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Steinhafels is proud to partner with OnMilwaukee every month to bring you unique, useful content about furniture and home decor. We want to help you make your house the home of your dreams.

One key to creating your dream home is keeping up with the trends that are here to stay. All furniture has evolved over the years. Big, comfy chairs have been replaced by sleeker, edgier models. Bold colors like chartreuse, yellow and burgundy are all the rage. Distressed wood and dry finishes are popular when it comes to dining furniture.

However, some of the most noticeable and enduring changes are taking place in the accent furniture department as home entertainment goes high tech. Thin TVs with built-in software have replaced those cumbersome projection TVs with dozens of cords connecting to DVD, gaming and stereo hookups.

You can put the feather duster away – the days of the big, clunky, dust-collecting entertainment unit are gone! A recent article in Furniture Today backs up this trend and goes on to explain how these new entertainment consoles are affecting the bottom line.

So we decided to get some insight from our Steinhafels Accent Furniture gurus/buyers Jenny Kordus and Madeline Wray. Here’s what they had to say.

How have entertainment consoles changed in recent years?

Entertainment has definitely evolved in recent years from the traditional wall unit with multiple storage components and a lighted bridge to highlight it all. The need to store multiple media components has decreased as things like smart TVs and streaming through Netflix or Hulu have increased. People still want to accommodate their media and entertainment needs, but without the big ticket price tag and large oversized media wall. Entertainment stacks and piers offer flexibility to the consumer so they can achieve the look that is right for them in the space they are trying to fill. It is becoming more common to hang a TV on the wall, so a console & piers offers more flexibility than a wall unit.

Why is price competition so fierce in this field?

Competition is fierce as consumers are looking for the best bang for their buck. Also, it is very affordable now to buy a large size smart TV, and people do not want to pay more for their console than they did for their TV.

How are we staying up to date, and in some cases ahead of the entertainment console trends here at Steinhafels?

We are offering trend-forward options such as barn doors and grey finishes. We also monitor what is trending in other areas of the business, and how that translates into entertainment selections. At Steinhafels, we still offer an assortment of traditional walls, but we are expanding our assortment into flexible consoles & piers. We stay on top of trends in finishes as well. For example, grey is a hot color in bedroom, dining, occasional, and now entertainment. Many of our vendors stay informed on tv trends and share that information with us. We also participate in a furniture networking group and share examples of what’s working with other retailers. Finally of course, HGTV is one of our favorite channels, and we love to see what those designers choose to use in people’s houses!

Here’s some links to our top sellers—featuring barn doors, grey finishes, and metal & wood combinations!

Rustic Chocolate Barn Door Console

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Rustic Chocolate Barn Door Pier

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Preferences 65" Console

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Preferences Room Divider

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Loftworks 54" Trolley Cart

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Loftworks 22" Pier Bookcase

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