What Type of Joineries Would Go in a Living Room?

On average, a person spends around 3-4 hours a day watching TV. Hence, for many of us, the entertainment units have become the focal point of our living rooms. It is also the place you would host your guests and spend time with family. That’s why aesthetic as well as functional joinery is needed for this place.

Below are some of the most popular designs of joinery for your living room:

Streamline entertainment unit: These simple entertainment units have just one row at the bottom, which could be a set of drawers, shelves, door or mesh cabinets, or a combination of the three. These are the perfect low-budget custom joinery you can go for that will fill up a major part of your wall.

Entertainment unit with display units: This kind of joinery occupies the entire wall or at least a major section of the wall. The primary purpose of this joinery is to display trophies, family photos, and showpieces. The only issue with this is if the TV you buy in the future turns out to be bigger than the given space. So, the key is to let sufficient space for a bigger TV without ruining the design. An entertainment unit with a display case can be more expensive compared to a streamlined unit. 

Entertainment unit with bookshelf: Bookshelves with your entertainment unit usually create a traditional look and make your living room look grand. This also occupies the entire wall or a major section of it. Similar to an entertainment unit with a display case, these custom entertainment units are also expensive. You will also have to consider the space for the TV if you decide to upgrade it in the future.

Study desk off the entertainment unit: This type of entertainment unit depends on the size of your house and the design that you are going for. Created by attaching a benchtop to the entertainment unit (semi-attached), it is best that you keep the colour tone, material, and style of the house in mind when choosing this joinery. It’s best to avoid mixing too many textures and colours as it may appear to be a little busy and will not let the display items stand out. Stick to a shade and texture that fits your theme, size, as well as budget. You can also have a bookshelf attached to this, maybe above the study desk.

Semi-sitting storage unit: This is a window-side bed or ledge where you can either sit or lie down to relax. Usually, the seats are storage spaces themselves. It is always better to go for standard materials and colours that match the rest of the design. This is perfect for small homes.

Cabinetry around the fireplaces: This is ideal for filling up the wall surrounding the fireplace. Adding ready-made furniture next to it will look awkward as the furniture is not built for your fireplace and might not match the décor. When you go for custom joinery, the living room furniture will be made specifically for your fireplace and will fit exactly in terms of measurements.

Custom Built Joinery VS Modular cabinetry

Modular cabinetry can be bought as furniture or modular joinery, where modular joinery may have slightly more flexibility in colour and functionality. However, neither of the product may be able to explore the potential of your living room fully, both aesthetically or functionally. One of the biggest problems with modular cabinetry or off-the-shelf cabinetry is that it will not be able to create a flow in design—like the colour, texture, style and how well it fits into the space—thus, reducing the overall harmony of the area and the home. In extreme cases, it could devalue your home. Imagine a branded bag with an aftermarket strap with the wrong colour, texture or size. 

On the other hand, custom-built joinery could eliminate the above problems and create a harmonious environment you could enjoy with your family and friends.

Average Cost to Make Custom Living Room Furniture and Joinery

When talking about the cost of joinery for the living room, you need to consider the theme and design of your dream living room. Depending on the method, the cost could vary dramatically. This is why having an experienced designer with sufficient industry knowledge would play a significant role. The right design would not only help you to achieve your goal of creating a functional and stunning-looking living room, but it will also help you to keep the cost within a reasonable scope.

The estimated cost for a living room joinery can be as low as $2,000. If you are looking for a low-budget unit, go for a streamlined entertainment unit that perfectly serves the purpose but still occupies enough space so that the room doesn’t look bare.

The cost of joinery depends on two main factors:

Materials: 

The quality and finish used to build your joinery are. If you are going for a pre-finish material such as melamine or acrylic, the major factors would be where the raw material is manufactured, the number of sheets needed for the joinery, and the finish of the material. We recommend using Australian-made products as they are tougher in strength, better in moisture resistance and, most importantly, release less harmful chemicals. Products such as the Laminex E0 line could easily satisfy most customers’ needs. Customers may look into 2pac and Vinyl for something more traditional to create more patterned doors, such as the French provincial or shaker door. While most people are turning to modern materials such as melamine on MDF, many still choose solid timber.

Whether you are going for door cabinets or open cabinets also affects costs. Cabinets with doors generally use the premium product only on the outside of the cabinet. In contrast, open cabinets may require the entire inside to be fitted with the premium and costly product. On the other hand, open shelves can play a role in reducing costs. However, it is important to consider how they would be installed and if they are structurally sound. Poorly designed open shelves would have very short lifespans as they could quickly bow or tilt due to their weight. In most cases, we recommend that walls should be reinforced. Otherwise, it can be screwed into more secure structures.

Structure:

This would depend on the hardware used on the joinery. Some people would not like to have screws shown. In such cases, they should opt for timber dowels. However, this can be time-consuming and labour-intensive since every hole needs to match the dowel perfectly, and the entire assembly process needs to be done on-site as the assembled joinery cannot fit in a truck.

That’s why, when you plan to get a custom joinery for your living room, get in touch with MS&MR Kitchens for a detailed plan and cost of your joinery. At MS&MR Kitchens, we offer hardware with a lifetime warranty, and all our joinery has a 10-year warranty (glass has no warranty). Please get in touch with us on (03) 9543 1103 for more information. Our professionals will be more than happy to assist you!