Console-ation

*Edit*

A few months after this post-hubby and I settled on this beauty! It wasn't quite what we were looking for and it is a little "matchy/matchy" but at least it flows well and it isn't black. Best of all--it came in under $400 :)



*End Edit


When my parents bought our first house, they bought all the furniture in one fell swoop. I loved our first house. I remembered thinking it was the prettiest house in the whole wide world and I could not believe that it was ours! It was a sweet little ranch house, painted a pretty shade of pink. Out front was a low magnolia tree with crooked branches that our little hands and feet could reach for a "climb". My sister and I shared a room back then. We squabbled a lot but we'd talk about how we were going to paint our room pink (on her side) and lavender (my side). We thought it was the best idea ever but alas, it never reached fruition for she, at the mature age of 13, declared her independence from me and moved into a bedroom in our renovated basement. My brother and I had a lot of fun there too. We used to run around and play hide & seek. I used to hide inside the hall closet, wrap our Dad's big trench overcoat around me, and put my feet inside bags so I would be hidden IN the closet too!

We had a lot of great memories in that old house. Now that we have our first house, I feel almost the same giddy sense of wonderment. It is different and even more special because we get to do whatever we want to our house! We've done a lot but we are still missing a media stand for our television. Although most people wall mount flat screens, we didn't want random cords and cables dripping down the wall nor did we want to drill a hole to hide them. Plus, hanging it above the fireplace is too high to view the TV comfortably when sitting and armoires are just plain random. Rather than trying to hide the TV, we're just looking for a pretty piece of furniture to rest it on. No hiding. No shame.

Originally, I was hoping for a vintage sidebar or buffet to repurpose as the media stand. I would distress it and paint it in a beigey-champagne with light French blue peeking underneath. I actually love woodworking (did it in high school). There is something really comforting about sanding down rough wood into a satiny-soft surface. But alas! vintage is now suddenly haute and very expensive. We've since moved to online searches with the following requirements:

1. Glass windows (so one can use a remote to power different players without needing opening the doors.)
2. Pretty, intricate details (nothing too sleek).
3. Solid hardwood (hubby's requirement but I also agree).
4. Prefer painted in creamy beige, white, deep brown. No black. Black is a big no because our TV is black. It'd just be way too much black against one wall. It'd be the black wall of nothing. Can't do black.
5. Minimum 60 inches wide.

First Choice.



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Pro: Slightly higher than the others...just enough to make it multi-functional: entry table, dining room sideboard, media stand, sofa table etc; eco-harvested hardwood-even the back is hardwood, gorgeous detailing; pre-assembled; easy return to C&B retail store.
Con: $$$. $809.00 after 10% discount.


Second Choice:

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Pro: Price. About $345 after coupon codes; some hardwood, pretty feet detail.
Con: Assembly is a PITA, return is very annoying, not sure of quality, REALLY don't want black.
Comment: If we get this, I would distress it but I'm not sure I'm up to the task of sanding and priming hardwood veneer.

Third Choice:


Wrong color but another view to get an idea of how it'd look in use:


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Pro: Already distressed! Beautiful solid hardwood, really love the creamy vintage white color and the cute feet.
Cons: Price. $838 shipped. Returns will be a hassle since there is no retail store in this state. Vintage is a passing phase so it's not the best idea to spend nearly $1k on a trend.


I'm leaning towards the second one because of the economical price. It is just a TV stand. Just something to hold the TV and store all the loose wires/remote to keep the area tidy. We also have a Target giftcard left from our wedding so we would only need to spend $245 out of pocket for it.

But...hubby and I have a penchant for nice things. The fact that the first choice is can be repurposed into many different things helps assuage the guilt we feel for considering it. One of these days, we're going to check it out in person at the C&B store because it is in stock. We may look at big box furniture stores for other options. I guess after 9 months, we're not in a hurry to find something anyway.