Look sharp
A stylish take on the TV
How big is your television? As with 4x4s and microwave ovens, the nation divides into the haves and have-nots – or, rather, the “simply-must-haves” and the “wouldn’t-have-it-in-the-houses”. Those who can’t survive without a giant wall-mounted flatscreen seem to outnumber refuseniks who want their living rooms lined with books.
“The box” might have replaced the hearth in the modern home, around which we gather sofas and coffee tables, but when it’s turned off it’s a turn-off to look at. The TV industry has tackled this conundrum with the flatscreen, but how much thinner (and wider) can we go? As people increasingly view content on tablets and computers, is there a way to integrate televisions into our homes in a more stylish way? Is it time to think outside the box?
Samsung has done just that by asking a much-lauded French design duo, the Bouroullec brothers, to create a television – and it launched this week at the London Design Festival. That Samsung unveiled a television at one of the biggest events in the global design calendar is a clear statement that the new Serif TV should be viewed in the softer context of design and interiors. A cynic might consider Samsung’s move as design tokenism, sprinkling its product with the stardust of stellar names. But Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec didn’t undertake the challenge lightly.
The brothers have notched up an impressive track record over 20 years, creating products for most major furniture brands from Ligne Roset and Vitra to Flos and Iittala. But it’s the first time they’ve embraced the world of technology and, although initially reluctant to work with such a conglomerate, they relished the challenge of reinventing something so ubiquitous. “We thought about the television as a tangible object. A piece of furniture in your bedroom or living room, similar to an armchair seen from every angle, that can be easily moved,” says Ronan.
Serif is part of a new wave of ‘‘stealth’’, or ‘‘soft’’ tech pioneered by Scandinavian audio brands such as Libratone and Vifa. Both produce speakers that filter the sound through stylish fabrics; organic wool for the former and woven fabrics by the Danish label Kvadrat for the latter. Available in myriad colours and warm, appealing textures, they’re a refreshing alternative to the skulking black presence of the classic speaker. And earlier this year, the most famous Nordic brand of all, Ikea, launched the Home Spot series – bedside tables, desks and lamps – which incorporates Qi wireless technology, enabling users to charge devices when they’re placed near, or on, the furniture.
Meanwhile, flying the flag for Britain, Ruark Audio has created the R7, a Bluetooth wireless all-in-one music system-cum-console that, with its retro curves and splayed legs, harks back to the Fifties, when radios were the size of sideboards.
So there are alternatives to being Applefied – products that will quite seamlessly blend in, multi-task and become part of the furniture. But what’s behind this evolution? Brand consultant Sabine Zetteler says: “We are reliant on technology, but we don’t need to be reminded of efficiency and the office at all times. We want to be digitally connected, but we want our homes to be a cosy sanctuary, too.”
Serif was three years in the making, involving the dismantling of TV sets, electric shocks and much prototyping in the Bouroullec’s Paris studio. It was during development that the pair noticed the flat top of one of their early mock-ups was doubling up as shelf, with objects being placed on it, and the final design sprung from there. When viewed from the front, Serif ’s screen is framed by a single seamless frame, but from the side it forms a clear capital “I” shape; a magnetic fabric panel at the rear conceals messy wires and plugs. It can stand alone, be inserted into a shelf or set atop a sideboard. Simple tubular legs provide a low-level stand, their splayed shape adding an endearing retro Fifties look.
There are plans to sell Serif – which also comes in red or white, and in three sizes, starting at £499 for a 24inch screen – in furniture showrooms such as Conran or Heals, rather than the blinking black-walled abyss of superstores such as Currys. “Serif TV deploys shapes and colours that have broken away from the usual themes of masculine, cutting-edge technology. Our TV is more subtle: it doesn’t exude power and is made to fit into the world we live in,” explains Erwan. The brothers have also designed the TV’s interface, which includes a beautifully simple clock and the “curtain mode”, an abstract impression of what’s on the screen that provides a transition between standby and viewing mode. “Pieces of furniture having multiple uses is the way forward – especially as we are forced to live in ever smaller spaces. So a lamp that has a charger, or a TV that has a shelf – like Serif – is a brilliant idea,” says Zetteler.