Southside Home

Some projects that we work on can be difficult to describe with a few short words. Others, however, have descriptors that immediately come to mind because the homeowner's vision for the space is very clear and specific. In the case of this home, the words clean, bright, and modern come to mind. But they don't just describe the finished product. These words were also guideposts for the way we did the work that we did, for the products we chose, and for the overall aesthetic that we adhered to.

This was a large project with a lot of equipment. We did audio, video, networking, security, and surveillance. The story behind the space is actually really cool. The building that houses this condo was a former school, and the condo itself used to originally occupy the auditorium.

The first thing you notice is just how much light fills the home, and how clean the space is. As I mentioned, this played into how we designed and implemented a system. The homeowner didn't want things like visible equipment, so we had to work within that restriction. The solution was that, for the most obvious equipment, namely the projector and projection screen, the builder framed it so that the projector could sit inside the ceiling and project through a hole cut into the wall. The screen housing is also in the ceiling, and the motorized screen can roll up and be completely out of sight when not in use.

Now, when a projection system is the main source for viewing television and movies in a living room, light is inherently challenging. Light is the natural enemy of a setup like this. So we installed Hunter Douglas battery-powered wireless roller shades so the screen can be enjoyed at any time of day.

For other video throughout the home, we placed 60 and 70" Sony televisions. Streaming content was made possible through the use of both AppleTVs and Rokus, and the equipment rack also houses 2 Sony Blu-Ray players.

As far as audio was concerned, we used Sonos connects, Sonos Playbars and subwoofers in the bedrooms, and in the main living space, there are paradigm speakers, including 2 in-wall subwoofers, 3 in-wall fronts, 2 in-wall surrounds, and 2 in-ceiling surround backs, all powered by a Sony Receiver. A Control4 amplifier powers the streaming audio throughout the rest of the home.

Control4 is the home automation system we used throughout, which included 7" touchscreens in the entrance, the kitchen, and the master, Control4 remote controls in the various rooms, light switches with engraved buttons as well as dimmers. The Yale locks and DSC alarm system are all integrated with Control4, as well as the aforementioned motorized shades.

With a very curated vision by the homeowner, and our attentiveness to the goals of the client, this project turned out to be an impressive display of home automation and integration at work.