An unusual design challenge on our Medieval style oak TV cabinet.

Our client first contacted us by phone and described their particular furnishing challenge. Having seen and liked the Medieval style oak TV cabinets on our website, they wanted to know if one could be adapted to hang on the wall, slightly away from the ground. 

The reason for this, was that they had a very much prized rug, which was rather large and a corner of which would end up under the right hand corner of the unit. Needing occasionally to be adjusted to correct it's position, they didn't want to have the rather heavy oak TV cabinet pinning it down. However, we felt that the cabinet, in itself quite a heavy looking piece, would look a little strange effectively hovering in mid air. So we needed to come up with a better solution. 

Being that it was only occasionally, that the rug would have to be moved, it was going to be far better that the unit stood firmly on the floor, but could easily be lifted away from the rug, if and when required.

What was needed was a lever that could tilt the unit up and keep it up, whilst the rug was re-adjusted. The position of the lever had to be outside of the rug when operated, for obvious reasons, and the bottom end of the unit needed to have a cut-out for the lever which, for all intents and purposes looked just like a typical period cut-out.

The specially designed oak lifting lever simply slides under the short horizontal part of the period style cut-out at the end of the unit. The lever has a short hinged section, which drops down once the unit had been sufficiently raised. This short section holds the lever and TV unit in position, whilst the rug position is re-adjusted. The whole operation can easily be carried out by one person. Once done, the lever can be lifted slightly, the short section swung up under the lever, and the unit lowered gently back down onto the rug. When not used, the lever can be stored inside the unit. In our high-tech world, it's a very uncomplicated device. Nevertheless, having tested it, it works perfectly! 

Two further challenges needed to be resolved. The brackets that hold the unit to the wall had to be floating and the cabinet needed to sit level (particularly as it was to be positioned right under a window sill), but be future proofed, just in case the rug was no longer used. The solutions are in the drawing details below.

In the CAD drawing above, you can see we've allowed for 5mm thick (that's the rug thickness at the other end) oak strips, to be fixed under the bottom edge of the front plinth and side boards. If ever our clients permanently removed the rug, it would be relatively easy to unscrew the 5mm thick oak strips to level the unit over a flat floor.

Because of the ageing and finishing process, it is pretty well impossible to see the thin oak strips. It just looks like the natural bottom of the unit.

By moving the fixing positions of the wall brackets slightly downwards, it allows the TV cabinet to drop 5mm if our clients ever stop using the rug. It also allows the unit to be lifted to adjust the rug underneath. Note how the cabinet is deliberately kept 5mm away from the wall. This means any slight unevenness in the wall won't impede the fit and also the wall won't get marked when the cabinet is raised and lowered. In good design, you have to try and think of everything! 

Having sorted the rug challenge, we had to make sure that the TV cabinet:

a) Was tall enough to accommodate our clients TV, sky box etc.
b) Was low enough to fit comfortably under their window sill, with enough margin for lifting the unit onto the wall brackets.
c) Was wide enough to accommodate our clients TV, including wall mounted steel bracket, and ensure there was room for the oak fixing brackets inside.
d) Was far enough away from the radiator on the left hand return wall, so that the bi-fold doors could swing right round.
e) Didn't end up uncomfortably close to the corner of the inglenook, on the right.
f) Had sufficient wall space remaining at the right hand end so, ideally, the bi-fold doors could be swung right round without over-sailing the inglenook opening.

Quite a bit to take into account, to ensure the cabinet worked in the best possible way.

Our client was able to provide essential information about the site, which enabled us to design the cabinet, taking a) to f) above, into account. Furthermore, we in turn were able to provide our client with a dimensioned diagram, so his contractors could re-position the aerial and power points, prior to us arriving to fit the unit.

Our client provided us with photos and critical dimensions, to enable us to accurately draw his new TV cabinet.

From our clients information, we were able to do a simple CAD drawing and email a PDF copy of the dimensions, so their contractors could re-position the aerial and power points, as well as the TV wall bracket.

'Model View' on our CAD drawing program.

All our drawings are prepared in what's called 'Model View', on the CAD program, where we actually draw full size. Then 'View-ports' are created and inserted, to scale, in 'Paper View' below. Being ports, any changes made in 'Model View' automatically change in 'Paper View'. From 'Paper View' the drawings can be converted into PDF files, in this case to A1 paper size, and emailed to our printers.

We provided our workshops with full detailed and dimensioned working drawings, including full size sections, of the TV cabinet. Makes their life a whole lot easier!

The finished oak TV cabinet, safely installed in our clients Surrey home.

The carved tracery style bi-fold doors, folded neatly away to the sides of the cabinet.

Our client is able to position the flat screen TV for optimum viewing in their lounge.

To view this piece on our product pages, click the image below, or click:
Oak TV cabinet Gothic style with bi-fold doors