Hidden wires and tv's

While technology on the whole advances year on year, home technology is now beginning to integrate with home décor. As mentioned in my intro page, a relatively new interior trend is emerging which deals with two of my pet hates - TV’s and trailing wires and cables. Thankfully a trend is emerging for hiding unsightly wires, either with clever tricks and cover ups or by the way in which our electrically powered home accessories are now designed.

And as for TV’s, well a TV in almost all suburban homes these days is the norm if not even a necessity, but all too often they are not considered at the concept of a design scheme and can often spoil or, at the very least, create an eye sore or distracting and non desirable focal point; often taking the emphasis off other important features in the room.

The presence of technology in our homes these days is both undeniable and unavoidable; however, designers have long since started to realise not only the necessity of such items but also the impact that they can have on the styling of our interiors; and what eye sores they can be amidst otherwise stylish and well thought out interior schemes.

Designers are now incorporating clever cover ups and aesthetic disguises for our necessary technology and techno-clutter into their design concepts from the outset, as technology now meets art!

One example of this is furniture giant IKEA who have taken steps to help banish tangled cords and wires by recently launching a range of ‘Wireless Charging Furniture’ with wireless technology already integrated; and in addition some wireless charging docks that can be installed into existing furniture. Thus they have taken steps towards making homes more beautiful without compromising on performance and technology, even actually using advancements in technology to best effect.

If you’re not up for replacing or investing in new or purpose built furniture, then there are lots of clever homemade DIY hacks that you can adapt to organise and tidy up your home aesthetically.

doubling the usage of the space that would previously have been occupied and as a result Mirror TV’s or Mirror Glass over TV’s is fast becoming the norm in our social, leisure and living areas......

.....or indeed even in the bathroom!...with the introduction of VanityVision Bathroom TV

Mirror Glass The UK manufacturer of this specialised and innovative product, have developed it for ideal for use as a large vanity mirror in your bathroom project to add sophistication and elegance as well as technology. It reflects 70% of the light, for a brilliant reflection that is clear enough to for putting on makeup or shaving.

25% of the light is transmitted through the TV mirror glass for a vivid picture quality that will amaze people. An ultra thin LCD TV is built directly into the custom sized bathroom TV mirror, so you’d never guess there’s a TV hidden behind it until it’s turned on and the television magically appears. These clever mirrors can be manufactured in nearly any size, from small mirrors to entire walls so the creative and practical possibilities are endless!

White marble with black swirling lines covering the walls of a bathroom with smart mirror and TV screen above the sink

Another option and aesthetic solution is ‘moving’ TV artwork.

Traditional wood beam room with wooden furniture and a gold frame with concealed TV screen, behind a retractable picture canvas

Within a frame that can be designed to enhance or blend beautifully with your decor, a retractable ‘screen’ is housed in front of the TV screen.

The screen acts a piece of artwork when the TV is not in use and cleverly retracts into the frame, hidden from view whilst the TV is being watched.

Wall mounted TV that can be covered with family photograph

The beauty of this approach is that it allows people to enjoy both art and TV in their domestic space, therefore never having to compromise one for the other; and in addition, all these different options of covering or masking our TV’s means that whether your home style is period or cutting edge minimalism, your TV can now be incorporated as part of your design.......

As this trend for art meeting technology has also seen the introduction of Bespoke Mirror TV’s like the one above. So whether you style is authentic period or modern minimalist, there's a solution to everyone's decor and style tastes!

TV mounts have long since been used in our homes, probably since the introduction of the flat screen TV and mounting a TV flat against a wall is nothing new. But a new wave of designer mounts created with interior aesthetics in mind mean that your TV can now be mounted or installed just about anywhere in a room to allow it to seamlessly integrate with the rest of your decor.

Electric advance, swivel and drop mounts for example, allow modern flat screen TV’s to be positioned or even completely hidden in a room until such time as they are to be watched. They can then drop down, move forwards or backwards or swivel round; to achieve the best viewing height or angle and be watched from different positions in the room.

One of the most remarkable TV mounts is probably a TV Ceiling Hinge which is an advanced mechanism that allows your flat screen TV to be discreetly hidden horizontally within your ceiling, and then when activated it will magically lower into place for the perfect viewing experience.

If all of the above sounds great but is not within your budget or practicalities, then there are lots of inexpensive and DIY ways to incorporate your TV into your decor and room scheme as demonstrated in the images above.

Augmented Reality

Taking that one step further even ........ technology is shaping and becoming our interiors. Modern ‘home-entertainment’ takes on a whole new dimension as ‘gaming’ and ‘watching’ become more real than virtual in our home spaces and takes up more of our leisure time than ever before.

Holodeck style gaming may seem like something from science fiction but is fast becoming an unmistakable reality and a fact. Holgram tech isn’t far from full home integration either and as it becomes common place will no doubt shape and change our interior decor schemes to accommodate its use. In this recent article I read about it, the author wrote the following, which explains the extend to which we could see this trend shaping our homes and interiors.......

“Microsoft have begun investing heavily in this technology. The Kinect project has revolutionised their gaming offering, with Xboxes being pitched at younger, more dynamic gamers. The tech giant’s research project, RoomAlive, brings holodeck style gaming tantalisingly close.

The system uses a series of projectors and Microsoft Kinect camera sensors to map out a living room and the people in it, projecting an augmented reality onto every surface, tables, walls, seats and cushions included. One of the primary draws of this technology, apart from its immersion into the game, is that it is easily integrated into an existing room.

In order to create a fuller gaming experience projectors and a Kinect camera are used, most of which are ceiling mounted”.

So all we can do is sit tight and wait and see where this particular technological advancement takes us and our homes and social lives too..................