I'm going to make a similar decision pretty soon.

The ones w/ the shelves on the door always seem to be short and squat--I like the taller proportion of the ones w/the plain doors.

I *do* think the shelves on the door are really clever. And they store a lot in that little space.

And if they've REALLY short and squat, they look sort of like a console table instead of an underdeveloped bookcase.

But the little ones are also (usually) blanker looking when they're closed. Of course, you don't see the messy CDs through the glass (less visual clutter).

This one has the shelves ont he door, is NOT blank looking, and might have that "console" proportion. Of course it's expensive. and it holds more than 1,000 CDs. But it's really nice looking. And I'm betting it's much more sturdily made than the less-expensive ones.

I've also seen one w/ sliding doors, and even hinged doors, that are plain, so the visual clutter gets eliminated. Blanker look, again, but less clutter.

The site I liked to for these has MANY styles--search on "Media Storage".

I will say this: don't get the ones w/ the dowels as shelves--I have one, and it's annoying. The CDs are more likely to fall over than if they were on flat wood, and when they do, they can fall between the dowels.

I will also say, I am DONE w/ exposed storage. Doors on everything! Less dust, less visual clutter.

Here is a link that might be useful: nice-looking CD cabinet

I wanted to say--I think the proportion of the piece you want is something that might depend on your home, and where you can put it.

I'm leaning toward sliding doors, because I don't want to worry about whether I've got a kids' dress-up box in front of a door that SWINGS out. But people who don't store their kids' toys in the living room or family room might not have that worry.

I really short one would work for me, perhaps it could replace an end table. But that honestly probably wouldn't work; I think I'd rather have one that's tall, to fit on the end of the room where the one we've got now is.

Seriously, go look through that site--they have lots of nice-looking ones like that second one.

here is a cabinet w/ the door shelves, that *IS* the size of an end table . Holds 144 DVDs, costs $150

Here is a link that might be useful: end-table-size media-storage cabinet.

Have you considered a tower? This one holds 240 DVDs, doesn't take up much floor space.

Here is a link that might be useful: tower storage

I have bought an open unit...two. I just freecycled them. Yes! I used them. Because they were open, they got dusty. Then it became another piece of furniture x2 I had to find a place for. Then what do you do w/it when you start getting a few more movies/music that don't fit? I just don't buy the movies that much anymore. I bought a unit for our big screen tv...it's storage that fits on each side of our tv then the shelf across. Now instead of extra furniture, they all fit there in the drawers.

Thanks for the feedback!
I think as far as where I want to put it, the glass-doored one is my favorite.
What I do, to reduce the eye-clutter, is tack lace behind the glass.

I love the taller look too. And I can use the top to display some glass collectibles.

this one has doors w/ glass, but the woodwork on the doors really seems to camouflage the stuff behind it--at least, inthe pics it looks like it does. 185 DVDs

Might be a way to have the visual interest of glass doors without the visual clutter of all the DVDs behind.

This store has a few, too. Prices look pretty good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mission style media cabinet

ooh, this is cool--flip-down shelves. There are two sizes at this company--skinny and wide.

I bet it's harder to adjust them for the size--the description lists CDs and VHS tapes, but doesn't mention DVDs--don't know if that's cause they don't fit well, or if they just forgot. Holds 240 CDs, 72VHS tapes

Here is a link that might be useful: skinny cabinet w/ flip-down shelves

Saw this one from Target. At first I thought it was absolutely identical to the other end-table style above.

However, it looks like there is a TEENY bit of size difference; the Target one is a tad bigger.

Everything else, including the price, is the same.

But I'd be willing to bet a nickel they're made the same way, maybe even by the same manufacturer. So you could see it in person.

Solid wood, MDF-with-veneer front panel.

Here is a link that might be useful: Target's end-table CD cabinet

Never liked the tall ones. They just looked too precarious to me, like they'd fall over on a whim.

I love some of the links you sent - esp the end table, but cherry won't go with my woodwork.

Talley Sue, looks like you are having fun spending my bonus!! LOL

I have a cabinet with glass doors that we use for the CD's and DVD's. It's the neatest way I've found to hold the collections. We used to use open shelving but the CD's and DVD's never quite made it into the proper place because we'd put them on top of the others or on top of the shelf. With them now enclosed, it's just more organized.

I like that idea of putting lace behind the glass. one could use fabric, too. Or frost the glass, I suppose.

I hope you enjoy spending your bonus as much as I did!

LOL seen those experiments on Trading Spaces with frosting glass. I'm just not a crafty person :-)

yeah, well I would just go BUY frosted glass cut to size--I'd slop that up, plus burn holes in the floor, if I tried to do it myself.

Those towers really do look top heavy, don't they?

