Home electronics design has come a very long way in the boxy tube TV and large loudspeakers of yesteryear. Flat screens and panel TVs are already the normal choices, but today’s savvy hardware manufacturers are taking a lot more into account than just the thinness of a TV along with the truth that it can be mounted on a wall.
The consumer electronics industry had already come to accept the concept that women play a significant role in approving a sizable electronics buy. That was known as the “wife acceptance factor.” Now companies are beginning talk about the role designers play in whether consumer electronics are permitted into the home.
Enter the “designer acceptance factor.”
This was the term used by Jennifer Bernards, a marketing manager at Runco, manufacturers of high-end home entertainment equipment. When I spoke with Jennifer in an event for custom electronics installers, she was enthused about new product designs, but also concerning the new ways hardware producers are interacting with the design community. “Designers are creative people who deal with technical limitations. They are the voice of the customer,” Bernards said. “We used to have the ‘wife acceptance factor’; now it is the ‘designer endorsement variable’.”
More: Where to Set the TV?
The Couture Rooms
The advent of flat screens gave rise to console tables and media cabinets. This freed up room and allowed for airier, lighter rooms. At the same time, better-looking TVs made it more suitable to keep them outside in the open.
SEE MATERIALS INC..
Flat screens gave way to panel TVs, and mounting them on a wall turned into more than a space-saving device. The TV itself started playing a role in the room’s design. Here it looks like a piece of artwork, perfectly complementing the other pieces within the room.
Seura
Séura Vanishing Entertainment Television Mirror
This screen out of Seura turns into a mirror when turned away. Another option is to pick a still picture to display and turn the TV into something more such as wall artwork.
runco.com
Runco Vistage Ultra Thin Flat Panel Displays
Runco’s Vistage series can be personalized with color or background to better blend in … or stand outside.
runco.com
Runco Vistage Ultra Thin Flat Panel Displays
Not everyone mounts the TV on a wall. Putting it on a counter or stand is a better alternative in some rooms, but that leaves the back of the TV showing, in all its basic black, unadorned glory. This is one area where producers are reacting to designers and supplying color solutions to match a room’s décor.
runco.com
Runco Vistage Ultra Thin Flat Panel Displays
This TV became décor once the homeowner employed these floral appliques to the back of the screen. It matched other items within the room along with the customer’s design aesthetic. DIYers notice: These units from Runco are designed to be customized, with a special film on the rear of the TV that covers any visible vents while enabling the equipment breath. Don’t go adding background to an electrical apparatus — it is a fire hazard.
omnimount.com
OmniMount Karim Collection – $300
Furniture and accessory designers have gotten into the act, producing pieces such as this media stand by Karim Rashid for OmniMount.
runco.com
Runco Vistage Ultra Thin Flat Panel Displays
Elements can be camouflaged. All these projection boxes are used in home theaters to deliver pictures to a large retractable screen or a wall. They have to be mounted to a ceiling or wall at the back of the space, so having the option to customize them helps to keep the boxes as discreet as possible.
runco.com
Runco Vistage Ultra Thin Flat Panel Displays
If unobtrusive isn’t your style, allow the box stick out. The mural-like scene on this Runco picture projector softens the hardware also provides an odd element to the space.
Conversations such as these are shifting what electronics companies bring to the market by inviting them to utilize designers instead of making designers work on their merchandise.
More: Where to Set the TV?
Working Your TV Into Your Design