Custom Entertainment Centers: How to Design One That Fits Your TV and Wall

What is an entertainment center?

Princeton's WordNet dictionary defines an entertainment center as "a wall unit containing sound and television systems." Today the word covers anything from a low TV stand to a full wall of cabinets around the screen.

If you're wondering what a TV stand is called, the answer is that it has several names. Stores use TV stand, TV console, media console and media cabinet for the same low piece. Entertainment center and wall unit usually mean something taller that frames the TV. Here is how the pieces in our TV stand collection compare.

TV stand or entertainment center: which do you need?

A TV stand keeps the wall open for art or a mounted TV. A wall unit adds space for books, photos and closed storage, and makes the TV wall look finished.

• Choose a TV stand if your wall is short, your ceiling is low or you plan to mount the TV.
• Choose a corner stand if the only open spot faces the seating from a corner.
• Choose a wall unit if you have a long wall and want storage and display in one piece.

Wall units are often made of separate pieces. The Bourten Bridge Wall Unit is a four-piece unit joined with connector bolts: a TV stand, two side towers and a lighted bridge across the top. The Kula Wall Unit adjusts from 78 to 100 inches wide, and its pieces can also be bought separately.

How tall should a TV stand be?

Most TV stands land around 30 inches. On our site, 110 of the 229 stands that list a size are exactly 30 inches tall, and 149 are between 28 and 32 inches. Floating consoles are much lower, at 15 to about 20 inches, because they hang on the wall.

The right height depends on where your eyes are when you sit. A common suggestion, noted in Wikipedia's article on HDTV viewing distance, is to have your eyes level with the bottom or the middle of the screen. THX, the audio and video standards company, recommends that viewers should not have to look up more than 15 degrees. To check your room:

1. Sit on your sofa and have someone measure from the floor to your eyes.
2. Add the height of your TV's own feet or pedestal to the height of the stand.
3. Compare that number with the bottom and middle of the screen.

What size TV stand do you need for your TV?

TV sizes are measured on the diagonal, from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner. A standard 16:9 screen is about 87 percent as wide as its diagonal, so the set is narrower than its name. Check your TV's spec sheet for the full width, including the frame, before you choose a stand or a wall unit opening.

Seating distance matters too. Wikipedia's summary of viewing distance guidance lists three common rules: THX's "best seat" at about 1.2 times the screen diagonal, a 30-degree view often credited to SMPTE at about 1.6 times, and a popular rule of 2.5 times the diagonal. The table below does the math for common sizes.

A stand that is wider than the TV keeps the screen from hanging over the ends. On our site, 105 of the 229 stands that list a size are 60 inches wide, and 70 and 72 inches are the next most common. Wall units list a TV opening instead, from 45 to 90 inches on our site. The Farmhouse Wall Unit comes with a 45, 51, 60, 67 or 72-inch TV opening, and the whole unit grows from 96 to 123 inches wide to match.

How do you design a custom entertainment center?

1. Measure the wall

Write down the wall's width and ceiling height. Mark outlets, cable jacks, windows and vents that need to stay clear, and the depth you can spare without blocking a walkway.

2. List what it needs to hold

Count your devices, game systems, speakers and anything you want behind doors. Of the 290 pieces in our TV stand collection, 26 mention a sound bar, most often as a dedicated opening, and 24 include a fireplace or firebox.

3. Choose doors, drawers and shelves

Glass doors let you see the devices inside and are listed on 76 of our TV stand and wall unit pages. Solid doors hide clutter, and drawers hold games and remotes. Some pages list extra choices, like doors on the side bookcases or glass shelves in place of wood ones in the towers.

4. Plan for cords

Ask where the cord holes go. The two showroom consoles pictured in this guide have one at the back of the open shelf, and 16 of our product pages call out a cord access hole in the description.

5. Pick the wood, stain and hardware

All 290 pages in our TV stand collection let you choose the wood. The Bourten Bridge Wall Unit, for example, lists 20 wood types. Our guide to stain colors shows how the same stain looks on different woods.

6. Ask about changes

Most of our furniture is made to order, so the choices on the page are a starting point. Size, stain and hardware changes go through the "Ask about this piece" form, a phone call or a showroom visit. Our team checks what the builder can do before anything is built. Our guide to how custom ordering works walks through each step.

How do you keep a TV stand from tipping over?

This is the part of the project that matters most. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), about 17,800 people a year were treated in emergency rooms for TV, furniture and appliance tip-overs from 2020 to 2022. Of the 217 tip-over deaths reported from 2013 through July 2023, 47 percent involved a television. Children made up 71 percent of the deaths.

The CPSC and its Anchor It! campaign recommend these steps:

• Anchor TVs and furniture, such as bookcases and dressers, securely to the wall.
• If you mount the TV, a standard wall mount does the job. If it sits on furniture, use a piece designed to hold a TV, like a TV stand or media center, and anchor the TV to the wall or to the stand.
• If anchoring isn't possible, place the TV on a sturdy, low base, push it back as far as it goes, and keep cords out of reach.
• Store heavier items on lower shelves, and don't keep toys or remotes up high where kids may climb for them.
• Pick an anchoring kit rated to hold more than the furniture weighs.

Tall wall units have shelves and doors, so plan to anchor them too. Find out what your wall is made of before delivery day. Anchor It! lists the tools for drywall, plaster and brick, starting with an anchoring kit and a stud finder for drywall.

Are entertainment centers out of style?

Deep cabinets were once sized for bulky tube TVs. Flat screens are thin, so that depth is rarely needed now. What people still want is a finished TV wall with storage. Today that usually means a low console under a mounted TV, or a slimmer wall unit with an open TV opening, side towers and lighting. On our site, 15 of the 32 wall units list lights, many with a dimmer. If you like a clean look, a floating console or a low stand on legs, like the slatted console near the top of this guide, keeps the room feeling open.

Our showrooms in Intercourse and Lancaster, PA, and Murrells Inlet, SC, are open Monday to Friday 10 to 5 and Saturday 9 to 5. Here's what to expect when you visit.

TV stands and entertainment centers from our collection

Frequently asked questions

What is a TV stand called?

It goes by several names: TV stand, TV console, media console and media cabinet. A taller piece that frames the TV with towers or shelves is usually called an entertainment center or wall unit.

How tall should a TV stand be?

Most are 28 to 32 inches tall, and 30 inches is the most common height on our site. Measure your seated eye height and aim to have it level with the bottom or middle of the screen.

How wide should a TV stand be for a 65-inch TV?

A 65-inch TV is about 57 inches wide, so a stand around 60 inches or wider usually works. Check your set's spec sheet for its exact width, including the frame.

How do you measure a TV stand?

Measure the width across the top, the depth from front to back and the height from the floor to the top. For a wall unit, also measure the width and height of the TV opening.

Can I order a TV stand in a custom size?

Many of our TV stands and wall units come in several sizes. For anything else, use the "Ask about this piece" form, call us or visit a showroom, and our team will check with the builder.

Sources

• WordNet (Princeton University): entertainment center
• Wikipedia: Optimum HDTV viewing distance
• Wikipedia: Display size
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: TV and furniture tip-over data (February 2024)
• CPSC Anchor It!: What you'll need to anchor TVs and furniture
• Product pages on kingsamishfurniture.com (sizes and features as listed in November 2026)

How we made this guide: we compared the sizes and features listed on the 290 TV stands, consoles, corner stands and wall units in our TV stand collection, read the safety and viewing guidance above, and reviewed questions customers ask our team. Every fact was checked against our product pages.