[jen_va]

We found a 15" LCD TV at Tuesday Morning (love that store!) for a good price and spontaneously bought it for the kitchen. We can't put it on the countertop, because:
1) It's an ugly, basketball-themed set. (Well, there was a reason it was a good price -- but who cares, the TV part works just great.)
2) I don't have enough counterspace that I can afford to waste some on a TV.
3) It's ugly.
4) The only spots I could put it on the counter, it would be behind my back while I worked at the island (my main prep space), and what's the point of a TV when you can't see the screen.
5) Have I mentioned that it's ugly?

I looked at some brackets designed for holding TVs undercabinet (they flip up flat against the bottom of the cabinet when the TV is not being used, then flip down for viewing). But I think this TV's a little too thick for that, plus I worry that over time it would start to hang down instead of laying flush against the cabinet bottoms.

The good news is, if I put the TV in the cabinet over the fridge, I will be able to see it clearly from everywhere in the kitchen. The tricky part is how to install it in that cabinet. It's a 30" wide, 24" high, 12" deep cabinet. I can't switch it to a 24" deep cabinet, because I don't want to use refrigerator panels and I have been told by several Ikeans that the 24" deep fridge cabinet needs support on the sides (not just the suspension rail on the back).

I thought about installing a swing-arm bracket inside the cabinet, which would work great in a 24" deep cabinet. But with reaching over the fridge to this shallow cabinet, I'm afraid I either wouldn't be able to reach the TV at all, or could only reach the corner and it seems like a bad idea to yank on electronic equipment like that (I'm afraid I'd wreck it). Yeah, I'll have a stepstool in the kitchen, but if I have to drag it out every time I turn on the TV, I just won't turn on the TV that often, which makes it kind of a waste of $.

I looked at some pullout, swiveling shelves designed for TVs, but not only are they pricey (almost as much as the TV itself), they're all too deep for the cabinet.

So far, the best solution we've come up with is to buy some kind of rolling shelf (except we're having a hard time finding one to fit in a 12" deep cabinet. Anyone know where we could find a 15" wide, 12"-or-less deep pullout shelf that's freestanding and doesn't have to be screwed into the cabinets on the sides?). We'd put some kind of handle on the front of the shelf, so there'd be something to grab to pull out the shelf (and to help keep the TV from falling off, just in case) and put a turntable on top of it so we could swivel the TV to optimal viewing angles.

Do you guys think this sliding-shelf-topped-with-a-turntable idea would work? Any potential problems we should look out for? And does anybody have any better ideas? I really need to figure this out soon, because if we can't use this TV in the kitchen, I'm going to return it (it really is too ugly to use in any room where it's not in a cabinet).

Thanks!

Jen

p.s. The TV's about 14" high, 14" wide, and 4 or 5 inches deep with the current, basketball-shaped built-in stand -- but I'm pretty sure we could remove that stand to make it thinner if necessary.

[DesignDiva]

I saw the ad for that TV...it was an awesome deal if you can live with the ugliness LOL

How about mounting it inside the door of the cabinet, on a bracket? It might be a bit too big to fit on one door without sticking out, but since the cab is frameless you could open and close both doors.

Here's a pic of the TV in question, front and back

[jen_va]

Eva, that's a great idea to mount it on the door. But unfortunately, in order to get a good viewing angle with the TV mounted on the door, I'd have to open the door more than 90 degrees, which would put it into the walkway from the door to the garage. Not a problem for me at 5"5", but I think my taller husband would get a little annoyed with constantly running into the cabinet door. (Husbands are so picky, aren't they? )

[DesignDiva]

Can it just live in the cabinet and you can pull it out and set it on top of the fridge when you want to watch it?

[TheRedOne]

Here's an idea...

Use the shelf for the cabinet as a kind of pull out TV tray. Kind of like this keyboard tray.



You can get the hardware from IKEA or from a big box hardware retailer.

Just open the cabinet and slide it out when you're viewing.

[jen_va]

Thanks, guys. I'm still pondering my options here... The funny thing is, I hadn't even considered having a TV in the kitchen originally, but now that I bought this one, I kind of have my heart set on it. Darn my bargain-loving streak! :?

[laurie]

Any hope to disguise your tv?

Laurie

[alydev]

I have to add this here, although it doesn't help the OP...sorry! I saw an undercabinet TV/DVD player at Costco last week. So cool...the screen was about 9 inches I think, and it swiveled up so that it was flat against the bottom of the unit when not in use.

I want one!

[stacylu]

It's a MAVS TV!?!! How Cool is that!

[jen_va]

Stacy, they actually have them for every team -- we got the Nets one. I guess I wouldn't mind it for a kid's room or game room or something -- but it really wouldn't go with my kitchen if I had it out on the counter. (Though that's kind of a moot point, since I don't have the counterspace to spare anyway.)