As a central part of our homes, living rooms and kitchens are places where we gather, spend time and connect with our friends and families – sometimes around a movie, or warming our feet on a beautifully cosy fire.
One of the in-demand projects for the Pinnacle Works team this season has been designing bespoke media units, incorporating quality carpentry and exceptional finishes to bring a unique design feature to your most-used spaces.
Let us present some of the popular designs we’ve worked on and explore the advantages of making the most of your space with an attractive centrepiece that is highly functional.
The Benefits of Commissioning a Bespoke Media Unit
TV screens are slimmer, bigger and more technologically advanced than ever – but many of our clients don’t find their appliances the most aesthetic of units to hang on the wall.
A tailored media unit is a fantastic way to:
- Construct a sophisticated system that incorporates shelving, storage, your TV unit, gaming consoles, routers, and streaming boxes.
- Hide unsightly cables with in-built plug ports and invisible wiring.
- Create the perfect ambience with niche lighting embedded into nooks and recesses in your media unit.
Whether you’re keen on a realistic electric fireplace or wish to reconfigure a dated mantelpiece, a range of modern materials, stunning hardwood timbers, and skilled carpentry can achieve any style aspiration.
Design Inspiration for Media Centres and Built-in Fires
There are countless options from sleek, Scandinavian pale wood, gloss finishes, textured shelving or ultra-modern lighting systems. Pinnacle projects have involved creating statement entertainment walls as a home cinema system or building slimline cabinets to free up extra floor space.
Some of our favourite media centre concepts include:
- Scandi designs using bright finishes, minimalistic white and cream shades for simplicity and functionality.
- Repurposing false chimney breasts to create dedicated entertainment units with built-in electric fires using a previously empty part of the wall.
- Refined fireplaces, with a faux or electrical fire encased in traditional timbers, in a period style to replicate the heritage appeal of an older property.
Many contemporary TV units are wall-mounted, but the trailing wires, bulky edges and contrasting plastic can look out of place in an otherwise elegantly decorated room.
With a vast range of colours, designs and styles, your media centre can incorporate sharp edges and clean lines, sweeping curves and classic wood, or be a style statement in crisp metallics and subtle LED lighting.
Selecting Materials and Finishes for Your Home Entertainment Centre
As a team of capable carpenters and joiners, we delight in creating fitted furniture with only the finest quality materials, always finished and installed by our professional craftspeople. The materials we use follow a consultation, where you can select from any aesthetic you would like, be that solid varnished wood or a painted pop of colour.
Finishes are just as important as the durability of the underlying material, with options to hand paint your units with outstanding interior paint, spray coat, or apply hard lacquer to ensure your bespoke furniture is suitable for a lifetime of use. Bespoke units are made to your precise specifications, in tune with your decor and architecture, utilising an existing chimney or building a media centre against a blank canvas.
Incorporating a Fireplace Into a Media Unit
Why combine a fireplace and TV within a media wall unit? The key is to ensure you have a combined focal point, adding dimension and character to an otherwise plain living space.
Both fireplaces and TVs tend to form central areas around which we position our furniture and furnishings, so combining both into one bespoke unit makes a living room feel organised and decluttered. Stud wall frameworks or false chimney frontages can conceal all of your cables and wiring while making a display piece from a contemporary electric fire, all within one streamlined unit.
If you’re unsure where you would like your media wall or how to integrate your fire, consider:
- The size of your TV screen and where you’d like it positioned. This factor is important, so it’s best to test different angles where the screen is visible from every seating area without craning your neck.
- Whether you’d like your unit built into a recessed wall – often with the TV fitted flush with the outside of your furniture and a pull-out bracket to move the screen outwards into a comfortable viewing position.
- Additional devices include games consoles, speaker systems, and set-top boxes. These can be incorporated into hidden shelving, behind soft-touch doors or built into drawer systems for easy access, but without being on display.
Finally, we can showcase a range of gorgeous electrical fires with incredible warmth and ambience, yet as a safe heating appliance that you can incorporate into your media unit without a fire hazard.
Popular options include creating a smooth, white chimney breast with the TV screen and fire frontage flush with the wall as an individual unit that looks highly cultivated.
Create Your Bespoke Media Unit and Fireplace With Expert Craftsmanship From Pinnacle Works
Every unit we construct is built to your exact requirements, with our in-house team of talented craftspeople, installers and carpenters. We love the challenge of bringing a concept to life and working on a wide array of media centres, from classic hardwoods for heritage homes to contemporary finishes for updated renovations.
Many of our clients prefer to conceal media equipment and fireplaces to improve the feel of their living spaces, bring the family together, and keep wiring out of sight – and out of the reach of curious fingers and pets, as an added way to childproof your property. The benefit of built-in furniture is that it’s made specifically to fit your home, with exacting attention to detail. Every angle, join, curve and handle fit perfectly, combining the best style and functionality.
Please get in touch for any further information about the possibilities for your bespoke media centre or to access our gallery of past projects for some valuable design inspiration.