Home office, entertainment feeding the urge to merge
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, November 27, 2005
High Point — Home office and home entertainment furniture specialists are finding ways to merge.
Responding in part to new technologies, they are creating products that allow the consumer flexibility in using them and placing them within the home.
An example at the October market here was Jesper 1000, a traditionally styled line of modular bookcases and home entertainment centers introduced by Jesper Office. Available in maple, cherry and walnut finishes, the line includes 34 SKUs ranging from bookcases to TV cabinets and credenza and hutch units. It's an extension of the more contemporary 2000 series introduced in April.
Jesper Office U.S. President Joern Skarregaard said the company developed the lines in response to emerging technologies.
"During the last 12 to 18 months, we have experienced an increased demand for solutions that can accommodate plasmas and other home entertainment products," he said, noting that the new units can hold 50-inch flat TVs.
The design also allows consumers to hook their computer up to a TV screen and use their computer to play CDs and DVDs.
Skarregaard said that electronics for home entertainment and home office are "much more integrated today. We know more and more people are combining their electronic components."
The modular nature of the collection allows a variety of configurations that also incorporate elements of home office, such as a credenza and hutch unit with plenty of shelf space.
A credenza, hutch, executive desk and bookcase configuration retails for $1,999. A configuration with a TV cabinet and hutch and two side cabinets that double as bookcases would retail for about $1,700.
Sligh Furniture launched a similar concept at the October market called Tufano Home Living. The European-influenced modular group has bookcases, entertainment cabinets, desks and storage units that can be mixed and matched in a variety of configurations. It is made from cherry veneers and hardwood solids and is available in a light brown antique finish.
A three-piece home office setup that includes a desk and hutch unit and side bookcases with file storage space retails for $6,099. A five-piece home wall unit with open bookcases, personal storage units and bookcases with drawer and door storage space retails for $9,899. A three-piece home entertainment unit with an entertainment cabinet and bookcases with lower doors retails for $9,099.
Like the Jesper Office group, the Sligh collection embraces new technologies. Pieces are equipped with media storage, cord management and data receptacles.
"It is totally built to accommodate all the accessories that go with your electronic components," said Bob Kreter, Sligh's marketing and communications manager. "It is a very traditional and beautiful product, but as with all our products, it is geared to today's technology."
In some respects, the products are helping breathe life back into wall units, which have faced competition from lower-profile plasma TV consoles. A new concept from ready-to-assemble specialist Sauder, for example, is the Convergence Wall, which combines elements of home office and home entertainment. It retails at $899.
The wall accommodates a 42-inch TV screen and also has a concealed swing-out storage door for a computer or game system. It has plenty of space for CD, DVD and file storage and a concealed pullout shelf for a keyboard or laptop use. That keyboard feature allows the unit to convert into a more traditional computer desk.
"The future of home entertainment will be something similar to this," said Sauder sales representative Kevin Owen.
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