The word "credenza" was originally used to describe a type of dining room serving table from which food could be sampled or tasted to make sure that it was credible (same root). For a long time, the credenza remained as a dining room piece, and the term was pretty much interchangeable with "sideboard".

The current flat plasma or LCD monitors, with their wide (letterbox) ratio screens and their unobtrusive (and thin) black frames, can be pretty much left alone if they are displayed on top of a correctly sized and nicely styled furniture piece.