I'm part of “a baseball family.” We didn't invent it and we don’t play. But we have visited every Major League ballpark and, as passionate fans, are not much different from most Americans. We love sports, and when we can't go to the stadium, we watch the game on television. As an interior designer, one of my most popular projects is to design family rooms with custom built-in furniture incorporating flat-screen televisions. More than 20 years ago, my first “entertainment center” project was built around a 60-inch television measuring five feet wide, five feet high and three feet deep. We've come a long way since then, as every sports fan and television viewer knows.

New television technology is not without its pitfalls. Environmentalists and legislators in California have gone so far as to say, "Sunday afternoon sports are dangerous for the environment!" Large-screen plasma TVs have become known as “energy hogs” despite the fact that sports fans are happier than ever. The regulators have drafted rules to increase energy efficiency of television sets by 50 percent by 2013, which will eventually benefit the economy and lower electric bills.

LCD sets use approximately 43 percent more electricity than the old picture-tube TVs, and plasma sets, more than 300 percent. The federal government is helping the consumer to identify more energy-efficient products with the Energy Star Label. It sets standards for televisions, some of which are at least 30 percent more energy efficient than comparable sets on the market.

If you're seeking to buy a new television, I would recommend one with LCD technology. These sets have not only improved in their viewing quality, larger size and profile, but have also come down in price. There is an even newer, more energy-efficient offshoot called the LED television; it's quite expensive, but has the thinnest profile on the market.

We've really come a long way from the first network TV show, The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, broadcast by NBC in 1944. We can still indulge our American passion for "the game" and combine it with a newfound green integrity.

The main image and below showcase several rooms that I've designed for family viewing and entertainment with wall-mounted, flat-screen televisions. Remember the old console TV?

[Images: Judith Cohen]