In one of our previous blogs, we discussed the balance of sound and silence in luxury homes and the impact the combination can have on your health and well-being. Designing for healthy sound is only one aspect of creating a great sound environment. 

Sure, we can add speakers into a beautiful space, "but is it art?"  

With more clients working with interior designers and architects to create a beautifully planned space, adding an unsightly speaker could compromise a room's home audio-video design. When it comes to speakers, how things sound has generally been the most crucial aspect; but more recently, once it sounds up to a certain level, how it looks may be more important to clients. In this blog, we'll explore sound options that combine function and decoration for art and music lovers.  

Invisible vs. Intentional

In many cases, the AV design is more about what you don't see, and hiding away high-performance speakers is the best option. BRAVAS can help you choose lifestyle products that get the best sound in a space while being covertly hidden behind a piece of art. One possibility is the Leon Ente SoundTile, which boasts two channels of high-performance audio and custom screen-printed artwork. In other situations, the right speaker may be a statement for clients. For example, they may desire a retro throw-back speaker that doesn't need to be hidden away and can be a conversation starter. A client may even want something more abstract, like a sound sculpture that combines sound, light, and form. A beautiful piece of art that plays your favorite album.  

What are we trying to solve?

Modern construction has a sound problem. Many of the materials used in luxury homes are hard, using concrete and other materials that destroy the acoustics in an otherwise stunning area. If the acoustics aren't dealt with at the initial design stage, it's important to take care of these issues after construction is complete. Luckily, BRAVAS can help soundproof the space for you by providing wall treatments that work as acoustic panels and add to the space's overall design.

The Black Window Issue

It’s time to love your TV (again).  We spend less time thinking about how our TV looks in the room than all our artwork, but we tend to look at our TV a lot more.  The biggest problem is when they aren’t displaying our favorite show or movie, they’re not very nice to look at.  We’re essentially hanging enormous black voids on our walls!  Perhaps we should apply the same thinking around TVs as we do for our actual windows.  Windows get window treatments.  Why don’t our TVs get treatments as well?  Samsung’s Frame TV is a great standalone option to get rid of the “black void” issue, using Art Mode to display your favorite artwork when the TV is off.   Media Décor’s Edge TV Frame solves another problem, adding premium Art Frames to treat any TV to fit a luxury space.  With the option to add a quality soundbar, the Edge Frame ensures the TV sounds as great as it looks.   

Whether you are building a new home or starting a renovation project, BRAVAS would be happy to work with you to ensure it looks and sounds perfect. For more ideas on combining art and sound, check out our recent podcast with Noah Kaplan from LEON Speakers. You may also find some inspiration in our Solutions Guide, which can be downloaded here.