A Guide To Buying A TV Cabinet

Most of us have televisions in at least one room of the house. And although it is possible to get brackets to mount some of them on the wall, most of us still prefer to buy TV cabinets to house them in.

The problem is that when you start to take a look at the options you have available, everything can look rather overwhelming! There are so many different shapes, materials and designs that you can be stumped when it comes to choosing the right one for you.

So with that in mind, we have created this buyer’s guide to getting the TV cabinet that will work for you. Once you have read through this guide you should be able to go to our Shop Now section and find it even easier to pick your ideal TV cabinet!

What room is the cabinet meant to be for?

There was a time when the television was meant to fit in the front room or lounge. But nowadays most people have several televisions in their home, and each room may have very different needs from the others.

For example, a TV cabinet that is intended to go in the lounge is likely to be larger than one which is meant for the bedroom. A television in the bedroom is more likely to be smaller, and therefore it won’t require the same kind or size of unit you might consider buying for the lounge.

The chances are you will know exactly what room you are thinking of buying the TV cabinet for. The only time that indecision might enter the mix is if you have just moved into a new property, and you are still considering where everything will be placed, and what rooms will perform which functions.

Where will it fit in?

Once you have the room sorted out, you will need to think about the best position in the room that a TV cabinet will fit into.

In order to get this right you need to think about where the rest of the furniture will go. For example you might have a certain spot in mind for the TV, but if you cannot position the sofa and armchairs in the best places for optimum viewing pleasure, then you will need to rethink what you have considered already.

If need be, try moving the furniture round and putting your TV on the floor to get an idea of how well it would work in certain positions. Once you have figured out the ideal position and you are happy with it, you should measure up to find out what size unit would fit into that area. Make sure you note down the maximum sizes in each direction, and bear in mind that any doors or drawers the unit might have need to be able to open as well.

This is one point that a lot of people tend to forget!

Do you need a corner unit?

Corner units are designed in a set way so they fit neatly into the corner of a room without wasting too much space at the rear.

Generally speaking you will find less choice of corner units than you will in standard square or rectangular shaped TV cabinets. With that said though, you should still easily be able to find the exact unit you need in this style. Many ranges do a corner unit as well as a standard one.

How big does it need to be?

Obviously you cannot go above the size that you have worked out is the maximum that will fit. But you should also consider what else you need to put into the unit.

Some people think of a TV cabinet being just that – it is meant for the television and nothing else. But some are big enough to use for other reasons as well, including housing your DVD and video collection.

If this is the case you will need a larger cabinet and it may have to accommodate more DVDs and so on in the future as well! Do bear this in mind when you are figuring out what you will need to be able to put inside it.

How big is your television, and what type do you have?

All TV cabinets are built with a certain size of television in mind. Most of them will clearly state what the maximum size screen is that they can accommodate. And they should also tell you whether they are suitable for a particular type of television.

For example, some are built with plasma screens in mind. They may have a bracket extending up from the back of the unit that enables you to mount your plasma screen on it. Everything else then goes underneath on the shelves of the unit.

Other more advanced units might actually house your plasma screen inside them. Once the television is properly attached, you can press a button and the screen will rise up out of a ready made slot in the top of the Tv cabinet. This is ideal if you don’t want your television to be on show all the time; however units like this can be very pricey.

Whatever you go for, you must make sure you know the exact size of your television before you start shopping.

Do you want an open unit, or one that conceals everything when it is not in use?

Some people like everything to be neat and tidy. If this is you then you probably won’t want to have open shelves in your TV cabinet. Some will still come with shelves, but they may be behind doors that can be closed whenever you aren’t using your equipment.

A typical example would be a unit where the DVD player and video recorder sit behind the doors on separate shelves, and the television sits on top of the unit. But you may also get a unit which is large enough to have doors that close on the television as well.

These TV cabinets tend to be made from wood rather than anything else, and they can be made to order as well. Because of the size of them they tend to be more expensive, but you will notice the degree of workmanship in them. They also look extremely good even when they are closed, because they draw the eye and make you believe that you are looking at an ornate cabinet housing anything but a TV!

Do you want a unit with the back open?

This is very important, and surprisingly not all units accommodate the fact that DVDs and videos have cables coming out of the back of them.

Some TV cabinets have open backs, so sorting out the cabling for your various items should not be a problem. The better units with backs to them should all have holes ready made so you can feed the wires through. This version does look better from the front as you shouldn’t be able to see any wires or plugs at all.

You will generally pay more for a unit with a back panel, as it will essentially be just a shelving unit if you don’t have a back on it. But whatever you decide to buy, it is a good idea to make sure you check what design the TV cabinet adheres to before you pay your money.

Does this unit need to house other items as well as your television?

We’re not talking about DVDs and video cassettes here. We are mainly talking about a DVD player, a video player and perhaps a cable receiver if you have one. Think about the different things you have, and more importantly how many you have in total.

Some of the smaller TV cabinets only have room for one or two items underneath. This would be no good in the above example where you have three items to find room for. You aren’t supposed to sit one on top of the other as it may not be able to breathe properly and let the hot air out.

So be sure about any other items which need to be fitted in – both now and in the future.

What type of material do you want your unit to be made from?

There are plenty of choices here. There are as many different woods as you can think of, and within that selection they may be stained, waxed or varnished to provide a different finish.

But you also have more modern choices such as glass, metal and chrome. You can also buy TV cabinets that are a combination of two or more of the above items. Some modern sellers also have TV cabinets which feature modern materials used for the doors or drawer fronts, which are sprayed in any one of a number of bright colours.

As you will see when you start looking around, you have plenty of choices. You just need to decide whether you want your unit to fit in with the furniture you already have, or whether you are happy for it to be completely different.

How much money do you have to spend?

This is the big question! On our travels we have seen a TV cabinet that sold for less than £9. And at the other end of the scale we have seen a cabinet that had a price tag of around £16,000.

Obviously there are as many cabinets available as there are budgets. But you need to find a balance between what you want and what you can afford to spend. Wooden units are often cheaper than you might think, for example. And veneers – that is, a thin layer of real wood over a cheaper backing material – can be the cheapest option of all when you want the look of wood and not the price.

Be sure to shop around too, as you can quite often get a better deal by doing this.

What look are you going for?

This is all important. Some TV cabinets are very modern looking and minimalist in the amount of materials they use. As such they tend to be very open in their design and do not have doors on them.

Others are as traditional as you can get. They are made from ornately carved wood that will fit into a house that has antiques in every room. In this sense TV cabinets really can cater for every taste. This is one of the reasons why you need to shop around as much as you can. See what the independent stores and websites have to sell as well as the shops you know and are familiar with. This will give you the best choice and options.

In conclusion

As you can see, the choices available in the TV cabinet market are overwhelmingly huge. No matter what television you might have; no matter how big or small it might be; and no matter which room you might be thinking of installing it in, there is going to be a cabinet out there which will meet all your needs and more.

You will certainly find your search much easier if you read through this guide and do all your homework before you actually start shopping for your TV cabinet. If you rush out and start looking before you have all the answers, you could end up buying something that doesn’t really meet your needs after all.

Finally, make sure you don’t buy something on impulse chiefly because it is being offered at a good price. The more you can focus on your needs and find a unit that meets all of them and more, the more satisfied you will be with your final purchase.

And since this is a unit that you will want to use for many years to come, it makes sense to put some work into the actual shopping process. So if you are ready, take a look at our Shop Now section, to see what your options are for the TV cabinet you have your heart set on. Good luck!