Amy from Hertoolbelt had a problem a lot of homeowners will recognize. The best wall for a TV in her bedroom is visible from the entryway and family room, and she did not love seeing the side of a wall-mounted TV every time she walked by. Her solution was a sliding barn door console table with a TV lift hidden in the back, using the TVLiftCabinet.com mechanism.

The design is clever. The center cabinet is only about half depth, so when the barn doors are closed you see a shallow shelf for decor. Slide the doors open and you get deeper storage for media supplies. Then, with a click of the remote, the TV rises from the hidden compartment behind that center shelf.

She built the console in three sections: a center cabinet and two end cabinets. She used knotty alder that she ran through her planer, and she built everything around face frames. The sides get beveled slats and X details, and she assembled the case with dados so the pieces fit together like a puzzle. As she says in the video, a dry run before glue up is essential.

For the lift, she built a rear support frame in the center cabinet and secured it with pocket screws. Her plan calls for a 35-inch tall lift mechanism or smaller. She installs the top of the lift about an eighth of an inch from the top, centers it on the back support, secures it with the included hardware, then raises the lift and attaches the TV bracket. She says the install was really easy and intuitive.

For the lid, she chose full overlay European hinges instead of a piano hinge so the console could sit flush against the wall. Her plan notes that this cabinet fits a TV up to 44 inches wide, and her TV is a 50-inch Samsung measured diagonally. She finished the piece with Briarsmoke stain and satin polyurethane, then hung the barn doors on a mini barn door hardware kit.

Her final thoughts are fun to hear. She loves the slats and X details, the doors slide really well, and she says the TV lift is awesome and really strong. The farmhouse look also fits right in with fall decor and cozy bedroom movie nights.

What You'll See in the Video

  • Planing knotty alder and building face frames for three cabinet sections
  • Beveled side slats and X details
  • Dado assembly and a rear support frame for the TV lift
  • Staining with Briarsmoke and finishing with satin polyurethane
  • Installing the TVLiftCabinet.com lift, the TV bracket, and European hinges on the lid
  • Hanging the sliding barn doors and the TV rising from the console

Ready to Build Your Own?

Amy's plan calls for a 35-inch tall lift or smaller. Our current 35 Inch Tall Smart TV Lift is here: https://www.tvliftcabinet.com/35-inch-tall-smart-tv-lift, and you can compare every height at https://www.tvliftcabinet.com/lift-mechanism. Get her free plans at https://www.hertoolbelt.com/barn-door-console-table-tv-lift/.