With so many design trends promising to explode in 2016, a few seem to have a common thread running through them. True to recent Contemporary Design priorities, this year’s trends promise to continue to borrow from nature yet reflect values of modern life — including environmental awareness and upscale appearances. The first trend we’d like to explore is Fireplaces replacing TVs as the focal point of living rooms.
A longtime favorite focal point of living rooms in Traditional homes, fireplaces are making a comeback! While the lighter, flat screen models of recent years have definitely made the TV-over-fireplace arrangement possible, many moderns are eliminating the “one-eyed monster” altogether. Especially with mobile screen time so pervasive, an increasing number of people are on a kill-the-TV kick these days. Interior designers and lovers of beauty everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief.
From a design perspective, the problematic thing about TVs is “the tendency, if you have one, to arrange your living room like a place for entertainment, and not a place for people. All too often, the placement of the television comes first, and then all the seating gets ranged in an awkward semicircle around it. Which is fine for well, TV watching, but not as fine for enjoying your space and each other.”
And if we’ve discovered anything important in the digital age, it’s that such face-to-face connecting really is important, more so than any of us thought. As the Atlantic explains, technology in general and social media, in particular, have created a world in which most of our connections are “broader but shallower,” creating a social isolation that previous generations could not have imagined. But at least we’re getting it. With Generation Z watching less TV than any other demographic, we expect this TV-free look for living rooms to continue to climb.
While alternative focal points do exist — especially if your home features views like these — the most popular, by far, is the fireplace. Whether it re-awakens a primitive, spiritual connection or is simply a matter of ambiance, the physical or merely visual warmth of a fireplace seems to draw people into relationship-building conversations.
While most homes no longer rely on wood-burning fireplaces for warmth, today’s gas models provide the same emotional and aesthetic benefits as their more functional predecessors. Lacking the pollution potential, dirt, and responsibility that came with the old-fashioned fireplace, today’s fire features include vent-free electric models or even table-top designs. Fireplaces that double as heat sources aren’t entirely passé and are definitely favored in some regions.
Of course, the perfect complement to any fireplace or fire feature is a hardwood floor. Rehmeyer Custom Milled Wide Plank Flooring will add warmth and beauty to your already inviting living room while offsetting the dancing flames of your fiery focal point.
Rehmeyer Wood Floors
Rehmeyer Wood Floors offers a full range of custom milled and stock wide plank hardwood flooring. Rehmeyer’s flooring is all 3/4″ solid hardwood and sold unfinished, prefinished or completely custom finished to suit your project. Call Rehmeyer Wood Floors today toll free at (888) 474-4047 or visit their website at RehmeyerFloors.com to learn more about their custom flooring services. Rehmeyer Wood Floors ships nationwide.
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