In today’s typical household, the TV and entertainment center take the place of pride in the living room. While the television is usually the focal point of the furniture, decorating the rest of the shelves makes it more visually pleasing.
There’s a careful balancing act that comes inIn today’s typical household, the TV and entertainment center take the place of pride in the living room. While the television is usually the focal point of the furniture, decorating the rest of the shelves makes it more visually pleasing.
There’s a careful balancing act that comes into play when you’re trying to make the entertainment center look nice. You have to do this without interfering with the TV screen and other electronics.
You can add style to this furniture piece without detracting from the “big picture.” These five decorative elements bring the perfect finishing touch to any entertainment center.
1. Your Book Collection
Whether you’re a book lover or not, you have to admit something is pleasing about a library of texts neatly displayed on shelves.
Even if they never get read, a book collection is always impressive in any home. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to go to an AirBnb that doesn’t have at least a small book display as part of their home decor.
A book collection lined up on your entertainment center gives the immediate impression of intelligence and class.
Which books do you have that you’d love to show off?
When you display your favorites on the shelves in front of you, there are a few ways you can do so. Sort them into piles based on height and then place them in descending order. Put some in stacks and some in rows to add variety.
Use bookends that match your room’s style or a heavy knickknack to keep the books straight for open shelves.
2. Framed Art Pieces
Art is always a good way to add a personal touch to any room. Some pieces will look best mounted on the walls, but you can choose frames to hold photos and prints for shelf display, too.
We take hundreds of pictures on our phones today, yet many of those pictures never make it to print. Unlike the photo albums of decades ago, your grandchildren probably won’t see the memories you’ve captured when you’re gone.
By printing your favorites, you can leave physical memories like your parents did in their scrapbooks. Arrange the best small family photographs in stylish frames that match your entertainment center. Their presence is a frequent reminder of fun times in the past.
However, don’t display oversized photos, like 8 x 10s or larger. These can get in the way of the screen or remote sensors and be distracting.
3. Decorative Baskets
If you have shelves that can hold baskets, these are perfect to use as hidden storage compartments. Decorative holders combine function and style to reduce clutter in any room.
The entertainment center, with its often open shelving system, is a clutter catcher already. Why not make it an organized one?
Basic wicker baskets match almost any neutral theme. It’s easy to find cloth and plastic bins in most department stores. Find a set that slides in naturally with your room’s style.
Make sure to use matching baskets that align side-by-side. This cuts down on wasted space and looks streamlined and purposeful rather than thrown together.
4. Your Media Collection
What better place to store your media than in your entertainment center?
Of course, if you have an extensive collection, you’ll need to narrow down your display to the favorites that fit on the shelves.
Technology and entertainment centers go together like bread and butter. Your DVDs and Blu Rays, CDs, or records are the logical items that one would expect to find on this piece of furniture.
Be careful not to go overboard, though. As with a book collection, you need to line your collection up strategically. Don’t shove everything together in order to make it fit.
Sort your items by size, color, or genre, and then neatly space them on the shelves. If it doesn’t fit, keep it somewhere else.
5. Small Plants
Greenery is becoming an increasingly popular decor inside and outside homes. Displaying a few plants in your entertainment center is a quick and easy way to fill empty spaces with style.
But besides sprucing up a room, there’s another, better reason you should consider using plants as interior decor. Live plants in any room bring health benefits that make them worth the little effort required to keep them alive.
People with at least one plant in a room have reported effects like:
- Improved mental health
- Better productivity
- Fewer illnesses with an increased immune system
- Better focus
- Improved air quality
- Less trouble with dry respiratory conditions
There’s so much research on the potential effects of inside plants that it’s a wonder they’re not in every home. Since NASA’s groundbreaking study in 1989, scientists have analyzed ways to use plants to clean up the ecosystem.
The same advantages they are capitalizing on can be yours by bringing in a plant or two into your home.
If you don’t have a green thumb, it’s okay! There are some plants that even the blackest thumb will have a hard time killing.
To get the benefits of indoor greenery without a lot of work, try succulents, small cacti, or African violets. Check the maximum size the plant will grow to before you buy it. If you’re keeping it on your entertainment center, you don’t want it to get so big that it interrupts your view.
Conclusion
In every room, strive to approach the balance between function and style strategically. The entertainment center is a necessary piece of furniture that usually holds the TV and associated electronics. It’s practical, but that doesn’t mean it can’t look good, too.
Adding style to this useful item is simple when using any of these five decorative elements to get the job done. Your entertainment center’s finishing touch will be a sight you enjoy viewing every time you relax in the room.
Author Bio
Dominique Daniels is the Business Manager at The Pointe. With over five years of property management experience, she begins and ends each day loving what she does. She finds joy in helping current and future residents and makes The Pointe a place everyone loves to call home.
