Awhile back I watched this Cali Lewis Geekbrief podcast (episode 108) where she created a gadget recharging cabinet from a shoe organizer cabinet. It was OK but I didn’t love it.
Marc Spagnuolo (pictured in the third image below) was recently a guest on Leo Laporte’s TwitLive webcast. He was inspired by Leo to create TheWoodWhisperer podcast. He built this customized gadget recharging cabinet for Leo as a gift in thanks for inspiring him to start his own podcast. Leo loved it. I like it.
[more pics after the jump – click on pics for larger views]
The bottom shelf is designed to hold the power bar/surge protector. Power chords then run up from the bottom but still inside. Connector cables to other devices can run out the back. 
The pieces on the back are magnetized so they can be easily removed, as necessary, to accommodate the wires.
I think it is designed to sit on the floor but I’d want something like this to hang on the wall – or at least sit on something so I don’t have to kneel down to use it. It would be too low sitting on a floor. However you mount/position it, you’d need to easily get in behind to thread the wires as gadgets come and go. As you can see from the picture below (taken the next day), Leo placed it on top of a larger cabinet behind him.
See also: Blog Post on The WoodWhisperer.com site.
Thanks for blogging about the gadget station Dale. To answer your question, the cabinet is definitely not meant to go on the floor. As someone who has an occasional lower back ache, that would not be much fun. 🙂 The unit is designed to simply sit upon a desk, or it could be wall mounted. Now the things I need to do to make it wall-mountable are a little invasive, and its not something I wanted to do to the cabinet unless it is specifically requested. In fact, I have one at home and it is indeed mounted on the wall. Also, when mounted on the wall, there should be no reason to actually get behind the unit to manage the wires. On the original unit in my home, I do have to take the cabinet off the wall to make the changes and it drives me crazy. This one had plenty of space so you can feed the wires easily with your hands.
Thanks again!
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Marc J. Spagnuolo
Designer Craftsman
TheWoodWhisperer.com
Hey Marc,
Thanks for the feedback. I updated the post to add the picture above. Leo did indeed put it on another cabinet.
Looks great.
…Dale