electronic clutter

I think one of the hardest things about owning a home is finding pieces of furniture that not only reflect your style but also are function able and inviting as well. I am always looking for a certain piece that usually doesn't seem to exist in the real world. Sometimes I get lucky and stumble upon exactly what I am looking for.  I have always despised your typical TV console. You know what I am talking about. The $99 special from Wal-mart that we always regret two years later. That ranks right up there with a boob light in my book. I've had many growing up and they got me through my college apartment years as well.

Really, though. If you think about it, a TV console makes up the biggest piece of furniture in your living room besides your chairs and sofas. It should ease the reflection of style in your room, not take away from it. Just because we need an object to function in our daily lives doesn't mean it can't look pretty too...

When I was searching for a TV console, I really wanted to go with something rustic and different like this piece:

Photo courtesy of ebay.com

 As much as  I love it, I struggle with spending a lot of money I something I may hate in two years. Something that may grow out of style. Something you can't typically pass on. This would have worked, for now. In fact, I wanted all of my furniture to look like re-purposed items made from old junk but as much as I like classic wood furniture, that was not going to happen. That was a lot of money to spend on something that cannot morph with your style 10-20 years from now.

Then I decided to look for more something like this piece. Function able, country, traditional but yet different.

Photo courtesy of potterybarn.com

The problem with a solid wood piece made for a specific function like this is they can get awfully pricey! Pottery barn wanted $1099 for this piece. No. Way. In. Hell. Is it even solid wood? I think the frame might be but that's it.

My search and research continued.

When I least expected it, I stumbled upon our piece from Weaver's Furniture Barn in Nappanee, Indiana. It was ridiculously on sale for $150. You can't beat that price for a piece made out of solid reclaimed wood. Heck, I don't think you can go to Wal-Mart and get something for that cheap anymore. The problem with this piece is that it isn't made to be a TV stand. Technically, you could take the doors off but I think that would ruin the piece. I liked it because it was the right height for our wall mounted TV and if for some reason I wanted a different console, I could use it as a side or buffet table somewhere else. And for $150, I was going to make it work!

We found this piece was pretty but not necessarily function-able. Unfortunately, with the luxury of electronics comes stuff and components. And lots of it. Our DVD player is pretty small so we wind the cord and the HDMI cable up around it and store it in the cabinet when we aren't using it. We don't watch a ton of movies so it's not too much of a bother to get the player out when we want to watch a movie. We do however, argue over who is going to do it. Usually I win and the husband has to hook up the DVD player. Only because I found the bargain.

The main problem was our cable box component. It had to be on the outside at all times in order to access it with a remote. I didn't want it on top of the console because I don't like the whole electronic clutter look. I wanted the top reserved for my nick-knacks.

 My husband actually came up with a pretty awesome solution all on his own.

Just mount the sucker to the bottom! That way it's out of the way and clutter free but can still function on a daily basis.

This way, we made our piece function able and we were still able to avoid the dreaded electronic clutter. Luckily, we don't have a lot of devices to keep around. Just the cable box and our DVD player. We keep our Wii upstairs in the landing room. The other cabinet and the drawers are actually left empty in case we will need them for something else someday. It works for now!

In case you're wondering how I have so much space left over in our new TV console, I keep our dreaded [I say dreaded because I really want to convert it all to digital] DVD collection in this matching milk cupboard on the other side of the wall. No, I do not keep our milk in it! The shelves inside were absolutely, perfectly the right size for holding DVDs. This cabinet was also ridiculously on sale for $75 at Weaver's as well. Again, solid reclaimed wood. Can't beat it!

I think the two pieces set a warm atmosphere in the room. A lot of people that come over tell me how everything seems to flow so nicely like a magazine picture. I think it's because I try to avoid electronic clutter when I can. I don't even like our outlets but we have to have them. You know, for that thing we call electricity. I like electricity. A lot. I just hate the way it looks.

• Wall color: Sherwin William's Foothills SW7514
• Printed urtains: Pipper Classics - Highland Ridge
• Sheer curtains: K-mart
• Trunk: Gift from family friend
• Lamp: Pipper Classics - Lumberton
• Sectional : Natuzzi
• Vintage scale : antique store

So what pieces have you re-purposed to function as something other than what they were intended for?