Ugly vs Gogeous speakers

"Decorators" pretty much NEVER incorporate speakers into room design, other than the ceiling mounted stuff that high end houses always seem to have. I like design as simply a minor interest, and thumb through Architectural Digest noting basically zero audio components anywhere...maybe a speaker shows up once in a decade...I think it's funny when speaker manufacturer's advertisements show their stuff set up near windows with a lovely view, with no speaker cables, and no regard to why it would be sitting in the middle of some spectacular room...lame, but I get it. "Hey Marge, you mind if I stick these yellow WiIsons under the Matisse?" I found  the Heresy IIIs to be relatively unobtrusive due to their short stature excepting their fatness, and they allow me to see my tube amps and other items more readily from my listening spot which allows me to stop those pesky tube explosions from destroying my house.

I get that many audiophile don't care what their speakers/gear looks like, it's all about the sound.

That explains the look of many audiophile dens (and...maybe...many audiophiles)....;-)

I used to watch an HDTV show where on one episode she designed a room around a bright gold grand piano(family heirloom).Quite challenging,but it looked really nice.On another episode the owner had some large Martin Logans that he was going to leave in the room.The designer and his wife banished them to another section of the house and they went for tiny in - wall speakers.So the garish piano can be incorporated but not the speakers?Silliness!

I would choose sound over looks 95% of the time but it’s not hard to have both. Mine are Paradigm Studio 100 V5’s in the cherry wood finish. A very good looking speaker as long as the grills are attached. Without, they are ugly. Brands that make the prettiest speakers are Sonus Faber and Salk. Jim makes gorgeous speakers. 

Given what is available in today’s market, it is not necessary to compromise on sound or aesthetics - especially speakers that are available in different finished or woods. The advantage of competition. The exceptions are electrostatics or large (or multiple box) speakers or those requiring positioning that dominate the room.