It’s not unusual for high-end interior designers to cringe at the sight of an exposed television. For years, the mantra in home design was, “Whatever you do, make sure you hide the appliances.”
“That’s why you always see televisions concealed in armoires,” designer Stephen Saint Onge says. “If you could see them, it was considered bad design.”
Then again, that was when most televisions were thick black boxes that couldn’t pass designers’ muster. The recent advent of sleek, flat-screen TVs along with innovations in everything from computer monitors to remote-control devices has made it easier to integrate technology into decor.
“When a television is trim and well-designed, it doesn’t seem so out of place,” Saint Onge says. “It can work in any room.” Of course, Saint Onge, best known for his work as one of the house designers on TLC’s “While You Were Out,” has a reason for giving technology and style permission to marry.
Saint Onge has a multiyear deal to serve as spokesman for Philips Electronics, the manufacturer of appliances such as plasma televisions and gizmos including the iPronto, which allows homeowners to plug in the controls for all their remote-control devices.
He also is the creative face of Philips’ new Web site, www.designingathome.com, which features several room makeovers and design projects that integrate technology with his distinct emphasis on comfort.
His first projects for Philips are a small home theater and living room designed for an Atlanta couple living in a newly renovated loft. During the next several months, Saint Onge will complete kitchens, baths, home gyms and ultimately, a kid’s room, all intended to demonstrate how technology can enhance a decorating scheme without being too distracting.
Saint Onge explained that he approached the Atlanta home theater project from the viewpoint that it can be small-scale, even intimate. “We tend to think of home theaters as something celebrities have, but that is really changing. Now, it can be the heart of the home.”
The theater he created for the Atlanta couple is contemporary and fun, featuring comfy red leather chairs, black accents, a large flat-screen television, high-end stereo equipment, blinds selected to block light on movie night and even a couple of nifty metal cup holders fitted into the furniture.
While Saint Onge has had affluent clients who’ve asked for much grander home theaters–one had built-in popcorn makers and a margarita machine–it’s not necessary to have a large extra room and oodles of money to create one.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
