1970s built-in, yuck. What would you do with this dated piece?

Take a look here and see if anything inspires you. https://www.pinterest.com/catmorales/upcycled-entertainment-centers/

I would paint it the same color as the room.

I agree with William. A nice coat of light colored paint will really update the piece. I think the depth of the piece gives it a little more character.

Here is a thought. I did it myself and it is simple : just paint the back of that chest in the colour of the wall. All of a sudden it is not "so heavy" anymore.

More modern nobs on it, done !

I would remove the doors and add baskets for storage. It appears that the entertainment center is in the main living space. I agree with painting the back with color, but not necessarily the same color as the walls try a color you have in pillows, curtains, to tie the wall into the rooms color scheme. If the room doesn't have a color scheme, well now is the perfect time to think of redecorating.

I agree with the paint. Also consider putting in a nice large aquarium or birdcage in the tv spot.

Do you like what's in the space now? Do you still want the TV there? I like taking off at least the upper doors which would really open up the look of the piece. You could take off the crown molding hoping the piece is flush to the ceiling. Or you could cut the out front piece so it's flush with the side pieces and make a bookshelf around the TV. Paint the whole thing white. Let us see what you decide.

Paint always helps Annie Sloan makes it easy. Get different knobs at hobby lobby they have a large selection. You can also put paintable wallpaper in the backs of shelves for a different texture.

Lots of great suggestions. My question to you is, Is it going to be your focal point and what do you want to be the 'eye catcher'? You could prime and paint everything to blend in, and then do something special behind the focal area: wallpaper, pop of color with paint, white bead board, tin tiles, stacked stone, glass tiles, whatever YOU like. You can make it special for you making it personal and very rewarding. Take a walk thru a furniture store and see how their designers display huge furniture pieces. Best of luck.

If you are painting over stain be sure to use a few coats of undercoat first or use a product especially made for the job. Above the tv I would get a piece of decorative wood across the the front and attach dowel rods from it to the back to make a nice wine rack. If you don't drink just place empty bottles in it for decoration. I would paint the entire unit white as it blends with all colours and would make the unit look up to date.

Painting is a good idea a light colour will make it less obvious.Somebody mentioned baskets,a great idea brings it up to date.

It make me sick when the current solution to people not liking beautiful oak cabinets and furniture. The wood was expensive to put in. Plus nature created beautiful materials. To bad it doesn't match your taste. I don't have another solution to this issue. Just voicing that fact that people think paint looks better than quality wood products. Not sure If it is just part of our instant gratification society or what else is the issue. I just think it is wrong to put paint on a beatifully crafted piece of wood furniture. This is not the first time in history. I used to deal in antiques. It was great to fnd beautiful piece of furniture made of walnut or oak. Some full felt it did fit into their home. they painted it.. I would strip the paint and multiply by many factors what I paid for the item. Problem is now. Now body will look under the paint of pieces like the one in question. It will most likely end up as land fill eventually. Maybe you should offer it on Craig's list for free if they delicately remove it. Then someone might repurpose the wood Before it ends up thrown out as trash. I guess I did have a solution after all.

Paint it either white with a favorite color on the back like this sea turquoise.

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BillyBookcases_thumb-justagirl.jpg

or this link is shows how elegant a lovely taupe would look

http://www.interiordesigngreensboro.com/2015/01/should-i-paint-my-wood-stained.html

have no clutter on the shelves, make it more a display,

no clutter by the TV

If needed, get some small wooden boxes (Ross stores) to keep remotes in . They can be painted to match or contrast.

er.I agree with the non-painters. Gorgeous, expensive wood. Take the doors off like someone else suggested and add storage baskets, bins, etc. Put contact paper, or wallpaper or fabric and liquid starch on the back to tie it into your decor. I used wrapping paper and white glue and water mixture, that way it can be washed off later. I added battery operated twinkle lights to lighten it up.

I am not suggested my style is the right way, just showing you a way to transform it without permanently altering a quality piece of furniture to conform with a current style that you, or someone else, might want to change back later.

Add a fireplace to the center. Remove the doors or replace with glass doors. Paint.

question? Is the t.v. to remain in its current place? IF NOT, I will give my thoughts. As of yesterday I'm starting a similar project for a client. First, decide if you need additional hidden storage. Everyone can always use storage that is closed from sight. To proceed take out the bottom attached shelf. Usually they are stationary. next step: contact a cabinet shop to make 2 doors that match the doors above. Next drill shelf holes on left and right and place shelf pins and new shelves that you have cut or had the cabinet shop cut. After you have your new doors you can then re-stain a DARKER color the original cabinets and new doors and shelves. (Or prime and paint) but, not white....light cream, biscuit color etc. white is dated. No one uses White for trim and furniture any longer in my area. May not be true in others parts of the Country. Been there...

