We have a somewhat 'contemporary' living room where i need some powered speakers (to hook up to a wireless music player or airtunes etc).

I would like to find some with a nice design. Or some other alternative, but design is pretty crucial or my wife wont let me put speakers in there

An alternative could be a 'mini system' with a cool, modern design as well.

Obviously sound quality has to be above decent!

Any suggestions?

Since this is 100% on the WAF, take her along to pick them out! (that's Wife Acceptance Factor)

There's always in-wall speakers if you don't mind spending more to get better sound. Not very obvious, either.

Take a look at Bang & Olufsen

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/

we actually looked at b&o - we're from Denmark and its a danish product, but thanks for it. The pricerange might be a bit out there though, I'd rather spend the $$ in my home theater

Thanks for the suggestion though!