When good collaboration between designers, builders, and integrators happens on projects, the end results are exceptional, which means ecstatic homeowners. That was the case for this 100+year-old home in Quincy, Illinois. The homeowners wanted to feature every modern convenience, including smart home technology, while still honoring the home’s heritage and history. Quincy has a rich history, with an array of historic homes that date back from before the Civil War—some as early as 1830! Preservation has been important for many of these homes, but yet there is still a need and a place for smart home technology. 

Today's design trends involve a bunch of hard surfaces: high-gloss lacquer, mirrors everywhere, granite and hardwoods as far as the eye can see. But as striking as these spaces can look, the problem of reflected sound in the form of echos and poor acoustics can threaten to ruin the experience. Integration Controls is a company that takes sound treatments seriously, both in terms of how they improve sonics, and how they actually add to the visual dynamic. This is all part and parcel of our holistic outlook on how you enjoy your home, irrespective of the challenges it presents.

The Challenge:

Our client was building a new home and wanted to integrate a home theater experience that would trump that of traditional commercial movie megaplex. There's just one problem, there is an underwater mural in the entertainment room that absolutely cannot be changed.

It's absolutely true what they say about loving your work: If you're passionate about what you are doing, it'll show in the final product.

One of our favorite projects received a silver award in technical design in 2013. You can read about the full case study here or read the highlights below:

The first round of this project, technologically enhancing a 5,000-square-foot-lodge, was completed in 2011 and in 2012 the client reached back out to us for phase two.