But the only one of those one w/ the door shelves that I've ever seen, looked like its growth had been stunted. Like it was a bookshelf that wouldn't stand up straight.

did you see at one of those places the unit that was tall AND wide, AND had doors ont he shelves. It must hold 2,000 DVDs

Karen, I love the first one with the glass, very pretty.

Wow! Can I spend anyone's bonus? If I were buying a unit that had storage doors, I'd look for a piano hinge rather than a pair of hinges, since the piano hinge is stronger.

Obviously the piece of furniture is prettier -- do you really NEED to dedicate that much money and space to storing over 200 DVD's.

I can understand why people need some for their kids as children tend to watch movies over and over again but I don't understand why you want to keep movies that you have already seen -- I am a movie hound and I can't think of 200 movies that I love enough to want to keep around on the off chance that I might have an irresistable compulsion to watch before I could get to a rental place.

But that's me obviously as I am reformed pack rat -- I feel the same way about books -- once the book is read, it's gone although I still stuck with too many books that are still left after I got rid of 1000 books -- those that I haven't read and deemed probable/possible that I would read within the next five years :)

I am working on decluttering every week and every round I find books that I now realize can just go -- my goal is to free up one bookcase and get rid of it and then on to the next :)

Good question:
I have a lot of CDs to store, because my dad is a record collector (He has over 10,000) and he often creates custom CDs for me and for my daughter.

So at least one shelf will be for those. (I buy few music CDs on my own - I like to listen to the oldies and classics Daddy sends me).

I buy Disney DVDs because they are classics that I still enjoy watching. And then I buy DVDs that I consider classics. Recent ones include the Star Wars trilogy, Black Beauty, National Velvet, ET and of course LOTR. Last year I bought myself the Indiana Jones trilogy.

These are films I watch over and over, and I have loved introducing many of them to my daughter.

We are also planning on redoing the den in the near future, and get rid of the bulky entertainment center. Cons include: you can only buy a certain size TV, and it weighs too much to move around, and you can't rearrange furniture around it.

So I want to get the things currently stored in there, into another solution.

I ordered it today!!! When it arrives, and I get it set up, I'll send you a picture!

I found it interesting on the 100 tips to be organized that Blazedog published, that the CD storage recommendation was for a storage wallet. Hmmmm.. maybe furniture is not a good thing.

Or is there a difference between CD's and DVD's, i.e. data vs video which means you might be accessing it more?

Still, it is interesting to me to think about not using furniture at all because our house is very small and we don't have that much wall space. Anyone try something besides furniture?

--Alice

from the list:
4. Move all your CDs to a storage wallet. Say bye-bye to jewel boxes and CD stands!

I just rennovated my family room (part of the kitchen remodel) and created a fabulous built-in that measures ten feet long by eight feet high. I figure that it needs to hold everything relating to the TV and audio system or that stuff needs to go. I have to set limits. I agree with Blaze, I just can't see hanging onto 200 movies. We have the same classics, but to me, the rest are not worth a place in my home. We are gradually thinning our Disney VHS's to the bare minimum, just the REAL classics. I do like to keep the DVD cases since the movies are easier to find that way. I want to get the CD wallet for my car.

Not to hijack this thread, but does anyone rent DVDs over the internet? I'm thinking of joining Netflix because our local Hollywood Video and Blockbuster have such a shallow selection of the classics and interesting documentaries. Any opinions about this? Thanks!

~Cindy

My coworkers love Netflix, but we don't rent enough to make it any better than going directly to the store.

As far as storing in sleeves, won't apply to me, either, because my dad's other toy is his color printer/copier.

He makes custom cases and inserts and labels for every single CD. They are fun and beautiful. They also contain a lot of information or history about whatever the CD contains. Sometimes he puts photos of the artists and things like that. He has made some beautiful jewel cases for my daughter with beads and feathers encased in the spines.

(I wish I had inherited his craft talents).

TREKaren:

Your lucky to have a father willing to give his time and energy in this way. What a precious memory he is creating for both you and your daughter. This circumstance is one of the few where the jewel cases are an art form like the contents of the discs. How wonderful!

~Cindy

I got my Cabinet!!! Spent Saturday putting it together.

Let me just say that I kind of assumed it would be pressed wood or fake wood, but it is not! It's solid wood! The UPS guy said it weighed 60 pounds!

Took me 4 hours to assemble; not easy. But it is so gorgeous!!! I took a pic with my phonecam, but it came out blurry so I will post later when I get a chance to take a photo with my real digital camera.

And it has room to spare! Also helps me see exactly what I have. So I can pare down old movies that we no longer want anymore in time for my next garage sale. Movies sell like hotcakes, as do CD's.

yay! That's great. Nice to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of something you've bought mail-order, isn't it?

What place did you order from? I'm curious.

Here's the web site. Strange URL name for a company that sells media storage :-)

It truly looks exactly like the pic on this URL.

