• You can make your home entertainment center more complex than a basic store-bought model, like this one.home movie theater components image by Nikolay Okhitin from Fotolia.com
  
  If the entertainment area around your television is looking a little cluttered, building an entertainment center could help you get organized and clean up the mess. Unlike store-bought entertainment centers, an entertainment center you create yourself is sure to have everything you need, since you're both the designer and the builder.
  
  

Convert a Cabinet

• Pick up an armoire or a couple extra double cabinets from a home improvement store, furniture store, yard sale or used building supply store and convert them into your entertainment center. Remove everything from the inside of the armoire, and then add a shelf about halfway up the inside for your television to sit on. To turn basic kitchen cabinets into an entertainment center, bolt one cabinet on top of the other. If there's a divider in the middle, remove it and replace the doors so they meet in the middle. Store your television in the top cabinet and entertainment consoles in the bottom. You can add shelves as needed to both options.
  
  

Create a Built-In

• For a truly customized home entertainment center, create a built-in. Use an open alcove or simply mark off the space where you want to build your entertainment center. Sketch out a design for the spot, and take measurements more than once to make sure they are correct. For a quicker project, use standard cabinets to create the bottom section of your built-in, and then add shelves up above for compact discs, DVDs and other entertainment items.
  
  

Use Shelves

• For a quick do-it-yourself project with minimal building, use organizational shelving units to create your home entertainment center. Put up simple shelves under your television, or get a closet track system installed. Mix up organizational elements, like shorter shelves or metal baskets, in your design. Play with the placement of shelves, such as turning a long shelf so it sits vertically. Need a place to store compact discs? Try a wooden shoe organizer.
  
  

Combine Elements

• If you're handy but don't want to build everything from scratch, combine elements. Use standard cabinets and homemade shelves in your design, or create the basic structure of your entertainment center yourself. Then, add shorter closet shelving to the top to complete the look. For a professional look, make the outside of the entertainment center yourself, and purchase organizational units to fit inside the center.