Following the trend of retro-tech themed furnishings, designer Jeff Skierka has designed and manufactured a 12:1 scale replica of an audio cassette tape in coffee table form! And of course, the table surface offers reversible sides A and B.... More

A few episodes back during an otherwise tense episode of Mad Men, Pete Campbell was grinning ear to ear while showing off a brand new console hi-fi stereo system and the "tiny orchestra" playing inside the basketball player length setup. For the most part, in the era of mobile audio, these type of setups have gone way of the tail-finned Caddy... More

I've got a friend who still swears by the analog sounds of an old timey dial-style AM radio even in this era of Bluetooth and Airplay audio devices. He says he likes the quality of the mono sound, and probably more importantly, he holds a flame for a bygone era where audio equipment borrowed many the stylings cues from home furnishings. But even a time traveling day dreamer like my friend owns an iPhone and listens to MP3's, thus he might be a candidate for one of these elegant retro-styled radios engineered that look like yesterday, but work with today's mobile music devices... More

Some long-time readers may recognize the past featured works of Dolores and Chris Salomone. Their DIY George Nelson style platform bench using LEGO and Upcycled Floppy Disk Desk grace our archives. They're back, this time focusing their creative efforts upon improving the storage and presentation of gaming consoles in living rooms in a manner Don Draper and Charles Eames would have likely approved... More

Finding the right media console isn't always easy, especially when you need it to accommodate a large screen. While getting something custom-made is always an option, we prefer to think of more thrifty ways of furnishing our place. Here are some of the smart ways you can make your own IKEA Besta personalized. More

An apartment for two in Sweden exemplifies living with tech as an integral part of the occupants' lives without falling victim to the usual decor pratfalls that often mar a well-equipped audio/video space. At first glance, it may strike American eyes as minimalist, but there's plenty of details to admire, ideas to steal; use of wall and ceiling mounting hardware keep audio/video equipment out of sight, while an all-white and black color palette blends in components into walls, with additional concealment of cables and wires along the lines vertical and horizontal lines of the interior walls helping highlight the more important decorative items in their home... More

I'm in the market for new iPhone speakers and a charging dock, but this time around I want function and style. Really, with so many products flooding the market, there's no reason you can't have both. I'm drawn to simple, sleek wooden wares — hopefully they will be as functional as they are pretty. Here's a roundup of products for the iPhone or iPod that fit the bill. More

Audyssey Audio Dock Air
• $349.99
• The Ghostly Store

If you're invested in Apple audio, Airplay enabled options have finally expanded enough to the point there's a healthy selection of wireless speakers to choose from. The Audyssey Audio Dock Air is notable for a two-sided design where dual 3/4" tweeters, 3" woofers, and 4" passive bass radiators that can serve uncompressed, wireless streaming sound to two sides of a room at once in unassuming fashion from your iTunes library (from your computer or iOS device). And unlike some Airplay speakers, the Audyssey BassXT brings the low end with enough bump in the trunk for bass heavy tunes, perfect for spring-summer BBQs...

IKEA made a splash weeks back with the announcement of their decor-friendly, integrated all-in-one furnishing and HDTV solution, the Uppleva TV. New details have emerged about the sets going on sale next month (in Europe, so put away your credit card)... More

ARIS Wireless Speaker
• $499.00
• Aperion Audio

Aperion Audio's SLIMstage30 sound bar was a fairly impressive apartment dweller-friendly home theater solution we tested about a year ago. And now they're back with a wireless wi-fi audio speaker designed for Windows 7 and 8 users, designed with music appreciation in mind. A full 100 Watts RMS total power for two 1" Neodymium and two 4" woofers means the ARIS speaker system should be more than sufficient for everyday listening...and then some. Visually, I particularly love the black brushed aluminum cabinet with dramatic angled red steel stand, a design statement communicating the ARIS is to be noticed both aurally and visually.