DIY AV furniture

Yeah, I'm in the process of designing an AV console for my future dedicated media room.

Nothing I've seen prebuilt has done it for me as far as style (I'm looking for modern, but not the Miami Vice look that seems to be available).

So I've been using Google Sketchup to make a model that I'll have a carpenter make for me. I'll buy some pre-made parts, like a TV mount, but everything else will be custom.

I'm thinking of using layers of baltic birch plywood for the material. Sounds odd, I know, but there's some pretty bitchin' stuff you can do with plywood if you treat it right.

I've built TV stands a few times before. Always prefer this over buying particle board stands from the typical places.

Only thing to be careful of is ensuring you have enough bracing for the weight of your TV itself. Of course that's if you plan on setting the TV on the stand. You just don't want the top shelf to begin sagging after a few months.

Birch plywood is easy to work with while also being very stiff/strong. As for finishing, as long as you pre-treat the wood before trying to apply stain you'll be fine. I personally like to put two coats of teak oil before staining, then a final coat after the stain to seal it in. If you go straight to staining you can end up with serious blotchiness.

I usually just measure all of my components and try to draw up a design. I like for my receiver and center to both be perfectly centered, with the other components on either side. I also usually aim to have the width of the TV to match the Width of the stand. Really it's just a matter of what you want it to look like.


I like using 3/4" plywood. Sometimes I'll use the scrap pieces to make veneer to cover the edges of the plywood. I'll just cut strips to the desired width, and will run them through a table saw to rip the veneered edge off.