This story on the wires this morning caught my eye: "Televisions Turn Men On To Interior Design."

 

How could you not open that press release? I was imaging some sort of "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" television make-over story.

 

What I got was that, "New online research [conducted in Great Britain] by LG Electronics (News - Alert), coinciding with the launch of its recent designer TV range, reveals that of adults who feel the design of a TV is important in their home; men are now twice as likely as women to choose a particular TV style due to the effect it has on their interior design. Traditionally, it was women that led the decision-making process when it came to home furnishings. The study shows that men are now taking a more prominent role in defining the look and feel of their living space which is centered around the TV."

 

Ah, I thought. It's like the male interest in cooking when the cooking is done by barbecue. As female comedian Rita Rudner once said, many men still think cooking is for women, but barbecuing is different, because of the fire and the sharp tools. "Men will cook if danger is involved," Rudner purportedly swiped.

 

Here are some other interesting statistics from the LG study:

 

Anthony Yang, general product manager for LG Electronics says, "The television was always historically stuck in the corner of the living room, with little or no thought as to how it fitted in with its surroundings. As long as its content was watchable, it fulfilled its purpose. As interior design becomes increasingly integral to our homes we are also seeing the more prominent role TV design is playing. Design is now critical to consumers when making a purchasing decision?our research shows this and we see it every day on the shop floor."

 

Ah. I like the comment about "as long as its content is watchable."

 

Considering most of television's content today is not, in fact, watchable, does this mean that the physical design of the television has become important because one has to justify its purchase for some reason?

 

You can visit LG's Web site at www.lge.com.