Samsung’s new TV takes inspiration from an unlikely source

But, at the same time, Samsung has never been afraid of shaking things up and dramatically rethinking everything about its TVs, especially when it finds the right partners.

Serif TV for Samsung, 2015 from Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec on Vimeo.

So instead of a thin, flat panel which goes into your wall, you have a “traditional meets modern” style TV set on which you can put small decorative items on its shelf-like surface on the top.

Samsung is bucking the trend of just racing toward bigger and better technical specs with Serif, a new framed boob tube that looks like it would more likely be sold at Sharper Image than Best Buy (assuming brick and mortar stores actually still exist anywhere). The Serif has divided opinion in The Verge’s offices, with some (myself included) thinking it’s a genuinely good-looking TV, while others, well, they wrote the headline.

In a press release, the Bouroullec brothers said they wanted to design a TV with a “solid presence that would sit naturally in any environment”, which led to the furniture angle.

Not only has the frame been drastically redesigned, but the back is very different, too.

Although major changes are on the design front, there are a few changes in the user interface as well. Curtain mode takes whatever is being shown on the screen and blurs it, transforming it into shimmering abstract shapes like a digital curtain. Now the company is looking to reimagine one of the products it’s perhaps most renowned for – the TV. It will come in three sizes (24 inches, 32-inches and 40-inches) and colors (blue, white and red).

The two French designers are collaborating with the South Korean manufacturer for a one-off television, the “Serif”, presented at the London Design Festival, running from Sept 19-27. Global pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the TV will going on sale in the United Kingdom , France, Denmark, and Sweden starting November 2nd.