I would chalk paint it and then distress it....looks like good quality... painting it will make it new again.

A good woodworking shop could trim down the side panels to reduce the depth of the tv cabinet.

Since you are going to a flat screen, you will probably put it on the wall or either set it on a small table...taking our these pieces will really open up your room. I got rid of mine...23" deep for a 17" deep hip high, 5' wide piece in dark wood.

These center units can be used for a variety of things. Take out the doors and hardware and you can make a delightful changing center for a new baby. Drawers underneath for everything you need; add a shelf above and put diapers and wipes handy.

My daughter put mine in her office in her new town home...her office supplies in drawers and when someone comes in, her papers go off her desk and behind the doors!

In one of the side units she put a small spring rod just inside the top, added a light blue cloth panel and made a cabinet for all the "JUNK" she did not want in her bathroom drawers and cabinet...a bin with curling irons, blow dryers, extra rolls of paper, towels, etc. She has the space in her bathroom for it to sit behind the door.

Add some shelves and pull out drawers and you have an excellent pantry...drawers could be for pots and pans!

If I were to make this more modern I would build a false back to bring the tv closer an mount it, then I would change out the heavy doors with a frosted glass and add LED lights inside. I would Paint the exterior in a colorful chalk paint with a contrasting modern print wall paper inside the shelves, also adding LED lighting. Remove the ornate crown molding an replacing with a simpler molding. Change out handles with a modern pull . Let us. Know what you do, ENJOY the creation!

Bring it to my house just like it is. I love it

perhaps painting it the same color as the walls to help make it blend in and not stand out so much. remove the doors and add a beautiful wall paper to interior walls or not. its beautiful the way it is.

I would remove the TV. Shelf the space and then cover with frosted glass doors. I would also cover the side shelves with frosted glass doors. I love the colour of natural wood and wouldn't do anything to change that. maybe just add some mouldings to the doors to change the plain look.

I would find myself a good cabinet maker and see if he can take it out and redo it using the wood you already have. Get the large screen TV you want and have the cabinet rebuilt around it to hold all those *necessities* you need for your media center. I would then stain it or paint it to look more modern to go with the rest of your house. You could even paint it to blend into the surrounding walls or black for a sharp contrast. While I used to like chalk paint, I am about over it now and afraid it is going to feel horribly dated in a couple of years. Stick with the timeless for built-in pieces.

We put ours out in our shed for extra storage.Works great for that..

paint it a neutral light solid color. put darker different nobs on the doors. cut a piece of wood the same size as the one in the back to shorten the inside of tv station and you can hide valuables behind it. finally you can either paint the inside of the backs of the open shelves and the tv area a different color or

contact paper or wall paper them. you can do it neutral or add pops of color.

Paint to match the walls with a pretty color on the back panel, remove the doors and tv. Put shelves in and use it as a bookcase etc.

Andrea Purcell's comment is a very good idea! Keep in mind when talking about removing it that your hardwood floor may be butted up to the cabinet and you would have to do a patch of whatever unless you have leftover flooring to match! I think it would be very stunning to paint the cabinet and wall a light dove gray and do black accent paint inside cabinet walls! Wood cabinets are hard to beat when it comes down to it! Good luck

Use it as a built-in office. I would remove the doors and paint it. Cover foamcore board with printed fabric. Place it in the back of the shelves. That will make the piece pop. Then fill the shelves with baskets with office supplies. Use the tv shelf for your computer. I would love to see pictures of what you ended up doing with it.

Paint it with chalk paint and distress it lightly. Declutter the shelves

Paint it. You can even change the design of the cabinet with different molding. Or you can remove the center portion of the cabinet and just keep the two outer shelves. Then hang the tv on the wall. I like the cabinet. But don't care for the color either.

We painted our bookcases to match our door and kitchen island, wallpapered inside the glass cabinets, and put a false wall between them to mount tv and hide cords. TV equipment is in one of the side units. You can build a false wall inside the tv space, sand, prime, paint, sand, paint again, wallpaper or paint a light colour on back of bookcases, add new hardware, style the items on the shelves (no clutter!).....perfect end result.

I like it, I would make it a lighter color though, even sand and use unicorn spit, put less stuff on the side shelves or make doors for them so it looks neater or use them for books.

If you are a minimalist, I would take doors off and get new ones made just plain fronts, take molding off and use a flat piece of wood across the top for molding, change hard ware then paint it black and shellac it....I like idea of bidding cords with fake wall..good luck..has good bones and the floor could be a nightmare..

Paint works but also add something to the back will also add detail. Wall paper ,different color paint, wood, fabric. This adds such a style that can be changed to update the style any time.

