Yes, it’s 2012 and people are still twisting themselves into pretzels trying to figure out how to incorporate a TV into various rooms. The kitchen is viewed as posing special challenges – especially for anything bigger than a 22”. Rebekah Zaveloff at houzz has put together quite an interesting article complete with photos showing a bunch of different ways to blend a TV into a kitchen. Some of them might work well while other locations are a little questionable. For example:

Above the Double Oven

The concept is great – a big flat screen the same size as the oven door below it could be nicely camouflaged as an additional appliance. But what happens when you turn the oven on? Is there really enough heat shielding to keep your flat screen from being damaged? I’d hate to see what the plastic components of the average TV look like after someone cooked a turkey directly below it for 6-7 hours.

On Top of the Refrigerator

Take a look at where your fridge is located. Do you really want to crane your neck up that far to look at the TV? Mounting a screen too high (especially a small screen) can make it difficult to enjoy.

Below a Cabinet

This one is really baffling. Check out the very final photo in Rebekah’s article. The TV is mounted only a few inches off the ground – and it’s NOT on a TV lift. If your golden retriever loves watching TV in the kitchen, this might be OK. But it’s definitely not a location designed for human viewing.

What’s Missing from This Picture?

On the plus side, Zaveloff does feature a couple of cabinet drop down lifts for small TVs. But she doesn’t show any TV lifts popping up from the countertops, center island, or breakfast bar. These are the ideal locations for a larger TV in the kitchen.

One experienced contractor does point out this oversight in the comments. Ken notes: “Interesting that no one is showing the TV lifts. We’ve been using them for about ten years and people love them. We actually have two current projects both with two televisions in the kitchen. Given the size of the space they wanted one near the table and one near the cook. One rises up out of the counter the other lowers down behind some open shelves. Lots of options to get these screens out of view.”

We agree. Customers absolutely love a TV lift in the kitchen. It’s the perfect space saving solution and it makes the problem of blending the TV into the décor a moot point.

If you want to read some heated discussions about the luxury lifestyle choices of the well-to-do, look no further than the topic of having a TV in the bathroom. People gripe and complain about how we’re so glued to the tube that we can’t even be away from it for a minute. We seem to need something to occupy our minds or distract us 24/7. Of course, the same folks who decry bathroom TVs probably have a copy of The Little Book of Bathroom Sudoku or a few magazines in their home lavatory to stave off boredom. It seems like at least a TV would be a slightly more sanitary entertainment option!

Having a TV in the bathroom could even encourage you to spend a full 5 minutes brushing and flossing your teeth while you are engrossed in the morning news. Plus, you could relax in the garden tub and watch a show instead of worrying about dropping your novel in the bathwater. If you mount your bathroom TV on a TV lift hidden inside the counter, you don’t have to sacrifice any permanent mirror space. You can even mount one in a small custom enclosure at the end of a tub. Customers Matt and Jobie Crowley did this kind of project in an episode of “Bath Crashers” and it worked out great.

Most people consider putting their TV lift in front of the sofa. But placing the TV behind a couch is also a valid option. We see customers do this when they have a circular seating area that is used for both entertaining company (with the TV off) and quiet evenings alone (with the TV on). The homeowner’s favorite La-Z-Boy style chairs are positioned to face the sofa so they can be used for conversation or for TV watching depending on the occasion. Another popular use for a TV mounted inside a cabinet behind the couch is for viewing from multiple rooms. In this case, the TV is on a swivel lift so it can be turned from the living room to the dining room or kitchen area.

Pros and Cons:

• The “behind the sofa” placement is ideal for couples or individuals since it is a great space saver
• You may have more options for where to place your seating furniture since it doesn’t all need to be facing the TV
• This setup doesn’t work as well if you need all your seating to be available for TV viewing
• If you put the TV between the sofa back and a wall, make sure it is adequately shielded from being crushed against the wall

Wall mounts are still a very popular option for installing a TV. However, this approach to setting up an entertainment center has a few drawbacks. These include:

• Limitations on where you put a TV since you need to mount it into studs and not just drywall
• Danger of electrocution if you accidentally drill into electrical wiring in your wall
• Unavoidable damage to walls that will have to be patched up if you move the TV in the future
• Possibility of putting your back out trying to lift the TV up into position
• Exposed cables running down the wall that need to be camouflaged
• Less room on your walls for precious family photos and beautiful artwork

Installing a Nexus 21 TV lift in a lift cabinet lets you bypass all these issues!

All restless sleepers and insomniacs have their own special rituals for making their bedroom a sleep haven. Some crave the sound of white noise or ocean waves. Others choose aromatherapy such as the scent of lavender to help them drift off. Many find that making sure the bedroom is completely dark is the key to finding dreamland.

Lights Out Means LIGHTS OUT!

The pursuit of darkness doesn’t stop at buying blackout drapes and making sure there’s no light peeping under the door from the hallway. True sensory deprivation aficionados turn their alarm clock to face the wall or cover it with a cloth. They make absolutely sure there are no little lights visible anywhere in the room. This includes the power lights on the TV and DVD players. Those glowing red dots may not seem like much light to most people. But any visual distraction can make it tough for some folks to get to sleep. These people are looking for solutions to keep their bedroom electronics from disturbing them. This actually isn’t an uncommon problem.

Here are a few examples of people complaining about this dilemma:

From a yahoo query: Do you know of an alarm clock that does not light up?

“I can’t sleep with my stupid alarm clock shining all night! Even if I turn it around, the light reflects on the wall and bothers me. I can’t find an alarm clock/radio ANYWHERE that has a very low light or no light at all! Any suggestions or ideas? I don’t want to cover it up with anything…”

From an Amazon review:

“For me, the little lights on my DVD player even bother me”

One author on Unpluggd even wrote an article about how many electronic lights were polluting his bedroom. Here are just a few of the total of 16 light sources left on at night:

Laptops power button/light
DVR time and power button
TV power button
Air purifier options and power buttons

Read the comments on that article to see the lengths people go to when they need to cover up these power lights just to get some sleep.

Wouldn’t a TV lift be perfect gift for those of us who need a pitch dark bedroom? A push of a button makes the TV go “night-night” – along with the annoying little red lights. Then, the remote control with its glow-in-the-dark buttons could be tossed in the nightstand drawer to keep it from contributing to light pollution during the wee hours.