Interiors: Watch the box
Latest Interiors checks out the latest storage solutions for our evolving home entertainment systems
Home entertainment is changing fast: TVs are getting bigger, music systems are getting smaller – and increasingly, everything is inter-connected as we demand more from our home media. And as we upgrade our technology to high-definition, high-speed home cinema and entertainment, our homes – and storage – must also evolve. Wondering where you could possibly put a 42-incher? Well, wonder no more – Latest Interiors has a few storage solutions up its sleeve.
Opus white block ‘L’ shelves, 2 shown, £140 each, www.next.co.uk
Music, music, music…
The stereos of the ‘70s and ‘80s were ginourmous things – often wood-encased. Size mattered. But as CDs took hold of the market, music systems became streamlined, and people needed less room for their CD collections. Now, of course, the advent of mp3 players is pushing CDs into extinction.
If space is at a premium in your home (and you haven’t yet joined the technological revolution), one of the most sensible things you can do is transfer your entire music collection to mp3 format, then ditch the CDs and any old vinyl you’ve still got hanging around. Programmes like iTunes will allow you to upload music from CDs, and a USB turntable lets you convert any LPs – complete with scratchy background noises – to mp3 format. Buy a neat docking (possibly wireless, multi-room) system – and voila, lots of free storage space.
TV and home cinema
It’s easy to be seduced by a sleek, glossy flat-screen TV. You can pore over web-pages and store catalogues, choosing just the right make and size and then… You get it home. And you realise just how huge it is. And that it just doesn’t seem to look right anywhere. Oops.
Some people take the plunge and fix their new TV to the sitting room wall – often above the fireplace or in another central position.
Opus white block ‘L’ shelves, 2 shown, £140 each, www.next.co.uk
However, this is far from ideal as, even for larger screens, the TV-in-place-of-art is a bit too high for comfortable viewing (never mind what to do with all the cables!) Most people don’t want the TV to dominate their living space, and so opt for some sort of unit or stand.
Units to hold and support a larger-size (more than 24”) flat-screen TV need to be longer and slightly lower than for conventional sets, for balance and stability. A simple, low box-shelf or table with storage below for other equipment is the basic option. If you want more flexible viewing, the TV can be fixed to an extending, adjustable bracket, which allows you to angle the screen for viewing, but push it back to the wall when not in use.
For a cable-free, modern look, the gold-standard has to be a bespoke media unit. The current trend is for a unit that fits flush around the screen (often with a hidden bracket, so that screen angle can be adjusted), with storage built beneath (and either side, if there’s room).
If the unit is laminated to match or tone with other décor, the TV will blend in perfectly. Storage space below should be big enough for any home cinema, gaming or other media equipment. Don’t build in too much DVD or blu-ray storage space, though – super-fast, fibre-optic broadband could be consigning them to the recycling bin any minute. We can hardly keep up.