It's wood so I'd pop off the crown moulding, remove all the doors. Paint it a white to match your walls so it looks more "built in" and then either paint the back of the shelves (the wall) a different color to pop maybe, or just leave one color and accessorize with baskets and lots of awesome books. But get rid of the crown moulding. If there is a gap on the top, you can always go to lowes and get a cheap 1/4 round or a flat piece to fill the gap and then just paint over it the same color as the rest. It seems to make the room smaller looking being so prominent so painting it to match the walls means what you display will pop more than the giant monolithic unit does.

How about putting some natural stone all the way across where the flooring doesn't match? Make it look intentional? Honestly the way that center piece sticks out... I'd seriously consider ripping out the entire unit, then going to Ikea and getting shelves that go to the ceiling that are the correct width underneath and on both sides of the wall mounted flat screen. The billy series has all kinds of options to make them fit and then you can just put a flat mouding around it and it looks totally built in. And faster and cheaper than having something built in place.

I like the idea of removing just the center unit, if possible, and replacing with an electric fireplace and TV mount if you still want the TV there. That way you could tile the floor space instead of trying to match the wood floor and it would look like a hearth. Replacing the crown molding with flat pcs and painting the whole thing to match walls would modenize it and the color added to the back of shelving, either paint or fabric/wallpaper, would definitely bring it into the 21st century! Removing the doors and using baskets at the bottom to hold clutter and books, pictures, etc, decorative items on upper shelves could make this one of the best pcs in the room!

An awesome aquarium stand. May need reinforced depends on weight of tank

You may be able to carefully remove the bottom molding and see if you can see under it to determine if the floor goes all the way back. If it does that would help you decide if you want to take it out or not. I agree that the color is not right for your room it makes it the center of attention so if nothing else sand it down prime it and change the color. I am not a fan of white that would just make it a bigger white elephant in the room instead of a brownish one LOL. Change out the trim also if you are keeping it. Good luck.

I had the same problem. Replacing the floor underneath could be expensive. So paint it, change the cabinet doors, the hardware, add another shelf for wine rack or componets or DVD storage and get a slightly larger TV to fill the space.

I would carefully remove the moldings and get rid of the upper doors. Changing the doors on the bottom with a more simplistic style and de-clutter as much as you can into a few nice baskets. Be sure to leave a few empty shelves so you can add a few decorative things. Painting it would help a lot and paint the back wall a slightly darker color will give it a more dimensional look as well.

It is a solid looking piece. I hope you post your results. My favorite thing to do is revamp furniture. Good luck!

I like it!! I cant see the rest of the room , so it may look yuck in the room. I would replace the doors, or remove them all together. Sand it down and paint it a color that you like. I Would love to see the end result.

I would put a mirror on the spot where the TV is and turn it into a dry bar with some pretty glasses a decanter and a few bottles of wine or liquor. That's of course if you drink and or entertain folks who do. I agree with painting it white and removing the doors. I think it will be great.

Obviously anything you do has to reflex your taste and personality. I personally I would paint the entire unit charcoal and would removed most of the shelves on the ends and put in some tall decorative objects (vases, statues etc.) I would remove the doors from the top unit and adjust or add shelves to better scale the tv opening. Your tv now pops out of there and with the charcoal paint it would blend in and not be the object of the unit or the room. Your decorative pieces and selected photos would be the centre of attention

Is it possible to move the TV somewhere else? If so, I would paint the entire unit and add shelves. Put nice baskets on the shelves. We have a large brick wall where a TV should logically go, so we hung the TV from the ceiling (no damage to the brick).

I like the unit a lot.I am a fan of wood.You can use the space behind the TV for storage!

What about a dark glaze and remove doors and turn it into a book shelf with baskets

I would have an aquarium installed where the TV sits and put a removeable shelf above the aquarium with baskets , paint the wood unit with a darker colour, like a dark grey or dark blue, I think it would be beautiful!

You can take out half the shelves on the sides, making large and small openings. Take off the crown molding and replace with flat prefinished trim. I like the idea of mirrors behind the tv, but it might be distracting. Try place and press mirrors without extra glue until you know if you like it. Take off the top doors in the center section. Leave the others for storage. Maybe put another shelf under the tv to center it better. Paint side shelves to update if you want to but not dark or it may be too dim to see things on shelves. Start with small changes and work your way up. Only then can you see what you really like.

Check into the magnetic glass doors to change to. Also, you could etch or paint a window that would tuck the t.v. away.

You may consider tinted glass as well, which could be coupled with a stain color.

Good Luck! Looking forward to seeing what comes of it.

Remove the cabinet doors and paint it all grey. Move the tv elsewhere. Put an flat wall mount electric fireplace in the tv space. Fill the shelves with interesting things.

