Media Center with TV Lift

So one of our two "rip it out and rebuild" areas is the media center. When we bought the camper, it was a triangular cabinet up against the wall connecting the kitchen. Yeah, it left lots of floor space open, but we wanted to install an electric fireplace and still somehow have our TV - without sacrificing counter space. Once we read Mountain Modern Life's article on the TV lift, we just knew that was the solution for us!

[If you haven't checked out Mountain Modern Life's website, you totally should!]

Here's what the entertainment center looked like when we bought the camper

First, we did the research and picked the best fireplace that fit our needs. That ended up being this ClassicFlame 42" Electric Fireplace. We had to decide how much space we were willing to sacrifice for this big 'ole cabinet (mostly to fit the massive TV Chelsea wanted. *sigh*) and this was the max that we could fit and still have functional space since the daybed isn't far from there. We learned everything about the functioning of this fireplace - how it vents heat, how much space we would need between it and the tv, etc.

After we figured out the fireplace, it was time to pick out the TV lift! We found this Touchstone Whisper Lift II from Mountain Modern Life's blog and knew we'd found the one. It holds a TV up to 68 inches/100 lbs and raises up and down within 30 seconds. It also has a handy infrared remote!

Once both of these came in, it was time to build the cabinet!

Note: The media center is comprised of 3 parts. The TV section that has the space to store the TV and keeps it far enough away from the fireplace with an added barrier of 1/4" plywood between it and the fireplace, the fireplace section which includes the wood bracing to mount the fireplace as a built-in with enough room on top to allow for proper venting as required by the specs for the fireplace (hint, this is easily found in the amazon listing) and the storage section above the fireplace that holds our game systems, dvds, etc.

Chelsea moved too fast and built this part all in a day so I didn't get any very beginning project pictures. She built the base with some 1x3s and 1x2s to mount to the wall and floor (note: the wall mounts were only the height of the actual lift at this point, we didn't know how tall the entire media center would be), leaving plenty of space for the TV lift in the back. The rest of the framing was 2x2s. We actually installed the TV lift and TV first, then built the cabinet around it. She built the back frame first and bolted the lift to that. From there, she measured how much room she needed on the sides and in front of the TV to ensure the TV fit snugly in the space. She added 1/4" plywood to separate the TV section from the fireplace and measured to make sure we had enough space for not only the fireplace (keeping to the specs for distance needed) but also to ensure that the storage section on top would be deep enough for the gaming systems.

Note: the side facing the daybed was left open for ease of installing the fireplace and to be able to reach the TV lift if need be

Before installing the fireplace, she put a couple of pieces of 2x4s underneath to lift it up not only to keep it off the floor, but to ensure we could give it that nice built-in look. She sat the fireplace on top of the 2x4s and referred back to the specs for the distance needed above it for venting and measured that distance from the floor, adding about a 1/2" for comfort. From here we could figure out how tall the entire media center would be by adding the desired height of the storage section to this measurement and could finish framing it out. She installed the fireplace, using framing boards around the face to give it a more finished look and then took a break to test the TV lift. Cause she just couldn't wait any longer to see "Bae" (the nickname for her biggest TV) in action!

After ensuring that both the TV lift and the fireplace were fully functioning (and maybe playing a little bit), it was time to move on to the storage section. She framed out the storage section with 1x3s and 2x2s, allowing for the electrical outlet we moved for the storage section, and closed it in. She did cut a hole in that 1/4" plywood separating the fireplace from the TV for the power cords for the TV and Whisperlift. She put the outside wall on, added the additional face boards and closed it all up. She added some corner trim for the outside corner and some quarter round for the inside corners to trim it out. Now we have everything installed, closed in, with no top. Time to paint!

Freshly painted! The plywood across the top isn't actually attached, we just needed a counter temporarily

So now everything is painted, it's time for the countertop and lift opening. We used 1/4" plywood as a base/backboard for the countertop, cut to fit with ~1/2" overhang on the front and side not against the wall. The plywood isn't attached yet, so we took the flooring that we picked for all of our countertops (Blue Ridge Pine from Lowes) and laid it out over the plywood to cut our lengths and get the desired pattern. Once the planks were cut, she glued them to the backboard (1/4" plywood) with liquid nails. Once that was dry, she flipped it so the backboard was facing up to draw the hole for the TV lift. We measured the TV and added a 1/2" on either side, centered that on our backboard and drew out the first of the long sides of the opening with a sharpie - marking it close enough from the edge that would be against the back wall to be able to install the piano hinge for the lid. We made the width of the opening the same width as the available space in the TV section of the media cabinet for ease (we have a 2x2 supporting that 1/4" plywood separating the two spaces and decided to make the opening the same width to use this 2x2 as a 'stopper' for the lid). This gave us the dimensions we needed to finish drawing out the rectangle for our opening.

Now it was time to cut! We got the jigsaw out and cut through the 1/4" plywood and the flooring that was glued to it on all four sides, being careful with the rectangle we were cutting out as that was the lid. Before installing the new countertop, we had to add 2x2s to support the new opening. We installed the countertop buy gluing it to the frame with liquid nails, put something heavy on it and let it dry overnight.

Next day, it was time to install the lid! Before installing the lid, we had to add an extra 1x2 along the back wall as we didn't have enough wood to give the piano hinge something to hold on to. Next we added the piano hinge to the lid and then laid the lid along the opening and attached it to the cabinet. We added some corner trim around the edges of our new countertop to hide the edges of the flooring and then it was time to test out the lid to make sure the roller on top of the TV lift pushed the lid open.

Please excuse our country selves. We didn't realized this video would be eventually used in a public setting LOL!

Once Chelsea painted the inside the lid she forgot, it was done! This is what it looks like now, all decorated and with all the gaming consoles in.

You can see we put a surge protector to plug all our electronics in over on the edge

Sorry if this post was kind of confusing! We kind of built the media center on the fly and some things may have gotten lost in translation from Chels to me. :)