Here is a link that might be useful: URL of my cabinet

When I was in college, I was an RA year-round so I moved in May, once more in the summer, then again in September. Got really tired of hauling all my stuff around by the armload. I won't let go of my books (except the guilty pleasures, like airline novels) but I did decide to consolidate my collection of several hundred CDs by putting them in binders. I removed the CD and insert from the jewel case and put them together in the binder pockets.

I worked on this project in my dorm room with the metal trash can several feet away. I was on a long distance call with my DH (who was just a friend at the time). Every time I tossed a jewel case into the trash can, it made a loud metallic sound. Eventually DH said, "What's all that noise?" I said, "I'm throwing away my CD cases."

He was absolutely appalled. We argued about it for awhile and he finally had to hang up because he couldn't listen to the sound of me getting rid of the jewel cases! Of course, he also couldn't give me a good reason NOT to get rid of them. His argument was, "But they BELONG in the jewel cases!"

So needless to say, I married a packrat. We are somewhat ashamed owners of several hundred DVDs. It took me awhile to understand the DVD obesession, but now I'm just as bad. Here's the reasoning:

-DVDs can usually be had for about $15 - the cost of two movie tickets not including soda and popcorn

-DVDs are now released so quickly following the theater releases that by the time we realize we're interested in seeing a movie, it's already out on DVD

-We can watch them on our own schedule without worrying about waiting in line or arriving before tickets sell out

-We have a very large, fancy TV with a fancy sound system and a very comfortable living room, so that watching DVDs at home is not dissimilar from seeing films at the theater. And he spent all this money on his fancy TV; I don't even like the idea of spending time/money to go to the theater when we already spent the money for a home theater

-We do watch many DVDs repeatedly - though admittedly, only a small percentage (maybe 20%) of our total collection gets watched more than once. We do get rid of movies we really hated (like "Random Hearts"...ugh!) by passing them off on unsuspecting friends, but that doesn't happen very often

-Our future child will have a fine collection of children's movies since our tastes seem to run to the...well, juvenile. We don't have kids yet but Finding Nemo gets watched so frequently that we just keep it next to the DVD player instead of in the storage shelves.

So anyway...that's how it's easy to justify being a DVD junkie.

Now...if only I can convince DH to get rid of the birthday cards from his 14th birthday, we'd be closer to a happy equilibrium. :)

By the way, although I love having the DVDs, I don't like having them exposed. We purchased the cabinets I linked to below. Only we paid $17.99 each on clearance at our local Target - I can't believe Target.com is selling them for $90!

Pottery Barn has a lovely cabinet of similar design (but better quality) for around $250 this season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our DVD storage

loriellen, I could have written that! It took me years to finally get my dh to use Netflix instead of buying what seemed like every new DVD that comes out. Now we buy only those DVD's that we know will be a keeper. We have sold DVD's and CD's in the past and this is the reason that I am reluctant to put all the CD's into plastic sleeves. For the first time this weekend, my dh suggested that we should use the plastic sleeves instead of the cases. He said we could save one box of cases in the garage if I have the need for them. I can't believe it's me that's not willing to change the system.

Here it is! All put together!

that's really nice, Karen! Fits beautifully in that little space and I think the wood slats over the glass help keep it from looking busy.

Hey, Loriellen--"Random Hearts" was filmed in MY neighborhood! But it stank, that's for sure. Our avenue looked nice, and the neighbor'd apartment building looked cool (even if it WASN'T in the DC area), but the movie stank.

TREKaren, that looks great!

Marie26, I think that after what you said and what I've been reading here on THS, I'm going to have to give NetFlix a try. I think it makes a lot of sense. DH makes noises like I'm insane every time I mention it, but I might do it anyway...I think he'd like it in the end.

Talley_Sue, the scenes I remember from RH were lovely. Interesting that it was filmed in NYC. There did seem to be more open space and land in the movie than I usually associate with NYC, but it's been a long time since I saw it. It was the soft core porn music and the incomprehensible story and the appallingly bad acting that contributed to our judgement! :) That movie was so universally hated that we had a hard time finding someone who would take it off our hands. No one wanted it even though it was FREE!

Karen:

Beautiful cabinet! You have great taste. Congratulations.

only one scene was filmed in NYC--you knw when they go to the apartment where the dead husband and dead wife were having their affair?

The exterior shots there--arriving, and leaving and the guy trying to run Harrison Ford over--those were down the block from me. In Queens.

Everybody in the neighborhood thought Harrison Ford was just absolutely the nicest, nicest, nicest man.

What a turkey that movie was! You could see the microphone in several shots!

Karen, are there enough shelves so that using the cabinet just for CD's wouldn't waste space? It looks really nice.

Christine,

if I had no DVDs and only used CD's, I could actually still have room for books, etc. I actually have a half a shelf with CD's already, and room to grow - if you can see in the picture, it's the second shelf.

That's really pretty, so glad you got it . Now I want one!