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Decorating: How to Stylishly Integrate Sound & Vision Technology

Audiovisual kit is useful, but not always pretty. Here’s how to seamlessly integrate it into your home

Abigail Owens 8 January 2015

Houzz contributor and Design Director at Carolyn Parker Interior Design Ltd, which is based near York and specialises in luxury designs. Abigail, has been named one of the Daily Telegraph's Top 20 UK interior designers.

Houzz contributor and Design Director at Carolyn Parker Interior Design Ltd, which... More

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With gadgets and gizmos aplenty, the world of sound and vision is fascinating, but how can you work all of this technical wizardry into your home in an aesthetically pleasing way? Read on for ways to incorporate audiovisual technology stylishly throughout your home.

Contemporary Living Room by Inspired Dwellings

Inspired Dwellings

Make your TV the focal point
Sometimes the TV alone can be enough to create a real focal point, without needing the usual visual draw of a fireplace. In this image, the dark chimney breast blends with the frame of the plasma screen, allowing the two to work seamlessly together to make a very successful viewing wall.

Read more about how to position your TV in the living room

Transitional Home Cinema by Adept Integrated Systems Ltd

Adept Integrated Systems Ltd

Hide the wires
Basements, and windowless rooms in general, make great cinema rooms. This is because you can get the acoustics just right and under control.

Integrated sound and vision is just that: integrated. So you need to be prepared for a lot of cabling in. In a new build this is relatively simple, but in a renovation project, you should be prepared for a lot of chasing in of wires in order to achieve that seamless look.

Traditional Home Cinema by Olive Audio Visual

Olive Audio Visual

Create a dual-purpose space
Just because you want a big screen, it doesn’t mean you have to dedicate the whole room to film-watching. If you want to use the space for several purposes, rather than just as a cinema, it needs to look stylish at times when your eyes aren’t glued to the screen. A projector, which can be switched off and rolled away, and a pull-down screen can help you to achieve this smoothly.

See more tips on how to keep your TV out of sight

Contemporary Home Cinema by Imagine Living

Display gadgets beautifully
However you like to watch TV, you usually need to accept there will be some sort of kit that comes with it, from remote controls to recording boxes. For all the money it’s possible to spend hiding it, why not consider making a display of it with a stylish unit? I love the way this wall curves round and neatly holds the Sky box and DVD player.

Contemporary Home Cinema by Olive Audio Visual

Olive Audio Visual

Plan space for ventilation
If you want an all-singing, all-dancing audiovisual system, then be prepared to house some serious racks of equipment. Not only will you need a plant room for these mechanics, the room will also need to be well ventilated, as kit like this gives off a lot of heat.

A property with serious technology is likely to need an air-conditioned room to keep the TV equipment happy, so factor this in when you’re designing the space.

Contemporary by Carolyn Parker Interior Design Ltd.

Carolyn Parker Interior Design Ltd.

Get the scale right
Now this is how you house a huge plasma screen, if I do say so myself. The stunning walnut inlay gives depth to this TV wall, while the leather panels not only help with the resonance, they give the room an added warmth.

With a project of this scale, behind the doors are huge rows of racking for all the AV kit. The vents in the bottom of each door keep the back properly ventilated. If you’re going to go big, then go bold.

Contemporary Rendering by Inspired Dwellings

Inspired Dwellings

Acquire aqua-vision
If you just can’t be separated from your TV, or if you need a reason to stay in the bath for a little longer in the evenings, then an aqua-vision screen may be the perfect solution for you. As you might expect from the name, this allows you to watch TV safely in close proximity to water.

Depending on the exact specification, aqua-vision screens are likely to offer water-resistant properties, heated screens to avoid fogging, and possibly even a mirror-effect look when not in use.

Contemporary Living Room by Bailey London Interior Design & Build

Bailey London Interior Design & Build

Consider the colour balance
When working your technology into the look and feel of a room, consider how it affects the overall colour balance. Quite often the only place the TV can go is above a fireplace. As long as you get the scale in proportion to the fire surround, and choose a screen that isn’t too chunky, then I think you can get away with it.

The designer has the balance here just right, and you can see how the contrasting dark piping on the soft furnishings really helps to balance the black TV screen.

Contemporary Kitchen by Living in Space

Living in Space

Add a wall recess
If you would prefer to see your gadgets sitting flush with the wall for a more bespoke look, then creating a recess in the wall could be the perfect solution. If the TV will be sitting on a wall where there is heavy traffic, it’s sometimes also a more practical solution to save space and avoid your technology getting knocked and bumped by people passing through.

Transitional Kitchen by Inspired Dwellings

Inspired Dwellings

Stay in control
There are plenty of ways to control a smart system and you need to get the right advice on your requirements. You also need to think about your own preferences. If you like to be able to hold a control and point it at the TV, then wall panels might not be for you.

Be clear with your audiovisual team or designer about what you need, and don’t get carried away about gadgets and gizmos you won’t actually use.

TELL US…
How have you integrated technology into your home? Please share your ideas and photos in the Comments below.

Comments (7)

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mmerton

Mirror TVs, like anything dual purpose aren't very good TVs. Neither are they very good mirrors!

Like 12 January 2015 at 11:12pm

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PRO

PictureFrame.TV

You might want to look at our offering. You'll see from our website, that our products offer the best compromise between mirrors and TV. Whilst there are cheaper brands out there that mmerton is referring to, you'll see that ours are functional as both. We have a long line of satisfied customers who use their MirrorTVs as their main TV.

2 Likes 17 February 2015 at 3:39pm

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PRO

PictureFrame.TV

May we add, the key thing is to buy from a company that displays real photographs on their website, and don't buy one without looking at one in the flesh. There are a various different types of glass technology.

3 Likes 17 February 2015 at 3:40pm

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