Smart homes are here to stay, but how do you make them work with your style? With our great tips! Find out how you can tidy up your home's tech mess today!

As you make your home more and more smart compatible and fill it with fun, high-tech devices, it may seem as if it's clashing with your style. But, that doesn't have to be the case. There are plenty of ways you can preserve your design style while having all the home tech you want. And we're here to help you find the best design option for your home! Here are our best tips and tricks for cleverly hiding technology in plain sight. Take a look!

<h2>In Plain Sight</h2>

The perfect hiding spot for your smaller devices is sometimes in plain sight. Places like baskets, shelves, or even plants can hide small devices like voice-activated assistants or speakers. Keep your gadget in a stylish woven basket, and place a small plant next to it to conceal the device further. You can also hide them behind pictures or items on shelves, same with other small equipment. You could even disguise wires behind a curtain. Get crafty! You may already know of a great spot!

<h2>Opt for an Entertainment Center</h2>

Television cables are one of the most noticeable places that could do with a clever cover-up. They tend to sit in the center of the living room and become a point of focus to you and potential guests. Luckily, you can hide television cables easily with an entertainment center. These tend to have many more storage options and configurations than a TV stand or media console, making them a great spot to store your speakers, projector, gaming system, or other media equipment. They can also add a decorative touch to your design style and be a nice spot to showcase your d&eacute;cor items.
<img alt="home entertainment center" height="400" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q2_2022/CI_%20hide-your-home-technology_1.jpg" width="700" />
<h2>Build It In</h2>

There are a lot of home tech items that can be built into the design of your home and make it easier to blend them into your design. Invisible speakers can be installed in the walls or ceilings and then plastered over&mdash;no one will ever suspect that an amazing sound system hides behind your wall!

If you prefer a projector over a tv, disguise it behind the back wall of your living room or construct a discreet lift that allows the projector to disappear into the ceiling when not in use.
<img alt="speakers mounted in wall above television" height="400" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q2_2022/CI_%20hide-your-home-technology_2.jpg" width="700" />
<h2>Match Your Gadgets to Your Space</h2>

If you have prior experience furnishing a room, you know working with a limited color palette can help make a space appear more spacious. While overly colored interiors can tend to feel cluttered.

The same rule should apply to your electronics too! For example, matching laptops and lighting to the room's wall color can make your technology appear 'invisible' at first glance. It will effectively declutter the vibe of the room and can restore a sense of order and cleanliness.
<img alt="monochrome living room" height="400" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q2_2022/CI_%20hide-your-home-technology_3.jpg" width="700" />
<h2>Integrated Automation</h2>

When planning out your smart home automation, go for the consolidated control panels that merge your smart functions into an integrated device to further reduce home technology clutter. These smart home automation functions can be accessed via a magnetically attached tablet or your smartphone. You can manage lighting, blinds, audio volume, TV channels, and more from a single integrated device, as well as your typical security and temperature control functions.

<img alt="woman using home automation system" height="400" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q2_2022/CI_%20hide-your-home-technology_4.jpg" width="700" />
<h2>Get Streamlined</h2>

If you've noticed you have an unnecessarily large amount of electronics, it may be time to clean out the stash. Maybe you don't need that many speakers and should opt for a soundbar to go the minimalistic route. Or if you've accumulated too many remotes after your kids lost the others, check out universal remotes or an app. Our experts can help you streamline your home devices as well, so you only have just what you need and want in your home and no other clutter.

Audio Video Intelligence would be delighted to assist you in learning more about home technology consolidation or strategizing ways to install, maintain, and update your integrated home technology! Just <a href="https://www.av-intel.com/contacts/" target="_blank">give us a call</a> or stop by, and we can get you started in the right direction!

5 Ways To Hide Your Home Tech [+1 Bonus] 

Vinyl LPs taking over your house? Here’s six ways to declutter and store your growing record collection.

