Blending electronics and cabinetry is well established in the entertainment center, though clients are getting fussier about hiding wiring. For home offices, wireless Internet connections reduce the need to hide cables.

At KBIS, the Las Vegas Kitchen & Bath Show held at the end of April, Masco’s Quality Cabinets built an entire loft, showing cabinets as media center furnishings, left. The trend is for open living spaces, with kitchen, dining and living room merged, notes Sarah Reep, director of designer relations and education for QualityCabinets. “Homeowners need to consider making every inch of the home functional for that specific living space,” she says, noting the entertainment center is usually the focal point of the room. Cabinetry can be used to house the TV or to surround it.

Wellborn’s Digital Package
Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. brought its Media Life to KBIS. Introduced late last year, it is designed to simplify digital installation by integrating live TV, personal photos, music, DVD’s, podcasts, movies, home videos, family schedules, recipes, email and web into one convenient location. The custom cabinetry houses all the technology equipment and is designed for any room, from the kitchen to the living room. Media Life cabinetry is available in all of Wellborn’s door styles and finishes so that it can be matched to any room.

Media Life is a complete package with all the connectors needed to install, operate and display media. The package includes the Apple computer with 160 GB hard drive, docking stations, cables, remotes, wireless keyboard, Bose speakers, software and surge protectors. PC Connection ships this hardware directly to dealers. “We are able to offer our dealers and their customers something that’s unique in the industry,” says Wellborn General Manager Kevin O’Neill. More at woodworkingnetwork.com/kbis