Being in the home technology industry for over 25 years has given us quite the overview of changes throughout the years. A few years back we were booming when all of our clients wanted us to hide their cable boxes and components in a remote location so they no longer had to look at them. That was just the beginning for what has been taking place since then when it comes to hiding, disguising and accenting items or spaces in your home to blend with a particular room.
Thinner TV’s, condensing 5 remote controls into 1 universal remote, touch panels that let you control everything in your home, drop down screens and even art that retracts to reveal your television. We get it… no one wants to see items that don’t fit into the environment and design of any given room. So what are some popular options to make these things as seamless as possible in your home?
Retractable or hidden TV’s & components –
This has to be the most popular for us. From razor thin TV’s to screens that retract into a wall, get recessed, hide behind two way mirrors, art and more, consumers want these necessary pieces of home media to fit into their space as clean as possible. In a lot of cases, we often tuck all components (cable box, a/v receivers, etc.) away in a cabinet, basement, closet or hidden space and set it up so one remote controls all of them by just pointing your remote at the TV. Now more than ever, there are tons of options to hide all of your media equipment.
Blending or accenting the smaller stuff –
If you can’t beat em’, join em’. Sometimes, there are some parts of a room that we just cannot help having; light switches, HVAC vents, thermostats, etc. Fortunately, there are solutions for blending these items in. We caught up with Artisan & Decorative Painter, Theresa Nardone of Bella Terra Designs to give a bit of insight on this:
One of my favorite parts of being a decorative artist has to be putting the finishes touches on our painted finishes. Believe it or not, taking the ugly blue tape off at the end of the job is the most exciting part! Why? Well, not because we are done, but because its like unwrapping a present. The finish on the walls or ceiling looks twice as good once that ugly blue tape is down. Next favorite, putting the newly blended in switch plates back up. Most of our finishes we are able to put onto the cheap plastic switch plates that everyone has in their home. We sand, prime, and put the decorative treatment on the covers. We can stencil a pattern right over it, so it blends in seamlessly. Our clients are so thrilled when they see how they just disappear. One client had gorgeous grasscloth installed in their vaulted kitchen. About 5 feet from the ceiling in 2 spots were ac vents about 2 foot by 3 ft. Ugly! I suggested letting me blend them in. Strand by strand, the colors from the grasscloth were painted over it. From the floor you wouldn’t even know it was painted! Heating vents, air conditioner vents, and even bathroom ceiling vents all disappear, as do speakers in the walls.
Even if you are just painting a room a flat color, go the extra step and paint those vents, switch plates and speakers in. You will be delighted how many less distractions there are.