Wow! So many suggestions here. Frankly, I would love a built in like this. I would just sand down and re-stain or paint to coordinate with your current look. Also change or remove doors (but save them in case you sell the house or change your mind 10 years from now), and place a false back as others have suggested. If you want to take it out completely, I would donate to Habitat For Humanity. Whatever you do, it is your house and you have to live with it. Do what makes you happy. Can't wait to see what you decide! Good luck and have fun! ☺

We had a similar situation in our living room, the house was built in '95 when TVs were much deeper. We built a frame of 2x4s in the back of the TV cabinet, then faced it with a piece of plywood, trimmed it out, painted all of the cabinets the same color as the rest of the trim in the room. and hung a wallmount bracket for the TV. (We also cut out a hole in the plywood and a hole in the cabinet below for the cable and power cable to run into the cabinet where the cable outlet and power source were.) Building the cabinet out allows you to hang the TV a little higher so it's easier to see from the sides of the room, and painting the cabinets will give them a more modern look.

The cabinet is fine it was built for a much deeper TV so take it apart cut down the center cabinet to the same size of the outer ones paint it if you want put it back to gether I think you like it then

I too would love to have a built-in like this...and since I've gone more modern too, I'd paint it all a nice, bright high-gloss white (which fades any big built in into the background over a darker colour)....change out the knobs (all types can be found online for great prices); add a shelf either above or below the TV (below would work for that long sound strip most blue tooth tv's use today), and I also like the idea of replacing those upper doors with glass inserts. Adding mini light strips behind those new doors would also modernize it and highlight collectibles. I'd redecorate the shelves...a few quality books, some crystal, china, etc would class it up -or if you have a specific collection you want to show off, this could be a perfect backdrop. Any opening could also fit a modern style basket which come in all shapes, sizes and materials, or could be sprayed silver or bronze tone. Copper is beginning to resurge as well...the idea is to mix light wood with metals and glass. Voila -modernized.

You could remove the top doors and match the side shelves by putting shelves in the center. I would probably change the side shelves so they are larger openings first so you can add baskets for storage on the shelves. If the rest of the house has a different color wood, I would probably go that color if you like it. This way it won't stick out like a sore thumb but blend in with rest of cabinets in the house and look like you did the shelves on purpose to match.

Paint it all white or a light grey. Remove the top doors. Remove some of the shelves so they are not all short like that. i'd remove shelves #1 and #3 on each side and see how that looks with some taller items in it like a couple of vases.

Someone suggested one of those electric fireplaces and I think that is a GREAT Idea. They are very modern looking and sleek. You can get really good deals on them right now.

I would not put anything at all on that skinny shelf under the tv, especially if you get the fireplace. Keeping it clear will make it look airy and uncluttered.

I had an entertainment center with glass doors. You are limited to a certain size tv. The sides were full of knick knacks. I ended giving it away. Dont miss it or the clutter. Maybe you could take it out and have more room for a nice chair and lamp area. Larger tv? Reuse the wood and doors for another room or project. You room will look bigger and brighter.

If you had some where else to put your TV you could add more shelves to where the TV goes and either put picture in it or you could use it for a book shelf. Or just what ever you wanted to put in their. It is really pretty. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year.

paint white or cream and then put some patterned fabric or wall paper at the back of the book cases and behind the tv. it will dress it up and up date it. and does not cost a lot also change the hardware. you'd be surprised how hardware can date a pc. take off the top cabinet doors and put décor up there. or take the panels out of the door and replace w a vintage ribbed pc of wood panel. can get a whole panel for about 15 dollars. remove the shelf under the tv and put all the remotes etc someplace behind one of the cupboard doors.

and if you want to hide the tv when not in use. get a rolling wood shade to put above the tv. you can have them custom made but you can also find nice wood ones made for windows that would work just as well.

Have you decided what to do? update with photos of your solution.

I would turn it into grand fireplace

The scale of the piece is heavy compared to a more modern design. The right solution would be to make it recede into the wall. This can be accomplished by having an eggshell enamel matched to the wall color. It will provide protection that the surface needs yet visually it will recede. Because it is Oak, make sure you fill the grain. You can use a water-based spackle and apply right over the grain. When it dries, sand it smooth. This will fill at least 80% of the grain. Be sure that you sand and prep the wood before you do this step.

If you want the TV recessed area to disappear, then paint it a matte black to match the TV case.

Paint it white. It will make such a difference. Or you could remove it and replace that ares with arework on either side of TV that you hang on wall and since you may still need a place for storage of DVD player and cable box pick a cabinet of drawers but not to floor add legs to it and make a table or tall cabinet drill holes in back remove drawers if you go one with draws and place DVD player and cable box in there. Try to put hinges on bottom of drawers so that you can lower them when you need to. You said you like clean lines so this could work for you .