Furniture choices for HT setup

Greetings everyone. I am making final choice on furniture for my home theater setup and could use your input.

The setup will be on a 1/2 wall (102") in the family room that opens up into the kitchen. The family room is 17x17 ft. The room is nicely decorated by my wife, and she is requesting a piece of furniture- rather than an open stand design- ideally in a dark expresso wood finish to match the rest of the room. At least at this point, we are not planning to mount the TV on the wall, but I am open to all suggestions.

Equipment is as follows:
Samsung LCD 46"
Totem Arro (main L/R)
Totem DreamCatcher Center & Surrounds
Totem Storm Sub

The two main contenders are the following:
StandoutDesigns Horizon N702 (70W x 24.24H x 21D)
http://www.standoutdesigns.com/store/pc/Horizon-N702-Solid-Wood-TV-Console-p180.htm
and
BDI Novia 8428 (52W x 29H x 22D)
http://www.bdiusa.com/theater/novia_8428.shtml

Your thoughts? Would one stand vs the other on this relatively short wall lend itself to more optimal audio results? Once I have stuck a piece of furniture between my main L/R speakers, have I seriously compromised my 2-channel listening?

Thanks in advance.