There’s a lot of talk in the home electronics industry about “blending in.”

You’ll hear custom electronics (CE) professionals speak about the clever ways they’ve managed to make the speakers disappear into the walls of family room. Homeowners will brag about how you can’t even see the rack of A/V equipment that drives their home theater system. Even the manufacturers of home electronics products boast about the inconspicuous nature of their flat-panel TVs, keypads, and other components.

Blending in is all well and good. It maintains a clean aesthetic and saves valuable floor and shelving space. However, there are good reasons to keep your gear in plain sight.

First and foremost, it’ll be easier to get at. Loading a disc into a Blu-ray player that’s in the family room will take much less time than popping one into a player that’s hidden away in a storage closet downstairs, for example. So will servicing a floor-standing speaker over one that’s tucked behind acoustical wall fabric.

And certainly, there’s no harm in showing off all that great equipment. You’ll just want to do it in a way that’s classy and elegant.

Click here for five considerations of why and how to flaunt your electronic assets.

Lisa Montgomery - Contributing Writer

Lisa Montgomery has been writing about home technology for 15 years, with a focus on the impact of electronics on a modern lifestyle.