Embarrassed....Audio furniture help


Well, I swore I'd never let a woman dictate my two channel system but here we are.  Wife and I bought our first new home, I've got a small but adequate second living area for my system.  Problem is, as mentioned, my wife.  Setup will consist of CD player, AppleTV unit and integrated amp.  May add a streamer at some point but we'll cross that bridge later.  I'm using a pair of bookshelves and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Here's the rub....She is demanding an A/V credenza, so speakers sitting on the credenza on either side of the TV.  Of course I'd love a vertical audio stand and be able to use speaker stands but it's too open, too many exposed cables, blah blah, you know the story.  

Question of the day:  can anyone point me in the right direction?  I need minimum 18" depth and all the awful Crate and Barrel stuff she recommends isn't up to my audio standards.  Needs something with doors for a clean look but I still need my IR signal to work.  Because the speakers aren't going on stands, I'd like something at least 20" tall.  A lot of the fashionable stuff is 14-16" tall, putting the tweeters way below ear level in the listening position.  

Any help would be much appreciated.  

Sincerely,

Man shaking his head with a borderline resigned look


cjlundberg
I use a credenza that houses my home theater components. It is a very unusual design with a rounded/curved front facia, even the wood door/glass are curved (very cool!). On top is a 50 inch TV and a sound bar just in front of TV for when I’m lazy and don’t want to do 5.1 + atmos etc...on either side of credenza live my large tannoy stand mounts on 17 inch stands. To the left of the left speaker on adjacent wall/corner rests my hifi furniture, or what I use for hifi. Its a high boy with two sliding wood doors which completely hides all the hifi. This piece of furniture was originally designed for a dining room to house dishes and China. I think it works well for my hifi and is very sturdy. It also has a strong lower open shelf where my class A amp resides. Overall this set up has worked for me with great sound, both 2 channel hifi, and 5.1 surround sound etc. Not sure why some are against a credenza. As long as the op can convince the wife on the use of proper speakers stands on either side.
See my new profile pic...it shows what I'm talking about. Its a very comfy room for both hifi and movies. Everyone is seemingly happy...😁


+1 @barts 
Because the OP posted on our forum, I'm assuming he is interested in high-end audio quality.  Seems a bit unfair that the OP is giving into his wife's interest, but she's ignoring his.  You could say, "I wanted you to have "X" because it was important to you, I was hoping for "Y" because it's important to me."  Then maybe say "Can we work it out so that we both win?"                                                          
Just settled on the Crate and Barrel Shiitake. Thanks for all your help/input/comments/jabs, gentlemen.  If anyone ever has a Hegel H190 on the block, please let me know.  
Greetings from Toronto Canada.  I ran into the same problem moved in a new home and couldn't find any furniture to accommodate. This setup is for my wife with Ikea furniture Besta frames and the top is butcher block from Home Depot cost under $500cad. Photos in link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k4yZAEPZcYD8mqPD8