Need TV stand with shelves on top
January 25, 2007 9:36 AM   Subscribe

For the life of me I cannot find a TV stand with shelves on top for the DVD player, cable box etc. Everything has shelves on the bottom. I cannot afford to have one designed and built. Any ideas or suggestions?
posted by sandra194 to Home & Garden (14 answers total)
 
I get your point - looking at Ikea's selection, they're all shelf-underneath versions.

Here's an idea - find a cabinet solution somewhere else that has the TV compartment completely enclosed - then take the measurements of one you like and spend a while at IKEA checking out their TV stands (with shelves on the bottom) that have similar width/depth measurements to the cabinet you already found. Then, just don't put the wheels/other leg apparatus on the bottom of it - just build it and set it on top of the unit you already have enclosing the TV. You're still probably going to have those shelves you don't want on the bottom - but perhaps you can fill them with something else?
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:50 AM on January 25, 2007


If you have a small TV, you can use a bookshelf with (re)movable shelves. If it's larger, you might want to look at armoires or cabinets rather than 'TV stands'. Alternately, if you have a TV stand and the TV is up agains the wall, is it possible to mount a shelf behind and above it?
posted by cobaltnine at 9:50 AM on January 25, 2007


What's your reason for wanting the shelves on top? My sister-in-law has an armoire-type TV cabinet and there is a shelf on top where she's put the DVD player, VCR, and stereo receiver...unfortunately, the shelf isn't supported at all in the middle and is bowing pretty badly. My guess is that the issue of shelf support is the major reason why they're all built with the shelves on the bottom.

As for having one built, would it really be more expensive that buying one? I'm not terribly handy, but I'd guess all you'd need is just some plywood, nails, screws and some shelf support brackets that are shaped like an L that they use in closets. It wouldn't look great, but it'd be cheap.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:55 AM on January 25, 2007


I agree about TV cabinets. Also check used furniture stores, as most older furniture is designed for smaller TVs rather than giant screens where everything has to be beneath it. Our TV cabinet for example has shelves to the side, and it cost us $50 used.
posted by calhound at 9:55 AM on January 25, 2007


Would something like this work?
posted by JanetLand at 9:58 AM on January 25, 2007


there are monitor shelves that may do the trick.
posted by Gungho at 9:59 AM on January 25, 2007


For starters, look for "entertainment centers" and not "TV stands". The latter goes under the TV by definition. Target and Costco both have small entertainment centres with top shelves, for instance.
posted by mendel at 10:07 AM on January 25, 2007


We bought a solid wood armoire at Liquidation World that has a shelf above the TV. Prior to that, I'd mounted some shelving on the wall above the TV myself. It wasn't pretty, but it was functional.
posted by Nodecam at 10:13 AM on January 25, 2007


I have this one from Ikea and it is awesome.

You can get it without the drawers and save some cash, and you can get it without the very top part and save more cash.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 10:34 AM on January 25, 2007


If all else fails, you could always buy one with shelves on the bottom, then turn it upside down.
posted by box at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2007


I second JanetLand's suggestion.

They sell them at BestBuy for around $30. It took a bit to find it, as A/V "furniture" and such is scattered around the whole store. I just put one up this week to hold a tivo, sat box, and dvd player.
posted by jma at 10:41 AM on January 25, 2007


Having followed instructions right into building a number of things upside-down ACCIDENTALLY, I second Box's suggestion.

(Sometimes I've done it on purpose, too.)

In almost all that self-assembled stuff, flat-for-shipping stuff, the difference between up and down is really just a matter of where you put the legs, anyway.
posted by rokusan at 11:58 AM on January 25, 2007


Buy a wall mounted shelf for the DVD player.
posted by yohko at 2:46 PM on January 25, 2007


Perhaps if you can find a botom-shelf one that you like, you can just move the shelf by drilling new holes for the brackets/pegs? Or if it's the assemble yourself kind, just put in the pieces that hold the shelf brackets upside-down, rather than building the whole thing upside-down?
posted by Shoeburyness at 9:41 AM on January 26, 2007


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