Home Theater Beautified
These days entertainment options are severely limited. Most movie theaters, sports arenas and other entertainment venues are closed or tickets expensive and hard to come by. Add in Hollywood’s halt on new theater releases, film and television production and a home theater set up/upgrade becomes a vital element to an enjoyable winter. There’s no better way to upgrade your entertainment space than with BDI‘s highly functional, beautiful entertainment furniture, which is available at retailers and e-tailers across the country. With prices ranging from $2,100 to nearly $4,000, there are styles for any sized room and decor. Rest assured, BDI’s A/V furniture is high quality and built to last for years.
Take Inventory
No matter where one’s sports and movie-viewing area will be, the media console is vital—it will store and hide the components and their wires. A media console should offer features designed to extend the life of the components inside, while looking good doing it. Determine the space needed to store the system by taking stock of your electronics, including speakers, sound bar, A/V receiver, streaming devices, cable box, game consoles, Blu-ray, and more.
Choose a Style
Next, set the stage for entertainment. It’s worth the investment upfront to select a media cabinet—like the BDI Corridor 8179 (available in a new Natural Walnut in Nov. 2020)—that has a timeless design and offers great functionality that can be at home in your spaces for many years. Even with streaming technology, modern-day entertainment setups still come with a lot of cables, so an integrated cord management system will keep everything bundled and neat.
Checklist
Features to look out for when shopping for a media console include:
- Cable management
- Ventilation panel placements
- Adjustable shelves
- Remote control signal pass-thru
- Space for a sound bar
- Acoustically transparent doors
- Wheels and feet levers
- TV strap to prevent tipping
- Hinges, handles and door closing mechanisms
- Height to match room decor
- Width to accommodate large TVs
- Finish and build quality
BDI’s media cabinets feature ventilation panels, both inside the cabinet and on the backside, will prolong the life of your equipment by letting air easily pass through, keeping components cool.
Accessibility
BDI’s Elements 8779 media cabinet doors are specially designed to allow sound and remote signals to flow through to components inside while giving you full access to everything within. A unique computer-guided laser-cutting process creates detailed patterns in the wood door panels, while perforated metal backing keeps contents out of sight.
Adaptability
Adjustable shelves make it easy to fit over-sized components and the flexibility to increase usable storage. There’s nothing worse than finding out your shiny new A/V receiver doesn’t fit in your media center or doesn’t have enough ventilation to prevent over heating.
For some, an audio tower is crucial. The BDI Corridor 8172 (available in natural walnut November 2020) offers beautifully designed customizable storage for audiophiles—perfect for keeping AV components, media and vinyl records organized.
BDI cabinets factor in ease of use, as seen on this Corridor (pictured above). Hidden wheels and feet levelers ensure the cabinet can maintain even footing on uneven surfaces. Plus, wheels make it easier to move the cabinet in or out from the wall when connecting components.
Want to hide a sound bar? The BDI Sector 7527 media console has a unique full width fold-down panel that can accommodate any sound bar on the market. With 62-inches of interior width there’s plenty of room for the popular Sonos PlayBar (pictured above). Just remember when sound bar shopping that Dolby Atmos models have upward firing speakers and are not ideally placed inside a cabinet. Instead look for sound bars with outward-facing speakers such as Sonos Beam ($399) or Yamaha YAS-209 ($349). Any sound bar labeled as 2.1 or 3.1-channels is likely a safe bet.
Complete the Look
A center coffee table, like the Terrace 1150 from BDI, is a great place to display keepsakes, hide away remote controls, or stage your latest meal around the TV. Side tables also play double duty for storage or providing surfaces for drinks and your own homemade movie theater popcorn.
Brand new for Fall 2020, the Tanami 7120 Bar (matching media console available — Tanami 7109) is one of three offered by BDI. No family room on a weekend night is complete without it! Behind the fluid design of its sculpted doors is ample storage for everything a fully stocked bar needs.
With a little planning and the right high-quality furniture, the entertainment experience is one that may give cinemas temporary competition… yet can bring lifelong enjoyment!
Price & Availability
All BDI cabinets shown here are currently available in a variety of finishes and door styles. There are no up charges for different finishes. Check for your local retailer at: https://www.bdiusa.com/retailers or buy online at Amazon and Crutchfield.
- BDI Tanami 7120 Bar – $3,959 at Amazon
- BDI Tanami 7109 Quad Console – $3,409 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Elements 8779 Quad Cabinet – $3,849 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Corridor 8179 Quad Cabinet – $3,409 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Corridor 8173 Low Quad Cabinet – $3,189 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Corridor 8172 Audio Tower – $2,749 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Sector 7527 Media Cabinet – $2,105 at Amazon / Crutchfield
- BDI Terrace 1150 Coffee Table – $1,429 at Amazon
