Minimalist design and the television were two things that simply just didn’t go together…until recently that is. Traditionally the only options for TVs, and home entertainment centers for that matter, have been bulky heaps of electronics – unattractive television sets combined with cable boxes, DVD players, AV amplifiers, and gaming consoles. Sheer madness.
Now with slimmed down, smart TVs, soundbars, and wireless content streamers, the need for grandiose media centers is no more. The TV can be a thing of beauty –– displayed anywhere in the room (nobody puts TV in the corner). Here’s Dean Heckler’s (the designer) thoughts on the design of the new Heckler TV Stand.
Why did you create the Heckler TV Stand?
This is the kind of product Heckler Design does very well.
Complimenting cutting-edge technology with attractive, commercial-grade hardware is our wheelhouse. Whenever, I see technology rapidly advance, and the furniture and hardware for that technology barely change, it gets my creativity flowing. Furthermore, it was clear early on, that to create a minimalist TV Stand, one should employ steel so to create something strong and relatively heavy while maintaining a sleek look. Heckler Design does steel well.
And lastly, we created Heckler TV Stand because I felt no one else would create something like it. Cutting-edge furniture can take some time to catch on. Big furniture companies can’t wait for these ideas to be accepted by the masses – only small, nimble companies like Heckler Design can.
What was the primary design challenge and what was the result?
The challenge starts at the back of the TV. The mounting holes on various TVs differ in location. In the first years of flat-screen TVs, the various manufacturers placed their mounting holes anywhere they pleased. This lead every other TV wall mount and TV stand manufacturer to employ a complicated rail system, so that their one product could adjust to reach any hole pattern. Unfortunately, these rail systems were designed with the intent that their ugliness would forever hide in the shadows between the TV and the wall.
In recent years, most every TV manufacturer places their mounting holes to the VESA standard. This opens the potential for TV mounting hardware to be more simple – and yet virtually all mount and stand manufacturers did not seize the opportunity. Reinventing that mounting design to be simple, strong, and attractive, while still accommodating all VESA-standard hole positions was at the heart of this design project. I’m proud of the solution I developed and proud to see its patent pending.
What Heckler TV Stand features are you most excited about?
I’m most excited to see how homeowners, interior designers, and architects leverage the mid-room possibilities of Heckler TV Stand. For years, the desire to wall mount TVs in pursuit of minimalism has forced homes to be designed with living rooms that face a wall rather than an exterior window or towards a neighboring area, such as the kitchen. I hope to see the furniture in these rooms rotated 180 degrees, with the TV employed as a moveable room divider. Heckler TV Stand enables homeowners to enjoy big, ultra HD screens while maintaining great aesthetics and the ability to slide or roll the TV elsewhere when desired. What our creative customers do with this new freedom will be exciting.
Other design details at a glance:
Dimensions: 38” wide x 46.5” tall x 21.5” deep
Weight: 35 pounds
Materials: Powdercoated steel
Colors: black gray, gray white, bright red, seafoam, sky white, bright yellow
Made in the USA
