Cozy season is upon us once again, setting the stage for indoor gatherings centered around football games, Hallmark holiday movies, and the latest streaming sensations. Or even if you live in a less screen-centric household, you'll need a central entertainment center to hold and organize other items that fill your hours of leisure and comfort.

When setting up one's living or family room, we typically know what we'll need in terms of seating — how many people will be gathered on a sofa at one time, which configuration will work best, and so on. In the same light, many of us know what we desire when it comes to a coffee table or piece of furniture to hold our food and drink. But what about a permanent fixture to hold one's books, DVDs, vinyl collections, vases, picture frames, and favorite keepsakes?

A media center isn't solely about a screen and all of its components. There are countless ways we entertain ourselves and others we invite into our home. Putting up an entertainment center offers a chance to explore an important question: What are the things that for you represent being home? This topic becomes especially pertinent as the season nudges us from the outdoors back into our homey cocoons.

In an entertainment center, hygge lovers might dedicate a drawer to candles and matches ready to set the scene, and game aficionados might designate a specific space for their beloved packs of cards or gaming consoles. Staying organized becomes easier with space for fluffy blankets and another for children's toys, so they can be utilized during the day and then tucked away neatly at night when the room, once again, becomes a quiet sanctuary.

The center's design can be personalized to appease your lifestyle preferences, with perks like adjustable shelving to maximize storage. Aesthetics come into play too, as you consider the important factor of display lighting to proudly show off your most beloved possessions. (Lighting proves a crucial element for both functionality and a desired look.)

Entertainment centers certainly aren't one-size-fits-all, as we're all at different stages of life and have varying ideas of what "leisure time" means, too. Whatever the indoor season ahead looks like for you, we hope you find the ideal entertainment center layout and look to complete your living space as you hunker down and gather your people.

Should you need their assistance as you prepare your home for the cozy season ahead, experts in the field from California Closets are ready and waiting to help create spaces that best support your entertainment center wants and needs. These experts will dive right in once they assess the layout and spatial availability in your home — and understand how you’d best like to design this anchoring piece for your living or family room.

Call 503.885.8211 to set up a complimentary in-home consultation. You can also visit us at www.calclosets.com, or stop into one of our local showrooms located in the Pearl in Portland, West Linn (exit 8 off of 205) and down in Bend, on Newport Ave.