described as "home plate". (Of course I've not progressed beyond the idea, but I see that it has potential.
Maybe next year. ;-)
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