Mix it Up

The German-designed Arthe, part of DDC’s home theater collection, is a jack-of-all trades.

It can function as a single sofa, a single chair, a sofa plus a chaise lounge or a chair, or a futon-like surface for napping (just pivot the backrest down).

A homeowner, who built a private screening room for his family to enjoy, has fallen in love with it himself.

Walk into this gigantic 2,600-square-foot home theater and try to envision the kind of person who would build a private screening room of this magnitude. It’s probably owned by a man, right? It’s extremely masculine in style with polished wall-to-wall woodworking, two bold rows of sturdy-yet-handsome leather recliners, and a red velvet theater curtain with gold tassel fringe.

The no-nonsense design is confident. Bold. Refined. Sophisticated. This is a serious space for serious entertaining. Or is it?

Set Yourself Free

The Cuddle Couch, by Elite Home Theater Seating, ain’t your father’s recliner.

“With this chair, you can curl up next to someone, stretch out,” says designer and company owner Bobby Bala. “You can really lose yourself in the movie-watching experience because you’re not restricted to a certain angle like you are in a recliner.”

A Westchester County home with minimalist design touts the benefits of minimalist-looking technology.

This is a “less is more” story. A tale about a Westchester County home that is minimalist in décor—and minimalist in the amount of visible technology it showcases. But regardless of how minimalist everything looks at first blush, this house is robust in the kinds of technology it embraces—up front and behind the scenes.

Stay in bed

What’s better than a bonafide reason to stay in bed? The Elite Bed by Hollandia—with its DVD/CD changer, iPod docking station, a retractable Bravia 32-inch flat-panel TV and a surround-sound system—is your excuse to do just that.

A Chicago high-rise retreat

This pied-a-terre in Chicago’s River North neighborhood gives new meaning to the phrase “date night.” “We raise our four kids in the west suburbs of Chicago,” says Jon Butcher. In describing his 3,500-square-foot, Japanese-inspired condominium, he explains, “This is where we come to get away from our kids. We use this as our date place.”

What to do if your son takes beer brewing very seriously, and Dad loves to knock back son’s brew with the guys while playing poker or taking in every Saturday or Sunday afternoon football game that’s on, whether it’s collegiate or professional?

Winner 10 Best 2008 Design