Guess I can't post more than one at a time. Just another view of that wall unit.

Is the light colored piece under the TV actually holding it up?

Beache, yes, that "piece" is holding up the flimsy tv shelf which is why an ottoman wouldn't work but I sure do love that idea, lyban, if only it didn't need to actually support the tv.

" that "piece" is holding up the flimsy tv shelf which is why an ottoman wouldn't work"

Fix the shelf to properly support the TV.
THEN add an ottoman.

I can understand why you want to replace that middle piece. It looks very awkward! The wall unit looks like whitewashed pine. I think that if you check out furniture consignment shops in the area, you might be able to find a low chest of drawers or cabinet that could work. I see them here in New Mexico a lot. I've also seen them in Florida when visiting my parents. It might also be possible to refinish a piece or have it refinished professionally to blend in with the rest of the wall unit.
Lynn

Mount the TV to the wall and get rid of the pedestal and shelf. Then anything you want can go under it. If it were me though, I'd remove the wall unit and just mount the TV to the wall with a picture frame around it and add additional pictures to make it a "gallery". The wall unit crowds an already small feeling room.

I would stabilize the shelf, then add shelves under the TV.

The top and middle bridge look like the ones that can be slid back and forth to make the opening a size needed. My similar unit had the same, but didn't have your problem. There was special lock hardware under them to support the bridge, maybe lost at some point with yours. Reinforcing the underside of the shelf would not be difficult. I like the idea of an ottoman there.

My TV is on the wall with electronics/wires in a closet behind the wall. A wide sofa table is under it with a bunch of decorative pillows below.

You could easily buy a used/new cabinet or drawer unit close to size of opening and use it for the TV. Shelves too as Oakley mentioned. Perhaps paint them black to match your chairs if not able to match current wood.

Thanks all! I was looking for a temporary fix and just fyi there is not a flat wall behind that space to affix the television to - there's an awkward little slanted space due to an odd remodel and I'm sure the wall unit's original purpose was to hide that small, odd slant and square off that wall.

Thanks for opening my eyes to some different solutions, that's what is so great about this forum and you folks. Not all of us have the decorating gene and can't always see the obvious :)

As long as part of the wall is flat, you might still use a wall mount with an articulating arm that can hold the TV in front of the slanted part. The one we used has a range of height adjustment for the TV - the uprights that the TV screws in have a series of holes for the screws. The link is below.

This kind of mount attached to wall studs is very secure. Since we live on the edge of earthquake territory and also have small grandchildren, we prefer that to relying on a big flat screen on a base not getting toppled over.

Other alternatives would be a stronger shelf - probably with corbels (which might allow for something like an ottoman being stored below) or legs to strengthen it - or a small credenza or console that fits in the opening for it to sit on.

Here is a link that might be useful: Articulating arm TV mount

Ideally, if I couldn't do it myself, I'd get a carpenter to help and fix the shelf to support the tv, then add another shelf under it and another shelf over it so that the unit looks like one piece. If similar doors are available, I'd add those too to get a unified and intentional look.

Thanks for all of your help. I'll take a pic when we figure it all out. We'll be there for 2 weeks and then coming home and then back in January for a couple of months - hope to get this little project resolved on this trip.

Then, next year (or hopefully even sooner) I can take a pic when the room is done the way I would really like it and that wall unit is all gone :)

And btw, Lynn, it is in Florida. Leaving Hurricane Sandy territory and going to Florida for a while.

Use sturdy L brackets to support the shelf and then head out to a Home depot or Lowes and see if you can find cabinet doors to fit. That way you'll have unity across the front and a hidden storage place. Of course you could have them made but I think you could adapt some very easily.

I am always about storage space, so a chest would be my favorite option.

Is it wood?
I would try to make the middle all shelves, even above the TV, and put the TV on one of them. Or, get rid of the bridge with the plants and just put a chest between the two towers.

Here is a link that might be useful: some examples