T he entertainment center is part of the bar and refrigerator cabinet(s), so there is quite a bit going on in the space. There is also a LCD tv on a lift at the forward end, this had to be laid out carefully to be both functional and not look too busy. Oh and there was a Blue-ray player and a Bose Home Theater System to fit in.
The basic cabinet laid out fairly easily, the tv and the refrigerator each were a fixed size and what was left between them was what we had to work with for drawer space and bar. That pretty much put the Blue-ray and Bose on top of the refer cabinet.
audio/video cabinet concept sketch
While building and installing the cabinets I kept thinking about how to mount the equipment and also make it look good. Usually I have been able to mount the audio/video equipment behind pocket doors in a cabinet, which makes for an elegant solution. I sketched up and laid out a few rough ideas but did not like them. They were boxy and hid all but the face of the Bose component, which bothered me. It is a very nice looking piece with a softly curved top. It seemed wrong, at least on this boat, to conceal it. This interior is very contemporary as is the Bose, I thought that we should accent that curved shape rather than hide it. The rough sketch to the right is my concept drawing. This was done one morning, while on the ferry to port Townsend.
After a little “tweaking” the curved sides of the cabinet were concentric with the curve on the Bose. There was a small shelf behind to cover the wires and to set the iPod doc on. The Blue-ray player was below and we had room to mount the refrigerator control on the left side at the bottom.
The completed audio/video cabinet
Rick, one of our skilled craftsmen, built the piece, then handed it off to the finishers. After the finish was complete he installed it and worked with the electricians to get the equipment securely mounted. To the right is the completed piece installed.
The system sounds great and the looks suit the boat very well.
Dan