<img alt="6 Awesome Ways to Store your Record Collection" height="367" src="https://cdn.avbportal.com/magento-media/blog/2018/ci-electronics-6-awesome-ways-to-display1.jpg?w=700" style="width: 550px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />
Records are back, baby. While the once-thought-to-be-dead medium faded almost to extinction, the record business is booming again, and both modern releases and old classics are finding themselves back on wax.
But, unlike CDs, records aren&rsquo;t necessarily the easiest things in the world to store. It&rsquo;s a problem that only gets worse as your record collection grows, so here are 6 ways to store vinyl records.
1. Record Crates
Record storage, but now with carrying handles! A lot of wooden crates just seem to be the perfect size for vinyl, which means you might not even need to go out and get something special if you can find a few crates around the house.
Crates are also a good solution because they make moving records easy: All you have to do is pick up the crate, and your collection is all ready for the move from apartment to apartment.
2. Floating Record Shelves
If you have a somewhat small collection of records, but want to store them in a way that lets you display them prominently, take a look at some floating record shelves. They can hold groups of vinyl at a time, and also allow you to pick which ones you want to be on display at any given time.
Of course, most shelves aren&rsquo;t going to be able to hold large collections, but if you are just starting out &ndash; and have the wall space &ndash; they can be good, decorative options.
3. Framed Record Wall Art 
<img alt="6 Awesome Ways to Store your Record Collection" height="354" src="https://cdn.avbportal.com/magento-media/blog/2018/ci-electronics-6-awesome-ways-to-display2.jpg?w=700" style="width: 531px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />
To some people, records are more of a collecting thing than a listening thing. And no matter what camp you fall into, wall mounted record frames are a great way to display your collection and really turn the LP cover art into, well, art.
It&rsquo;s a classy option, but the only problem is self-evident: You aren&rsquo;t going to be able to easily listen to these records without taking them down from the wall and out of the frame every time.
You could also reserve framing records for rare &ndash; or favorites you have duplicates of &ndash; records, that way you don&rsquo;t need to worry about listening to the ones that are framed anyways.
4. Record Shelves 
Now we&rsquo;re getting into larger storage options. If your collection is starting to expand out -- yeah, guilty as charged &ndash; you might want to look into getting some record shelving. There&rsquo;s a bunch of options out there, but make sure whatever you are putting your records on is sturdy and that the shelves are deep enough for the records to fit.
You also probably want to get a shelf that has capacity for more records than you currently have: You don&rsquo;t want to have to keep upgrading shelving every time you get a new record.
5. Record Cabinet 
Record after record keeps piling up, but you just want to find a nice, neat, and compact solution for the growing mass of physical music. If this problem sounds familiar, a record cabinet is one option you could look at. This way, your records are stored away in a sliding drawer, and not taking up visual space or continually drawing attention to themselves.
6. All-In-One Console 
Need a place to put your LPs, your record player, and your nice set of high-end speakers? Such a solution could kill two songbirds with one stone and give you a nice piece of furniture that can be home to all your music storage and listening needs.
And don&rsquo;t forget&hellip;
Upright. Upright. Upright. UPRIGHT. Always make sure to store your records upright, not piled up on top of each other. I also try to organize them in such a way so they are as straight as possible. That way the records will hopefully not be leaning and putting pressure on one another.
And, however you decide to store them, always make sure your records sound as good as they look. Don&rsquo;t forget to check in with us on speaker solutions for your LPs &ndash; and all your other high-end audio needs!

<img style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;" alt="6 Awesome Ways to Store your Record Collection" src="https://cdn.avbportal.com/magento-media/blog/2018/ci-electronics-6-awesome-ways-to-display1.jpg" width="205" />

Vinyl LPs taking over your house? Here’s six ways to declutter and store your growing record collection&hellip;

6 Awesome Ways to Store your Record Collection

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6 Awesome Ways to Store your Record Collection

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