Oh, this is totally a throw-back to the 60s when wide credenzas were made for entertainment, your "record player" and black and white TV all contained in a beautiful piece of furniture and how smart were the furniture makers to know that soon the TV would blow, the record player would be replaced by 8-tracks and the furniture no longer serve any purpose. Ah, but some of us and them fooled 'em and I have a friend who has one that looks similar to yours (that was her entertainment center) and she turned her into a mini-bar coffee-bar. It's a great idea! I wish you well.

funkyart and patricia43,

I LOVE these boards, what a wealth of information and ideas, thanks to you!

I had never heard of the infrared repeater thingie. Wonderful! That will solve the problem for the Tivo remote usage and I'll check with the seller to get the measurements for the side compartments.

The washed wood of the piece will blend in with our family room furniture so it will be kept as it is. We had a darling petite armoire for the old TV, but alas, hubby wanted a bigger TV that doesn't fit in the armoire and now the furniture placement in the room is all out of kilter.

Patricia43, my folks had a similar credenzas in the 60's. Your friend is clever to find another use for her piece. I'd love a coffee bar!

Again, much thanks :)
linda

Great idea and nice piece / nice price!

If the TiVo won't fit in a side compartment, maybe you could remove the back of one of the drawers and put the Tivo in there (back removed for "venting" purposes as well as the wires). You're going to have to use a "leapfrog" type remote system anyway. But, when keeping the TiVo behind doors, you should monitor how warm it gets when you use it for long periods of time.

We used an old bureau for a TV stand once, and just removed the top drawer entirely, lined the bottom of that drawer space with a piece of plywood, and put our cable box and DVD player in there. You might try something like that with this piece too. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the special remote or the overheating issue.

We used a circa 1930's bow front dresser, with eight drawers( very common style, not hard to find). We simply removed the two small center drawers.They were a perfect fit for our cable server/'tivo' box and the dvd player. I plan on something ( wood grid or?) to hide them, but not a priority. The other drawers are great for storing all the dvd's and more. Looks like your buffet has center drawers that would work this way, too.

Excellent ideas. I thank you all!

Going to rent a truck today and bring this baby home :)
I'll post pics to share when everything is all set up.

Linda

Linda: Have you considered retro-fitting this new cabinet to serve as a hidden tv "pop-up" center? If you have a flat screen, the cabinet could be customized to hold the tv inside the cabinet, and with a push of a button, the tv rises from the cabinet. Here is a link to see some that can be bought ready-made but I saw this in Southern Living a few years back and the owners had bought an antique buffet and had it customized to do the same. Just a thought!

http://www.importadvantage.com/?gclid=CMz096HSn5UCFQKHxwodcFNbaA

My grandparents gave me their old buffet, from the 50's or 60's, and I use it for my TV. I put the various electronic stuff to the side along with some books to sort of blend them all together.
I'm looking for something with deeper drawers, though. We can't put the cds and dvds in there with the spines up so this piece will move to the dining room. I love the idea of using it as a coffee bar! I'll have to do that, thanks for the idea Patricia:)