Home theater furniture - husband vs. wife


I'm sure this is a common source of friction for a lot of folks here. What kind of furniture do you use to hold your gear?

My situation: I need to hold a Parasound 2200 as well as my receiver and HTPC. I also have a big 200lb 36" tube HDTV. Currently I am using an ugly old pressboard entertainment center to hold the TV, receiver, HTPC, but it doesn't have the proper ventilation for the 2200. I was going to buy a nice looking rack to hold everything, but my wife says it is "too industrial" - and wants me to get something from Pottery Barn. They have a lot of nice wood furniture, but nothing that is designed for 19" rack mounted equipment.

Does anyone have a suggestion? She is actually quite reasonable about it... I am trying to collect some photos of what people have done to make things look nice so we can plan on what to do.

Thanks!
pyite
No battle here - wife is very accomodating. Yet I need an audio rack that 1) doesn't break the bank 2) Is vertical as I have very little width available in the room 3) Is functional for audio. I am told not to stack yet rack over 4-5 shelves seem "cheap" or "too expensive".(plus it seems stupid to have 12" of space for a 4" DVD) It is also a horribly difficult task to get behind it. My Salamander wheels fell off. So far, BDI looks OK - anyone have comments on them - can you add extra shelves, durability, hide wires, et. I live where it is hard to find places that carry good racks. Thanks, I sincerely appreciate the help. Budget $1500 Ed
Shaqspack (Interesting name, btw),

I really like my BDI racks.
They look great and have a very high WAF.

They are not movable (or at least mine are not - I have the now obsolete Ventura line), but they are pretty accesible for wires and such, as there are two supports at the two front corners, and only one in the center rear, which means the racks are faily open. This allows me to easily reach around the units to plug/unplug wires.

Mine have a 6 inch wooden support that runs down the center of the rear, which as allows for hiding wires, as there are large holes in the support for just that purpose.
(The Axis line has a much larger wooden support, which should easily hide all of your wires.)

The successor to my line is the Axis line, which allows the shelves to be moved vertically up and down, so you can narrow up that space for the DVD, and widen the space for your amp/turntable/etc.
(My Ventura line does not allow this unfortunately, although in terms of looks I prefer mine, as it is rather unique, in as that the glass sheelves are supported by "cuts" in the wood, rather than pins, which allows the glass shelves to actually stick out the front, which gives them a nice modern look, that my wife really likes.

The only thing about these shelves is that being open, they do let in dust, so you will have to dust them more often then you might normally. (However, you'll never have to worry about you amp having cooling issues either, as they are not in a confined space.)

Hope this helps!
Good Luck in your search.
Thanks Kurt. I am surptised I don't get mor comments on the name. mY DOGS NAME IS SHAQUILLE (which being a kings fan used to be a problem). His huge paws, playfulness and overall size made it a natural. People have reacted funny. Our black frinds think it is cool. Our white friends seem uncomfortable. (we are white). That seems odd as when you name your child after somone it is generally a COMPLIMENT, not racist or an insult. The pack is because we like the idea of living in a pack. Our website is a mees, but someday it can be viewed at shaqspack.com. Also, I thing we'll go with BDI. We both loke it and price is reasonable. I'll tell shaq you asked about him. Ed (the big dog)
Have you considered Nobelesse? I think they look quite nice, although I haven't "heard" them.

-Marc

I had mine custom made.
Only about $200 in Thailand, where I live.

I do think the BDI are the best looking commercial units available