Our living room budget hack: "built in" TV console for just $250
498
- Mid-Century Modern
- HDB (BTO)
- ~1,000 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Welcome to our living room! In this post I'll go into some detail on how we managed to achieve a "built in" TV console for only $250! We love the seamlessness of a built-in console, and the fact that dust would not accumulate as quickly as with a loose TV console. However, built-in carpentry was expensive and we decided it was outside our budget. Plus, we wanted to retain the flexibility of being able to replace the console in the future. So... to achieve the best of both worlds, we purchased a really affordable TV console at $250, and asked our carpenter to kindly cut out some holes at the back, to accommodate our power points that would otherwise cause us to have to leave a gap between our TV console and the wall. We'll go further into details below! 
(Yes... these were our instructions to our ID! haha!) We were really blessed that our ID did not charge us for the carpentry work involved here :') First of all, we asked the carpenter to cut in some circular holes at the top of the console, so that our wires could come up for various future appliances, such as a sound bar, or maybe a small lamp. We also instructed them to cut out holes in the back, so that our protruding power points could fit within the holes. In addition, we also cut small holes in the partitions between compartments, in case we wish to run any wires through the compartments. Many loose TV consoles would already come with a pre-cut hole (as pictured) but they were not big enough for us. Hence, we had to ask our carpenter to saw a larger hole. 
A zoom in at our final product! We made the hole larger than required, because we wanted some allowance in case we wanted to shift the TV console. Also, do be mindful that if you use a multiplug, you might need even more clearance above and below the socket! The second socket which was protruding (and the source of our headaches!) This was not an easy project as it required us to plan in advance where we wanted to place our console exactly down to the cm (because it will affect where the carpenter cuts on the console). It also requires you to plan where your electric sockets are going to be, which in turn requires you to think about what appliances you are going to house there. It's a lot of factors hinging upon one another, but I would say I am really pleased with the result!
- 11 August
Report Post