Like it or not, televisions are here to stay. For some of us, they are in our lives from the moment we wake up to the last thing we hear or see at night. Throughout the day, there seems to be no place where there isn’t a screen flickering with some urgent image.
As interior designers, we try to find ways to make TVs accessible, when and where our customers want them, and also to make them discreet or disappear when they don’t.
Fortunately, we have now finally reached the stage of media evolution that seemed like sci-fi dreams when we were younger, that is, wall-hanging flat screens. Just a decade ago, interior designers were building massive cabinets to hold big-screen TVs that were nearly as deep as they were wide, and weighed a ton.
Sometimes we still use this large piece of furniture as a focal point and to have something beautiful to hide a big screen TV in. In some of those cases, we have a false back built in so that the TV has a surface to hang from. This also allows a space for cables and wires to occur without being seen.
Often, we hang a TV on a wall surface with a suitable support. Before installing the TV, the wall must be prepared with plywood or other structural support provided behind the finished surface, and the power supply, cable, and other signal cables must also be in their proper place. Therefore, coordination time with the contractor is required. But it can be a relatively simple and effective solution.
That method, just the image floating on the wall, works particularly well with contemporary interiors. However, much like the interior design approach to artwork placement, we generally like to place the image on the wall with an object below it. When it comes to a television, the furniture below provides a place for the machinery that is often required. DVD and cable boxes are still a part of most of our worlds.
Some of our interior design clients now have whole house electronic control systems that provide multiple channels in different rooms, whole house audio in public spaces (indoors and outdoors) and many other features. This usually means that there is a centralized room that contains the equipment racks and that is adequately air conditioned to help remove all the heat generated. These systems are remarkable and can be designed to be easy to use. You can be in the room with a remote control, point it at the TV, and a menu is displayed giving you options on what’s available to watch and which movies you can retrieve or download.
In some cases, when we have a more traditional interior, we like the TV to be less prominent, so we have a recessed recess in the wall or above the mantel. Of course, the same requirements of providing proper support and wiring connections apply. In this case, however, the 6″ to 8″ gap allows the TV and its support bracket to create a condition where the screen surface is essentially flat with the wall. Then we can leave it in a simple rectangular opening or install a beautifully finished picture frame to hug the TV. This can sometimes cover most of the full frame of the TV. But you need to be careful when doing this, as sometimes the speakers and the infrared signal receiver for the screen are built into its frame. An adjustment must be made to the frame of the box to allow them to continue to function.
Televisions are also getting smaller. They can be hung under cabinets tucked into the corner of a kitchen so news and shows can join in the activity of kitchens and families. We put them behind special mirrors so the news is available while you’re in your bathroom getting ready for the day. Of course, they’re also now portable, and with your iPad you can stay up to date on your shows, the news, and whatever else is on the air almost anytime, anywhere.