We live in a world driven by technology, yet so often we are told to make places like it did not exist. Designers turn up their noses at televisions, whilst shield publications and coffee table books unplug lamps and airbrush cords, Removing all traces of electronic equipment.
Except that most of us have them, use them, want them and dare we say, love them.
There’s no reason to forgo these pleasures or eschew digital necessities. Let’s adopt the technology and design houses that are both beautiful and functional for the way we live today. Over the next few months, I expect to tackle all these problems and more.
Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab
There’s perhaps no better place in the home for a pc than the kitchen. It’s where we spend the most time and needless to say, the heart of any dwelling. From accessing shared programs, video chatting with family and friends while downloading, downloading recipes, weather and news, doing homework, or tracking a child’s online activity, some form of computing device will function a family well.
Glenvale Kitchens
TVs at the Kitchen are a must for many of us but often sneered at by designers. However, the time we invest in that area and the myriad of individuals who pass through makes the display a welcome inclusion. Flat panels today are more like portals through which we view television content, arrange films, check email and play games. It’s less about starring at a sitcom whilst eating dinner rather than carrying on a conversation and more about becoming connected to what you need at the most popular area of the house.
14 Ways to Place a TV in the Kitchen
Jamie Laubhan-Oliver
The only real place a TV is more controversial than the kitchen is the bedroom. It’s an extremely personal space and including electronic equipment here is an extremely personal choice. What’s right for one person or couple isn’t correct for everybody, and the same is true in regards to the kind of electronic equipment, positioning and accessories placed here. Lifts, sunglasses, wireless headphones, docking stations and streaming Web can help maintain the tranquility or add a little spice to our nighttime.
TV in the Bedroom: Thumbs Up or Down?
Ziger/Snead Architects
Living rooms and family rooms are the traditional home for home electronic equipment, and while flat panel TVs and slim components have made it simpler to incorporate gadgets into a living room, there are still a lot of challenges. How large is too large to place a TV? Is it secure to mount a display over the fireplace? (Yes, but don’t do it. It’s the worst viewing angle possible.) The way to arrange chairs for optimum viewing and sightlines? Along with the perennial question of whether or not to hide all of it.
Bellisa Design
Home theatres may be tricky; often walking the line between lavish and cliché. Once we get beyond the technology — projectors, drop down screens, surround audio, 3-D — the furnishings themselves present an issue. But yes, Virginia, there’s a way to design a home theater with no requisite antique popcorn machine and leather loungers.
Brandon Barré Architectural Interior Photographer
Whether you are looking to replicate a five-star resort experience or simply require access to news while readying for work, incorporating electronics into the toilet is a great method to create the ultimate retreat. Options go beyond TV panels and docking stations to bathtubs and tiles that emit sound and mirrors that reflect your image and images of the planet as projected from a TV broadcast.
Nicole Lanteri Design
Home offices are a must for an increasing number of individuals, but what about the wires? Handling clutter is a constant battle and cord organization a never ending tangle, but new wireless parts, home solutions, cloud established computing and great old-fashioned cable management can help keep the technology working for you.
Cohn + Associates
For those lucky enough to reside in mild climates, outdoor entertainment places can go way beyond grills and picnic tables. All-weather TVs, audio systems and chairs create seeing spaces that provide movie night a completely new meaning.
Atmosphere Interior Design Inc..
At times it’s that the things we don’t see that have the largest impact — an alarm system at the corner, a control panel, in-wall docking stations, whole-home audio systems and speakers, wireless networks. These may be nearly invisible to the naked eye but pose as many buying and design issues as the technology we see.
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More: How to Manage Messy Cords
How To Hide Plugs and Switches
The Case for Well-styled House Electronics
14 Ways to Place a TV in the Kitchen
Thanks, Steve: Apple-Inspired Design at Home
TV in the Bedroom: Thumbs Up or Down?