Tuned In And Wired!
May 6th, 2008. Filed under: Tuesday's Tempting Reads.I’ve been looking over a very tempting read. It’s a special issue of Electronic House featuring the best homes of the year. This is not a magazine I normally read. In fact, this is the first time ever that I’ve seen it. I only managed to read it about halfway before my mind went on sensory overload. I didn’t even make it to the home of the year before closing the pages. This is definitely not a magazine for the frugal minded, especially if you drool over electronics. Before I actually started focusing on the homes, I was fascinated by some of the advertisements. One that caught my eye was for the SIM 2 home theatre projector. It is made in Italy and so sleek, streamlined and modern, as are many Italian products. Then there was the MX 3000. This little beauty looks like something from the Starship Enterprise. The instruction manual for it must be something else.
There is a big section concentrated on home theatres. What a variety! Sports bar, jungle themed, mod squad, lush and ornate, opera house, fun and funky. Any style you could possibly want (and can pay for) can be yours. I thought I’d been in some fancy theatres around the world, but none compared to the ones on display in Electronic House. One even had a motorized bookcase. It was a hidden door. Pull out a book to open and put it back to close. Just like in the movies or a really good mystery novel. I’ve always wanted one of those. The home theatres didn’t make my heart go pitty pat, but that hidden door certainly did! Oh, to have my own little secret room with a magic door.
Every room in the house was jazzed up. Electronics in the kitchen didn’t exactly do much for me. I’m challenged enough sometimes when I’m trying to cook. I certainly don’t need the distraction of a TV. But the baths and bedroom suites got me. Can you imagine watching a chick flick while ensconced in a bubble bath with candles and fresh flowers setting the mood? We could do that in one of those bathrooms with a mini home theatre.
Then there were the bedrooms. Excuse me, the master bedroom suites. These were composed of three or four rooms – bedroom, sitting room and bathroom (sometimes both a his and a hers). There was a three room suite where I could set up housekeeping. Heck, it’s big enough that I could get lost in it! That’s the one that had the mini home theatre in the bath. The bedroom had a plasma TV recessed above the fireplace and covered by a piece of artwork when not in use. I guess the fireplace is just for show as I think the heat would damage the TV. Maybe not. I’m sure the technology for handling that problem can be purchased. Then there is the sitting room. The TV in here is hidden behind the mirror above the marble top buffet. The buffet displayed a sink and wine rack. My imagination says that there is also a hidden fridge behind one of the buffet doors. All you would have to do is drop a hot plate in one of the drawers and you have a complete apartment. Did you notice every room had a TV? Are these people unable to entertain themselves with a good book?
There was another bedroom suite that grabbed my attention with it’s minimalist approach. That really set it apart in this magazine which glorifies abundance. This suite had only one bathroom with a glass shower/steam room and a raised tub in front of huge windows with a glorious view. I don’t know if the bedroom was huge or if it just looked huge because it wasn’t crammed full of stuff. The room had wrap around windows and a door to a balcony. Another drop dead gorgeous view. The windows had roll down solar shades to block the glare while still retaining the view. Now if you can see out the windows, can’t other people see in? Maybe privacy wasn’t as much an issue as glare on the TV screen. Of course, it’s a plasma TV, but it drops down out of the ceiling when you want to watch it. The last room in the suite was the office/sitting room. Very nice, even if it did have 2 TVs and no bookcases. I don’t even want to think about how large the closets in these suites are. I’m sure they could be counted as another room or two.
I don’t think I’m going to look at the rest of the magazine, although it did make me appreciate what I have, which is peace and quiet and a nice, well lit corner. I’m going to grab a good book and go there now.