When buying an entertainment center, it is important to choose the best fit for your room and lifestyle. Home entertainment centers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, and each one has different features that can suit your needs.

Measuring Tip: Make sure you know the dimensions of the length and depth of the area where you want to place your home entertainment center, along with the height, width and depth of your television.

1. Entertainment Walls

If you have a widescreen TV, a DVD or Blu-ray player and a never ending collection of movies, an entertainment wall might be the best choice for you. The typical design consists of a large center shelf for your television, fully surrounded by smaller shelves for your media, accessories and decor. This option provides you with the most amount of storage space - many entertainment walls are built with over a dozen compartments to keep everything displayed and organized. If you want a built-in entertainment center, this could give you everything you are looking for.

Some TV entertainment walls have more open designs, while others have some shelves covered by cabinet doors or drawers. If you are trying to make your living room look bigger, a white entertainment center will make the area look even more open. You can find a wall entertainment center with built-in lights in each shelf, which can provide a spotlight for your family photos or art pieces.

(Pictured: American Drew Camden Black 64" Entertainment Center Wall)

---

2. TV Stands/Consoles

If you are looking for a more simple solution to store your electronic accessories, go with a TV stand or TV console. This small entertainment center has a low, horizontal design that will still provide you with plenty of storage for your DVD or Blu-ray player, gaming system and movies. You can find a TV console table with larger storage doors or drawers if you have more movies and accessories to store.

When looking at flat screen TV stands, you will need to make sure the width and weight capacity will support your television. Some TV stands for flat screens are designed to be extra wide, allowing you to display small accessories on the top shelf right beside your television. If you have a small television, you will want a small TV stand to keep everything in proportion.

You can easily find a modern entertainment center with all-glass shelves. The advantage of a glass TV stand is that it will instantly give a more expensive look to your electronics and media. A contemporary entertainment center can also be constructed with black glass, which will give a sleek look.

(Pictured: Powell Plasma Stand)

---

3. TV Stands with Hutches

If you are looking for a tall TV stand, go for one with a top hutch built in. The top hutch can come in handy for storing things like speakers, movies and books, as well as displaying decor like family photos or collectibles. There are also TV stands with hutches that have additional shelving on each side, but still take up less room than entertainment walls. You can also have the advantage of choosing a corner entertainment center with a hutch, which will fit perfectly into the corner of the room and take up a minimal amount of space. A corner TV stand is the best option for a smaller room.

TV entertainment centers with hutches are available in many finishes that can suit different style rooms. An oak entertainment center will look nice in a traditional room, while a black entertainment center may work better in a more modern room. The hutch height above the TV entertainment center will vary, so make sure to measure properly in order to ensure it is tall enough to hold your items.

(Pictured: Hooker Furniture Brookhaven Corner Console & Hutch)

---

4. TV Armoires

If you are looking for a media cabinet that can give you the option to close your electronics and wires behind doors, a TV armoire is a great option. Television armoires are typically designed with two tall cabinet doors to cover the TV, and a few large drawers on the bottom for storage. There are usually shelves right above or beneath the TV to hold electronics like DVD or Blu-ray players. A power bar is also sometimes built in to keep wires organized. If you are looking to save space, you can find a corner TV cabinet or armoire to fit right in the corner of a room.

(Pictured: Modus Furniture Armoire)

 

For more entertainment center ideas on decorating, you can check out our Pinterest board.

---