Last year we had a new dilemma. Our old TV died, and we had to get a new one. In a way, with the new digital conversion to take place this year, this was good. But a new TV was not the dilemma, the dilemma was a new entertainment center. In the past, a new TV did not mean that you had to change the large pieces of furniture in your house, but with the new style flat TV, this time it was notas musicales.

Now, I love our new TV, and so do all the men in the house who have to carry it. Our old 27” TV must have weighed around 200 lbs., but our new and larger TV weighs less than 50 lbs, so change is good. But the TV would not fit into our entertainment center, so shopping for a new one and finding the perfect one for our family room was our quest.

When it comes to entertainment centers, people have different requirements. The main requirement of my old entertainment center was one that could completely shut away the television. But that was when we lived in our old house and we only had a living room. With a separate family room now, that was not such an important feature.  The main feature I was interested in this time was one that saved space. Our old entertainment center was very deep to close away the TV and took up a lot of floor space.  We definitely did not need this anymore, so I was happy for the extra room. Our family room is narrow, so I only wanted something to hold the TV and the extra components.

• Shopping for entertainment centers was fun, and the variety was larger than I expected. The new style TV has spawned a new style of entertainment centers, and old styles are available also. The main styles available included:
• Entertainment wall units, these are the style that take up an entire wall and often include cupboards and shelves, which are great for books or display.
• Entertainment armoires, which is the style I previously owned. You can close off the TV with doors.
• TV lift cabinets, a style of entertainment centers that I was not familiar with, but very cool! These are only for the new TV designs. The back 9 or 10 inches of the cabinet top opens and the TV lifts up from down below. Since the TV takes up so little room, the cupboards below are fully functional for storage.
• Corner entertainment centers.
• Last buy not least, basic TV stands. TV stand styles have changed drastically with flat panel televisions, and they are often very modern and chic. Most have plenty of room for components on shelves underneath, and many offer matching shelving or audio towers.