Hiding Technology in Your Home
Technology is an essential part of our daily lives. But let’s face it, electronics aren’t always aesthetically pleasing and can quickly add clutter to a sleek and sophisticated design. Whether you’re renovating an existing space or building a new one, Mills helps clients and their design teams lessen the visual impact of technology components – without compromising on performance.
Hiding Technology in Plain Sight
Make your TV “disappear” with a Frame TV. When the TV is on, it displays a high-resolution QLED-quality picture. When it’s off, it’s a beautiful piece of art, which can display professional art or photography, and/or personal photographs. The latest models of the Frame also include a matte finish, meaning they look even more like a picture than ever before. The Frame has customizable options to match any taste and decor, and they’re magnetic, making them simple to attach and detach for a different style.
Another popular option is a mirror TV system. For living spaces, the Entertainment TV mirror is a bright, high-performance TV that completely vanishes into a stunning mirror when turned off. For spaces like a Primary Bath, a Vanity TV mirror system is an elegant mirror that conceals a smaller TV behind it. Read more in our “Project Spotlight” below to see an example of such an installation.
Make Video Appear from Nowhere!
TVs, projectors, and screens can be hidden completely until they are ready to use. Special mounts can be used to lower the display from the ceiling, push it upwards from a cabinet, lower it into the floor, or conceal it behind a panel on the wall as shown in our project highlighted below. With the tap of a button on your smartphone or remote control, when it’s time to watch TV, the panel silently slides to the side, revealing the TV.
Such a solution can be particularly useful in bedrooms. Often bedrooms are designed with breathtaking views opposite the bed, meaning there is no good place to locate a TV. By incorporating a TV into a motorized lift in a credenza at the foot of the bed, these views remain unobstructed until it is time to turn in for the night to watch some TV. Alternatively, if a credenza is not possible, a concealed TV can flip down from the ceiling for the same result.
Hidden Audio
Ceilings have become “quieter” visually, as architects and designers look to reduce the number of devices and openings in the ceiling, and minimize the size of any such devices. So how do you balance visually quiet ceilings with sound systems that still rock? Mills offers several options.
”Small aperture” speakers are discreet in appearance but pack plenty of high-end performance. Designed to mimic the look of small recessed lights – including mud-in options – a powerful speaker and woofer lies behind their small façade.
Another option is to hide the speakers completely. Invisible speakers integrate into the ceilings or walls themselves, and can be finished to match the surrounding surface (skim coat, paint, wallpaper, and other wall finishes). Modern amplifiers allow Mills to optimize such speakers, and homeowners are amazed at the quality of music that can be generated from a speaker you can’t see. You can also add an invisible subwoofer for more bass!
Outdoors, a landscape system is a great alternative to mounting larger speakers to the exterior of the home. A landscape speaker system is comprised of several small satellite speakers, designed to look like lights, and a subwoofer that can be hidden out of sight, blending with plants and foliage. The focus will be on your great music, not where it’s coming from.
