A number of years ago, I turned this narrow wall into a home for the TV, components, and speakers.  I didn't have a cabinet/console that would fit the space, but I had a bar cart that would work as a stop-gap console.  Five or six years later, I'm still using the bar cart, proving the old adage that there's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.

I finally hit the pain threshold of seeing all the wires hanging out all over the place, and started working on a design for a dedicated media console.  It will have a few adjustable shelves, a shallow drawer for remotes, etc., a rear cubby for a power strip, ethernet switch, wires, etc., and a removable back panel for access to connections.

If you've seen some of my other projects, then there will be no surprise at the mid-century modern influence in the design.  The sloped front was used on hutches and display cabinets.  The external legs were used on some end tables and sideboards.  I wanted the console to look like a piece of furniture so I have the option to re-purpose it as a bookcase sometime in the future.

Here's a Sketchup image of roughly where I'm headed.  I'm still working on the leg design, so the final version will likely be different.  What's nice is that the support structure is almost its own project, so I can begin work on the casework while I'm finalizing the design for the legs.

Teak was commonly used for mid-century furniture, at least for pieces built in Europe.   I want to mimic the look of teak, but without the expense.  My casework experience is limited, and I do not want to sharpen my skills using a load of expensive wood.  Instead, I'll be using veneer over birch plywood for the casework.  Even teak veneer is expensive, so I'll be using Izombe as a substitute.  I had a few sheets already, and I made this test panel and finished it with Rubio Monocoate Pure.  Yeah, that'll do.

 

I get most of my veneer from certainlywood.com, and they had a great deal on Izombe at $0.50 sqft.  I bought a bunch - enough for this project and plenty extra for future projects. 

The legs will be from oak that I'll ebonize with iron acetate (something new for me).   The finished console will look something like this:

This project is going to require lots of prep work - to break down the rough panels, joint and join the veneer, glue the veneer, cut panels to size, apply edging, etc.  And there's some pre-prep before I can get too far into all that, which is up next.