Well-Styled Electronics
Living the Wired Life? Here's How to Make All That Tech Look More at Home
Many of us strive to create "timeless" designs, but one huge obstacle continuously stands in our way: electronics! Ever-changing and so ... electronic-y looking, technological gadgets are a big tip-off in terms of placing when a space was designed.
While it would be nice if we all had a spare room designated for TV watching, that's just not reality, so we have to work them into our main living spaces as best we can. The same goes for other electronics: stereos, speakers, computers and alarm clocks. Luckily, Houzz readers and designers are chock full of creative solutions for masking the electronics.
While it would be nice if we all had a spare room designated for TV watching, that's just not reality, so we have to work them into our main living spaces as best we can. The same goes for other electronics: stereos, speakers, computers and alarm clocks. Luckily, Houzz readers and designers are chock full of creative solutions for masking the electronics.
Insetting and framing the TV and painting the wall behind it a dark color (chocolate brown, in this case) makes this ubiquitous electronic device blend in with its surroundings. Plus, I think there's something nice about ensconcing a TV among throngs of books.
Here's another example of a well (in)set TV. The wood paneling doesn't hide the fact there's a TV in the wall, but it certainly helps it blend a little more.
Criticism abounds around the issue of TVs above the fireplace, and while I understand the reasons behind putting a TV up there (a room shouldn't have too many focus points, after all) I tend to agree with the "don't do it" camp. Placing a television to one side of the fireplace is a wonderful solution. An offset TV adds another dimension to a room, especially one that is mostly symmetrical.
The chic vintage-esque radio tucks into the shelf, coordinating stylishly with rest of the kitchen's eclectic decor. Find a similar radio here.
Alarm clocks. For many of us, they play an important role each day, but my goodness, can they be unsightly! Styling night table decor is a great idea, and this little vignette means business. It'll wake you up, quench your thirst and keep things bright for reading at night — all while looking chic.
The Old Worldliness of this breezy, airy bedroom is heightened by the alarm clock, with its vintage style that doesn't disrupt the scheme with an overly electronic look. Modernists who prefer to wake up to music from an ipod (rather than screaming bells) should look into getting a chic dock like this: http://takeipod.com/accessories/vers-15r-hand-crafted-wood-radio-alarm-clock-for-ipod-and-iphone/, which won't interfere with a well-designed room.
So many people have done away with landline phones, but those who haven't must wrestle with how to make a contemporary phone work with their decor. It's no doubt a potentially clash-ridden situation, since phone design has more to do with functionality than style. A tiny handset sits on a night table in this bedroom takes up so little visual space that it almost goes undetected.
Speaking of great landlines, nothing will throw off guests, onlookers and critics (like myself) better than a vintage-style phone!
The eclectic and beautifully selected furniture in this nook complicates the "when was it designed" challenge, even with the laptop in the frame. Help electronics blend by introducing materials that coordinate with them. In this case, the chrome chair leg speaks to the silver treatment on the laptop, while the woods of the desk and file cabinet maintain a warm, modern feel.
Intercoms are some of the most difficult pieces of equipment to incorporate, especially for apartment dwellers. In this vignette from a San Francisco Designer Showcase, the chair, gorgeous skirted table, ornate mirror, lamps and accessories work to complement the historic-looking intercom.
There are several old-timey radio-looking gadgets on the market now, many of which are actually iPod docks. The one in the far left corner here blends perfectly with the rest of the historic and cottage-y decor.
In my last apartment, I sewed curtain panels and hooked them onto the bottom of the console table in my entry, concealing a printer, paper and other unsightly work-related stuff. The two maps to the right of the mirror covered the heinous electrical panel. Camouflaging less-than-beautiful equipment doesn't have to cost much!
Products: Get ideas for organizing your cables
Products: Get ideas for organizing your cables