Wife wanted an entertainment wall...challenge accepted

Wife and I had this plain 13'x8' wall that need some flair. The solution? Entertainment wall. Pricing on these to buy was around $4000...so I knew I could do it cheaper on my own. Step one, get the trim all off.

The floor was a little unlevel so I built a frame out of 1x2's, 2x2's and shims to level it off.

Used subflooring to reinforce and complete the frame.

With the frame built, I wanted to build a faux wall to allow me to easily run wires behind the wall. Used 2x3's and 2x4' to frame to faux wall. Basically laid them flat and put them into existing studs (fun fact, in the 1950's, houses apparently didn't have a standard on stud positioning).

With the help of my brother in law, we added two bookshelves. These were made using 3/4" 4'x'8 birch planks. Got them at Home Depot and had them do the cuts there given the size of the boards. We had to bribe my niece with the Barbie cartoon to keep her entertained while we worked.

Then began the fun job of running electric to the bookshelves. Talked to an electrician and was told I could run this off of the main TV outlet and would be well within code, so the faux wall cam in handy here for running these wires.

Wires meet in the middle behind the TV and run down into the outlet.

Finished off the electrical and added top and bottom boards to the bookcase.

Both bookcases complete framed. Also added the sheetrock over the faux wall behind the TV.

I wanted to make adjustable shelves and really had no idea how to go about doing this. Fortunately, I found this little guy that made it really simple: https://www.amazon.com/KREG-KMA3200-Shelf-Pin-Drilling/dp/B005FKX6D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498477294&sr=8-1&keywords=bookshelf+jig. You could easily save $30 if you have a drill press, as this could be easily made. Since I didn't, this $30 solution saved a countless amount of headache.

Will the holes all drilled, I went ahead and pained the faux wall and bookshelves.

With the paint dry, I added my TV mount on to the 2x4's supporting the fake wall to ensure it would hold (used anchor bolts to secure the 2x4's given the stress the TV would put on them). Also added two wall plates to run the wires behind the wall for that clean look.

Now came the fun task of building the middle. Julia Stiles was there to help.

Goal was to add two cabinets on the side and then a middle shelving section.

Cabinets are coming along. As are the shelves for the bookcase. Also, we got a dog in the process who wanted to be part of the mix.

Cabinets are framed out as is the center section of the middle shelf area.

All primed and ready for top coat.

Took a break from the middle section to add the crown molding back on. Tried to salvage the old stuff, but it ended up being a lost cause so I found something similar at Home Depot. Fun fact, cutting crown molding is not fun. Definitely watch YouTube videos.

Added the second shelf to the middle section.

Top coats applied.

My father in law is also a good wood worker and made this lovely pine top for the entertainment stand.

Added the baseboards back on. Was able to use the existing baseboard, which kept a uniform look and cut costs. Also added trim pieces to the table top.

See growing puppy for time elapse.

Finished this off with the floor quarter round and as well as trim on the siding to account for the little gaps I had. Celebrated by watching Bender's Big Score.

Final step will be having some cabinet doors made, but I'll call that phase 2 as it's time to take a break.

All in all, project took 5 months, cost around $900 in wood and paint costs. All main sections were built using 3/4" 4'x8' Birch panels.

Extremely excited to have it done. Now I just feel I need a bigger TV to help fill the space. And I need more stuff to put on the bookshelves.

Also, my woodworking extended beyond the entertainment wall.

So all in all, a busy spring...

FP Edit. Thanks for sticking around. I know some folks are mentioning the TV being off. Just looked at the last image and saw that my sound bar isn't centered, which is definitely causing part of the issue. The TV is also on a fully movable mount and I was messing with it this past weekend. Need to double check to make sure it isn't skewing some other way.