Eils Lotozo
With more and more Americans chucking those bulky old televisions and switching to increasingly affordable flat screens, furniture-makers are looking to cash in on a prime sales opportunity.

That was obvious from the number of companies at High Point promoting new entertainment centers specially designed to accommodate flat-screen TVs and their components.

“Those television armoires we all bought don’t work anymore,” said Carla Mata-Sprinkles, spokeswoman for Magnussen Home, which showed 22 new home-entertainment collections, in everything from mission to cottage to contemporary styles.

All the collections emphasize modular design, with six pieces, including a console, side piers and a bridge, that can be purchased separately and configured in different ways. (For a full six-piece arrangement, prices start at $1,499.)

While Magnussen’s designs put those monster televisions out on display, Hooker Furniture’s offerings are aimed at those who prefer to hide them in a plasma-lift console. The company has expanded its console line to fit the next wave of flat screens, according to Hooker spokeswoman Kim Shaver.

“Sixty-inch televisions are standard now,” Shaver said. “But that will be changing as more people buy 74-inch sets. We wanted to come out ahead of the game.”

All over High Point’s showrooms, it seemed every new armoire and bedroom chest had been designed with television-oriented multi-function in mind. Increasingly common, for example, were sliding back panels for wire management.

Vanguard’s eclectic, contemporary Anthology collection included a sleek modular storage cabinet sold in three pieces (base, drawer box, and door box), so buyers who want to use it for a television can choose the viewing height that suits them ($3,350 for all three pieces).

In its handsome new mission-style collection, called Artisan, Cresent featured drop-down drawer fronts in bureaus, for easy access to speakers or components. The company also offered a clever bedroom armoire with optional five-drawer side piers ($2,499 for the three-piece set).

The armoire has pocket doors that slide out of the way for television viewing.

“It will fit a flat-screen, but it will also fit a regular 27-inch television,” said Richard Tompkins, Cresent’s director of sales and marketing. “We surveyed the electronics industry and found out those old sets are refugees that are ending up in the bedroom.”