THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601240050
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DOUGHERTY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
IF YOU don't think television has had a profound effect on the way Americans live, take a close look at a home built before 1960.
Where's the great room, you ask?
Where's the den, the rec room, you know - that room where you watch TV?
From the days of the cave dwellers until ``The Honeymooners,'' the heart of every home was its hearth. That changed when Americans began collapsing into their recliners in front of the TV set at the end of the day.
The television set became the modern-day fireplace, as families cozied up in front of its flickering light.
House design soon followed and televisions became enshrined in a prominent place in the home. There were great rooms and rec rooms and aptly named TV rooms.
Today's architects and designers are taking the omnipotence of television one step further. Houses today simply must be entirely wired for cable, so that they can be filled with TV sets.
``But you have to hide them,'' says Peggy Brown, laughing. She is owner of Kitchens and Baths International, a Norfolk home design company. ``In your upscale homes today people want televisions in almost every room. But they want them hidden, out of sight, either in armoires or behind bi-fold doors.''
``It's funny, but everyone seems to want to watch TV but no one wants to see the sets.''
Brown has noticed another thing about her clients who are building luxury homes - in excess of 8,000 square feet.
``Usually people will say they really never watch TV, or they just watch the news,'' she observes. ``But then they want anywhere from five to 10 sets in the house.''
Televisions moved out of the living rooms long ago, migrating first to family rooms and then to bedrooms and kitchens. The latest place for televisions, says Brown, is in the bath.
Clients tell Brown they want to be able to catch the morning news while shaving or putting on their make-up.
One client, who enjoys long, luxurious baths at night, asked Brown to place the television so she could watch it from the tub.
Virginia Beach architect Patrick Masterson is busy designing homes around the presence of television - often recessing the sets right into the walls.
``People don't want the TV viewing in any way cut off,'' says Masterson. ``You always have to keep that in mind when designing a house.''
This is ironic, Masterson says, because he and his wife limit their own television viewing and don't even have cable. But for his clients, Masterson says it's usually important to have television seamlessly blended into their homes.
``Lots of people are asking for media rooms,'' he says. ``We're talking about big rooms, with absolute light control and surround sound. The focal point of the room, of course, is the wide-screen TV set. All the furniture is arranged around it.
``It's really challenging to design a media room, because building a room without windows is almost impossible.''
Masterson designed a media room for the new Chesapeake home of chiropractor Hal Spiro and his wife, Mary.
The room is the first stop for most visitors to their 6,800-square-foot-ranch house.
``We wanted one isolated room for all our stereo equipment and our TV,'' Mary Spiro says. ``Our stereo is piped through the house and we have a laser disc and a satellite dish.''
The Spiros also have a 61-inch digital television which they use mostly for watching news and movies. Mary Spiro says she loves her satellite dish because if she misses a favorite show like ``Friends'' she can catch it three hours later when it's being aired in California.
The surround sound combined with the large-screen television keeps the Spiros home while others are queuing up at the box office.
As a designer, Peggy Brown says she gets to be a keen observer of human beings. And after 15 years in the business Brown says she thinks there is too much emphasis on TV.
``We're all watching it too much,'' she says. ``And that goes for me, too. But when you see how people never want to be far away from a television you realize that it's become one of the most important things in the home.''
Lately, however, she notices parents trying to curb their offsprings' viewing.
``Lots of families are not allowing their children to have sets in their rooms anymore,'' she says. ``It's too hard to monitor how much homework they're doing or what they're watching if they have their own sets.'' by CNB