Hmmm ... your flat-panel TV isn’t mounted to a wall, it isn’t standing on a piece of furniture, and it kinda looks like it’s magically levitating in air.

Don’t worry. It’s not about to fall on your toes. It’s actually mounted, just not on the wall—it’s on Salamander Designs’ new Synchro Furniture Mate.

The Mate, which will be shown off at next week’s CES 2009, supports flat-panel TVs up to 60 diagonal inches or 110 pounds. It has a forklift like base, that simply slides under most cabinets (including Salamander’s) if you want. That way, your TV is up a little higher than the cabinet top, and the wires can be concealed by the mount.

Yup, the steel mount includes a removable column cover for just that purpose - hiding cables and even power conditioners. If you want more clearance with taller cabinets, there’s an optional vertical extension kit. And if you want to adjust the setting for optimizing the viewing in your room, there’s an optional motorized, remote-controlled power upgrade.

In general, you’ll have 26 to 36 inches clearance from the floor to the bottom of the TV if it’s screen size of 32 to 60 inches (usually 31 inches for the popular 50-inch TV size). There’s also a manual swivel 30 degrees to the left or right for more viewing flexibility.

No harm done to the cabinet, no foul to the walls. Your TV will be free-standing and loving it, looking like it’s floating in air. Suggested retail price on the Synchro Furniture Mate is $599, the motorized kit $299 and the vertical extension kit $59.

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.