Thursday, May 24, 2007

A console table such as the one at right is a logical choice to place under a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, but a simple shelf displaying decorative accessories can work well, too. File photo/Christine Davis

Confessions, confessions, confessions: I am an "American Idol" junkie – not a television junkie – but an "American Idol" junkie only. So come Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., I have popped into my bed and turned to the Fox network to watch the contestants battle out in song and – a little – dance. I must admit, I was partial to Jordin Sparks this season, but I might not have been pulling the right lever. Blake could have taken the top spot Wednesday night, but he would have done so without my vote – I was definitely in the Jordin column.

It's sad that Melinda Doolittle was eliminated. I think she offered the best vocals of them all. Alas, while I'm an "Idol" fan, I hear that the viewing audience had dropped ostensibly on this season's broadcast. When asked by host Ryan Seacrest why he looked slightly bewildered, judge Simon Cowell responded that he was "bored." I do think Simon was bored, and maybe the viewing audience was as well. The show needed Sanjaya for punch!

Other than "American Idol," TV to me means television sets or, these days, screens only. As a designer of residential and commercial interiors – including hotels, restaurants, sports bars and hospitals – I'm always facing the perennial dilemma: Where do I place the TV set or, perhaps more accurately, the screen? The word "set" is as obsolete as the word victrola or phonograph. Flat TV screens are almost like movie screens, and wall units are created around the screen. Gone are the days of the television armoire – once carried home from the antique shop, stripped of its interior fittings and reconfigured to house the "TV set" along with bookshelves, pull-out sliders and, sometimes, drawers to house videotapes and other paraphernalia.

When I think back, I know I've painted armoires bright colors and mirrored their doors to make the furniture seem to fade away. I've upholstered front panels on armoire doors. I've cut armoires down, sometimes removing legs. And now, my clients are sending their armoires to the thrift shops for re-sale. The armoire's life as a receptacle to hold a television screen has gone bye-bye, replaced by a flat TV screen that now is hung on a wall, in many instances taking up the entire wall – or most of it, anyway.

When planning a wall for a TV screen, most clients prefer a console or cabinet below the screen. Some clients hang a wall shelf under the wall-hung screen: Under the shelf a nesting of ottomans is often seen or a long bench. The wall-hung shelf can hold lamps on each side of the screen itself. Or the shelf can be used for accessories, including sculpture, a nest of art books or perhaps a museum-like box that can hold personal items of value or style. A friend of mine, the late fashion designer Pauline Trigere, often kept attractive boxes on her tables filled with jewelry trinkets, and it was never rare to find a string of aquamarine or turquoise beads, gracefully placed on a table simply as an object to be enjoyed by looking!

I am a great believer in displaying things about a home strictly for the pleasure they give a person. I like to look at pictures of friends on an end table, simply for the enjoyment of sharing happy times with a chum. I also recommend that my clients display collections they have enjoyed amassing. One client has an important collection of comic books, some dating back 40 years. I am using the collection – well, a part of it anyway (20 covers) – as the wall hangings in a family room. The comic books will remain intact: Each piece will be placed inside a removable backed Lucite box that can be hung on a wall. The collection of comic books will then become the focal point of decoration, and the covers will add so much color!

Who knows? I might even hang a television screen on the wall and flank the screen with colorful comic books. A little Superman, Archie, Little Lulu and Dick Tracy might go a long way to give a TV room the look of today.

Interior designer, author and columnist Carleton Varney is the president and owner of Dorothy Draper & Co. in New York City, the oldest established interior design firm in the United States. Varney's worldwide roster of clients includes many in Palm Beach. He welcomes comments and suggestions from readers. Send your decorating questions to Carleton Varney, c/o Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News, 265 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach 33480.