Last year we bought a 52" LCD TV and a credenza to hold it and its components. The credenza is from Bassett because it was the only piece I could find that would fit our large center speaker and receiver in open shelves, with enclosed shelves on each side for the extras.

Then we moved into a new house and put the TV/credenza on a long wall (the only available wall in the living room). I couldn't figure out how to decorate around it, so I bought the matching Bassett pieces to surround it and make a "media center". My husband strongly dislikes the unit because 1) it's not great quality and 2) the TV takes center stage in the living room. He wants a motorized lift console so that the tv could be hidden when not in use. He wants to put all the components in our built-in cabinet on the other side of the room, next to the fireplace, running the wires under the floor (we have a crawl space). And to hang a nice tapestry or carpet above the lift console.

My question is whether his idea is practical with such a large tv. I've been in a lot of nice homes and haven't seen any of these units...have you? And if we move to a house without a crawl space, where would we put the components? I don't think they have much room in the space where the tv is stored, but maybe we should get an extra-long unit for that eventuality.

Thanks.