In March, the television set becomes the most popular attraction in many homes! There’s sports: baseball is about to start, and basketball and hockey are just getting really interesting. It’s also the time of year for celebrity awards shows.

When friends and family gather ‘round the tube at your home, what do they see? There’s not only what’s on the screen but also what surrounds it! An attractive setting – a well-chosen console or entertainment center – makes the entire room more visually pleasing. If you’re particular about choosing your furniture and decor, you might also put some thought into selecting a stand that best showcases your TV, electronics, and the room where you take it all in.

Consoles: Still a Flexible Choice

The console continues to be the top choice for many folks. Media consoles can be plain tables, or they can contain drawers or open shelves. Some may not have the shelving capacity of a large wall unit, but almost all can store a few accessories or display some decor items.

Consoles are a good choice in a room with a farmhouse or rustic theme. Most are wooden, and the wood can complement other furnishings or contrast with them. They’re also an excellent option if you want to locate your TV set in a corner.

Typically, you would select a console that’s a few inches wider than the TV on each side. However, you can put a smaller TV on a larger console if there’s a vase or some other decor item to lend a sense of balance.

Contemporary media consoles come in a variety of styles. Some look like formal furniture and others are more casual. You can even find a console with a distressed wood look.

A Console with a Hutch

If you love the look of a console but want extra storage capacity, many consoles come with a hutch that surrounds the TV. These units have blurred the distinction between consoles and media centers; they afford generous storage in the form of drawers and shelving. Some hutched consoles are quite elegant with intricate scroll detailing.

Fireplace Consoles

People used to gather around the hearth, but now they’re more likely to cluster around the TV. With a fireplace console, your family and guests can do both! An electric fireplace console is an entertainment center with an integrated fireplace, an electrical plug-in unit that displays an artificial flame and operates with or without heat. If you have a chilly room, perhaps in a lower level, your TV arrangement can provide the warmth to enjoy it by! Alternatively, you can enjoy the ambiance of the fireplace without heat–a great benefit during warmer weather months.

Some come with remotes so you can change the temperature as easily as you change channels! And if you’re thinking about safety, relax! Electric fireplace consoles don’t affect your electronics or your furniture. There’s no smoke, smell or ashy mess.

Entertainment Centers on the Wall

If you have a sizable wall, what better use for it than a spacious TV entertainment center! Pick a unit that’s the right size for your room: not hogging the whole wall, and not so small that it looks dwarfed. Most entertainment walls contain a large central opening for the TV. Others have shelves rising on each side and nothing above the television itself.

Choose one that fits your set. There should be a few inches on each side within the TV opening. The television should be at eye level when you’re seated.

Some entertainment centers have drawers, some have open shelving and some feature a combination of the two. Others have curio-like cubbyholes enclosed by glass. Your choice depends largely on what will go on your shelves. If you have wiring, gaming consoles and cable boxes, you’ll probably want a way to hide them. Some units have sliding or shutter doors so the TV can disappear when you’re not watching.

Wooden entertainment centers can blend in with furniture, but fans of modern or contemporary styles may prefer mixed media units featuring a mix of wood, glass and metal. Some trendier centers have open laddered shelves rising on either side.

Console, Entertainment Center or Entertainment Wall?

There was a time when the console was the only choice for a TV stand. There was no such thing as hanging a set on the wall, so you had to place it atop a piece of furniture. Today, there are options. You can still use a console, but it’s becoming more common to frame a hanging TV with an entertainment center or an entertainment “wall”. These walls contain lots of shelves for sound bars, other electronics and also creative decor.

How to Decorate an Entertainment Center or Wall

Open shelves and shelves fronted with glass provide a wonderful opportunity to express your creativity with decor. One key to a fashionable shelving unit is to place neither too much or too little on the shelves. Most attractive arrangements use about 50 to 75 percent of the space, leaving the remainder for balance and restraint. A minimalist interior design might show even more unoccupied shelving.

In many ways, decorating a wall unit is like adorning a bookcase. You pique interest by mixing your decor and not always putting similar items on the same shelf. Clusters of like objects, especially if they’re collectibles, give your entertainment center some definition.

Remember to use depth for contrast between decor items. Some can be close to the edge and others pushed back toward the wall.

An entertainment center or wall is a place to house a television set, but it has the potential to be so much more! If your TV room looks like it could use a pick-me-up for the upcoming prime viewing season, a furniture upgrade may be exactly what’s called for!