Smart home

Design tricks to hide your telly, how to sleep sustainably and the techiest kitchen you can create

- EMILY PECK

Outside the box

THE TV DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE FOCUS OF A ROOM, AS THESE IDEAS PROVE

Wouldn’t it be good if we weren’t all so glued to our screens? Perhaps it’s too optimistic to suggest retiring our phones to locked cabinets, but at the very least, we can hide the TV so that our homes encourage us to switch off. There are ways to integrate it into interiors that stop it being the centre of attention. ‘The challenge for designers is often to avoid the TV becoming the feature, which is why we explore options such as hiding a TV within smart-controlled joinery or behind mirrors,’ says interior designer Peter Staunton. Here’s how to get it right.

Cupboard love Designer Marie Soliman of Bergman Interiors set the bar high with her custom-built joinery in this London apartment. At seven metres tall, the gleaming mix of materials in this shelving unit helps to make it feel like an artwork in its own right and the perfect display space for objets. But look closely at the grey area in the middle and you’ll see it’s the ideal size to house a TV, with a pair of marquetry doors that slide stealthily across the screen.