Is Hiding Your Home's Tech Worth It? Here's What To Know

For any of us who grew up with "The Jetsons," the idea of having our TVs in the kitchen island, ready to rise out of their hiding place with the push of a button, is intoxicating. However, we tend to get sobered up pretty quickly when we realize that the Sci-Fi cartoon didn't prepare us for is the inevitable obsolescence of our hidden home tech. For all the benefits of these decorative electronic accoutrements, like better-looking decor, they do come with their share of smart tech troubles. 

For starters, custom-building features for concealing devices in a home is not a sustainable solution. At a certain point, your existing devices may no longer be compatible with new apps and technology, and you'll need to replace them with newer models that may not fit the original "hiding place." And even if you opt to keep the outdated tech, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll enjoy the experience. There's a reason people change their iPhones every couple of years, and not just because they have better cameras. The technology that supports those devices, like the 5G networks, changes constantly, too. In other words, the Internet connection in your built-in devices may not be compatible with the stuff, like 5G networks, that's supposed to make the hidden tech so cool in the first place. And what if the tech gets hacked? Doubly not cool.

Aside from all of this, built-in tech can be expensive, and therefore, costly to replace. For example, a bed with a built-in TV can cost anywhere from $2,000 to just over $4,000. For the budget home decorator, that's just way too much money. 

Despite the disadvantages that come with built-in tech, there are plenty of people who swear by it. There's been a lot of talk about built-in TVs, but it's not the only appliance that has been streamlined and hidden. For example, newly built homes have refrigerators that look like they're just another cabinet in the kitchen and microwaves that are hidden in drawers. And all of these are run by voice tech, allowing you to work hands-free if necessary. Rooms that feature such hidden tech look polished and in keeping with the interior design theme. 

Additionally, for many designers, appliances like TVs are decorative eyesores, stealing the limelight from architectural features, such as fireplaces. Case in point? At the moment, it's common for people to hang their TVs above their fireplaces. Built-in TVs eliminate the problems that come with such placement, including putting the focus back on the proper focal point in a room — the fireplace. 

And while that TV bed may cost you the equivalent of a semester's tuition at the local university, other types of built-in tech — devices with smart capabilities in particular — can make you money come resell time. Upgrades involving the addition of smart devices and appliances can add as much as 5% to a home's resale value. For the person concerned about the cost of replacing the tech once it goes the way of the dinosaur, this long-term trade-off may make having hidden smart tech a lot more logical.