Somewhere along the line the transition
occurred- maybe the early nineties. Entertainment centers were out,
and a reinvented version of your grandmother’s armoire was in.
Designed to hold a tube T.V. of great size and weight, the backs of
these entertainment armoires had holes cut in them so the tube could
stick out without making the furniture too large. A convenient shelf
was included to slide your vcr, dvd, or laser disc player in. Below
those shelves were often either drawers or shelves to hold your
media.
Soon after there were entertainment
armoires, there were computer armoires. Intended as a stand alone
home office, they included slots for media, shelves for printers, a
compartment for the tower, a keyboard tray, file drawers, a desk top,
and more.
And just like that- they were obsolete.
Tube TVs were replaced by wide flat screens that no longer fit in the
space provided. These tvs can be mounted to the wall, and no longer
needed a piece of furniture that hid their ugliness. Vcrs went the
way of the dodo, and dvds are fast on their way out the door as well.
Most computers no longer have towers, and many are made so portable
that they don’t need a dedicated storage space. Printers are often
wireless, so they don’t need to be physically tethered to a
computer. I wonder if there has ever been a piece of substantial
furniture with a shorter usable life.
Craigslist was full of them- armoires
that once fetched 1500 to 3000 dollars were being sold for next to
nothing. Many were good pieces of furniture made with quality woods.
Since they were being dumped en mass, that hurt their value even more
than the perceived obsolescence! Not only were the average homeowners
looking to get rid of their dated furniture, but the hotels and
motels nationwide were purging themselves of these pieces. Some of
these contained recessed lighting and built in power strips. The
hardware alone was often worth more than they were asking for the
entire unit!
There was a downside for an interested
buyer. Armoires have always been fairly large and heavy- and these
were no exceptions. Built in conveniences like lazy-susans, hide
away doors, shelves galore, and many other accoutrements , added to
the weight substantially. The buyer would not only have to find
transport, but also to find a way to carry this weight into the house
to the appropriate floor. I found this to be a challenge, as I broke
my ankle moving one into the house!
Armoires can be re-purposed for a lot
of things, from simple to sophisticated. With very little effort and
some creativity- the sky is the limit! I chose to pack one room of my
house with armoires like prior generations did with bookshelves to
create a library. Some basic purposes for my armoires: A closet for
guitar storage, a place for my Yamaha keyboards, a place for musical
miscellany, a home studio for recording music, painting storage, a
place for Ann’s collections, a craft armoire full of craft
supplies, and a home office.
I have found that just about any hobby
or interest can fit in these nicely- especially the computer
armoires, as they have a nice desk top that pulls out. You can easily
build shelves in them, as well as store all sizes of plastic totes.
Aside from great storage, a benefit is how easily you can close the
door to your chaos when the guests arrive.
If you really want to blow some minds,
store clothes in them!
No comments:
Post a Comment