With the advent of the large flat-screen TV as a standard, a lot of design magazines and ads for sets showed them bolted to the wall in very plain view. The bulky sets of yesterday are gone, replaced by a liberated view that has the TV standing alone like a window onto the world. Yet, at least according to many of our customers, that doesn’t work well for them.
Large entertainment centers, including the big armoire style cabinets, remain very popular. Why is that?
Before we discuss the reasons, the options for an entertainment center are important. There are two main types – the accessory floor model, like the Seville pictured here, and the traditional full height wall model. At the very least, the new TVs still have many accessories such as cable boxes, DVD players, games, and a whole lot of media that needs storage space. Freed from the need to support a heavy tubed screen, they can be lighter and much lighter in the room.
Still, there is demand for the bigger armoire style, such as this Lotus one, and even room-filling wall units that stretch out the length of a very big screen. These provide many advantages, starting with creating a “frame” around the set rather than have it hanging naked on the wall. The thinner TVs of today are also much easier to hide when not in use, a feature that many people find very attractive for family gatherings when the company is what matters. And the added depth is just visually more appealing, giving a separation between the viewers and the rest of the world. The overall feel is comfortable and warm.
No matter what, demand for new entertainment centers is only increasing. The cold plastic, metal, and glass simply does not work with the décor of every home today. Genuine wood as either a frame or as a base to support it softens and warms up the techno look, tying it into the rest of the house as an elegant statement.
The functionality remains very important, too. In all cases, storage of the key components is very important to many customers. When glass is used on the front, cable boxes and anything else that uses a remote remain open for use with an infrared remote while still being hidden, a feature many find very attractive.
Usually, each entertainment center we build at Erik Organic is customized in some way for the components, look, and lifestyle of each individual customer. That’s only to be expected. The main use of an entertainment center, beyond organizing all the components, is to fit modern tech into the décor of each home on its own terms. We have worked with many customers to come up with a solution that fits their needs exactly.
No matter what we see in magazines or ads for the TVs themselves, not everyone wants their window on the world hanging there all by itself, making its own statement. We each have our own feelings about how that should fit into our lives. For many people, that includes the warmth and sturdiness that only real wood can provide, either anchoring the set, framing it, or even hiding it completely when not in use.
If you are thinking about how to incorporate a new TV into your life in a way you find more appealing, look over our options and call us today!
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