Short answer: Our Mensa credenza is a single piece, 52.8 inches wide, 16.3 inches deep and 26.5 inches high, with reversible doors and four height-adjustable shelves, in Oak, Walnut or Black wood.
It stands on powder-coated steel legs that are 10.4 inches tall, and it works as a media console, a dining room sideboard, a home bar or an entryway piece. Because the Mensa credenza is one fixed size, it helps to know the numbers before you choose a wall. This guide covers the dimensions, the legs, what the cabinet holds, how it goes together and where it sits best. For general advice on choosing between credenzas, see our guide to choosing a credenza or media unit.
On This Page
- How big is the Mensa credenza?
- What are the legs and finishes?
- What can you store in it?
- Is it a media console or a sideboard?
- How does assembly work?
- Our recommendation
- Explore our credenzas and storage
How big is the Mensa credenza?
The Mensa credenza is 52.8 x 16.3 x 26.5 inches, listed as width x depth x height. The height includes the legs. The cabinet is shallow for its width, so it sits close to the wall without pushing far into the room.
How big is the Mensa credenza?
| Measurement | Inches |
|---|---|
| Width | 52.8 |
| Depth | 16.3 |
| Height (including legs) | 26.5 |
| Leg height | 10.4 |
Our other credenzas and media units are a different shape. Aurora is built from 32.1 inch units that you join, and the Stella media unit is 22.4 inches wide. Mensa is the widest and tallest of our credenzas, so it suits a long wall or a larger screen.
The credenza ships flat in two boxes. Box 1 holds the doors, top panel, four shelves, two legs and the hardware box, and measures 58.1 x 19.7 x 7.3 inches. Box 2 holds the side panels, center support panels, back panel and bottom panel, and measures 54.5 x 18.9 x 5.7 inches. The longest box is about 58 inches, so check your stairs and doorways with our guide to measuring stairs, elevators and doorways.
What are the legs and finishes?
The cabinet and the doors are made of MDF about 0.6 inch thick with a thin ash wood veneer laminated on top. Veneer is a thin sheet of real wood on a stable core, which gives the look of the grain without the movement of solid wood. The legs are powder-coated steel and screw in. The credenza also has leveling feet, so you can steady it on a floor that is not quite flat.
You can choose from three finishes on the Mensa credenza:
- Oak
- Walnut
- Black wood
The same three finishes appear on our Mensa coffee and side tables, so you can match a credenza to a table in the same room. We also use Oak and Walnut on the Aurora credenza and Altitude shelves, which makes it easy to mix pieces. Colors on a screen can look different in your own light, so judge the finish where it will sit.
What can you store in it?
The credenza has four height-adjustable shelves and doors that hide what is inside. You set the shelf height by moving the shelf pins, which lets you change the layout as your needs change. Each shelf is 16.8 inches wide and 13.6 inches deep.
- Entertainment storage: game consoles, a router, books, DVDs and remotes. The credenza has cord management slots, so cables can pass through to the devices inside.
- Records: the cabinet is made to fit full-size records.
- Dining storage: plates, glasses, table linens and serving pieces.
- Home bar: bottles and glassware behind the doors, with the top for a tray.
- Decorative storage: art books, objects and family photos, with the top for display.
We do not publish a weight limit for the credenza or for a TV on top of it. Check your TV's weight and its stand requirements before you buy. If you want ideas for hiding clutter, our guide to hiding clutter in a small living room shows how closed storage helps.
Is it a media console or a sideboard?
It is both, and which one it becomes depends on the room. The shape is the same in every use: a long, low cabinet on legs with doors.
- Media console: under a wall-mounted TV or beside a freestanding one. A 16:9 screen is roughly 87% of its diagonal in width, so a 55-inch TV is about 48 inches wide. That is narrower than the 52.8 inch top, so the TV does not overhang the unit. This is general advice, not a product specification, so check your own TV's width.
- Dining room sideboard: against a wall near your table, holding plates and linens. Our dining tables pair with it in the same finishes.
- Entryway piece: at 16.3 inches deep, it is slim enough for a hallway, though you need clear floor in front to open the doors.
- Home office: a closed cabinet for supplies, with the top for a printer or a lamp.
It also pairs with the seating we show most often with it: our Atmosphere sofa, Ciello sofa and Vela lounge chair. For a wider storage plan that includes shelves, read our living room storage guide.
How does assembly work?
The credenza ships flat, and assembly is mostly tool-free. The panels connect with a clip system, the legs screw in, and the hand screws tighten with the Allen key in the hardware box. Everything you need comes with it, and we estimate assembly at 15 to 20 minutes. Our Altitude wall shelves and cabinet are a different system if you prefer to mount storage on the wall.
Our recommendation
- Choose the Mensa credenza if you want one wide, closed cabinet at 52.8 inches that works as a media console, a sideboard or an entryway piece.
- Choose Aurora if you want to join one, two or three units, or a choice of door styles.
- Choose Stella if your wall is small and you want a compact, open or single-door unit.
- Skip it if you need a unit under 16 inches deep, or a known weight rating for a heavy TV.
Explore our credenzas and storage
Product specifications can change. Check the current dimensions on the product page before ordering.