Faux Fireplace Mantle with Hidden Storage Cabinets

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DIY Faux fireplace mantle with hidden storage!  The front is all doos - behind is all storage! Detailed plans from ana-white.com

So I've had this idea for quite a while to build a media console for the Momplex for Mom-who-likes-to-sew.  

My mother-in-law loves Christmas. She loves giving gifts.  She loves the grandchildren coming over to discover their gifts and even orchestrates a special appearance by Santa on Christmas Eve, delivering each child a hand picked gift.

But she has no where to hang stockings.  We did not put fireplaces in the Momplex units.

So I thought about building her a faux fireplace, like this one or this one.  

But I wanted this piece to be able to work year round, and the only place for this faux fireplace to go would be the only place to put the TV.  So I decided to design a new faux fireplace mantle - but this time, conceal behind doors lots of storage for controllers and DVDs, with the TV on top. 

The best part is it's actually a pretty simple build.  You just build the main frame with 1x12s (or plywood strips or MDF strips if you live in a humid climate) and then the front doors are also 1x12s hinged on.  Then just add moulding to top and bottom and that's it!

I put together a video of all the steps, please check it out -