Electronic Lifestyles: Integrated Controls Wins Best Integrated Home Award

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.

The Challenge:

This time, our job was to turn two remote rural cabins into a technological haven for the owners who, wanted a retreat, but didn't want to sacrifice their favorite creature comforts like music, television, and security.

Our Solution:

The first step was security. We leveraged a fiber backbone that was the foundation of the original lodge to create a full network infrastructure that opened up a world of possibilities. We installed cameras around each individual cabin, that were able to record on the DVR in the lodge. Additionally, each cabin was also outfitted with its own alarm system that could be accessed remotely.

We also worked with the local wireless Internet service provider to enhance the bandwidth needed to support our creation.

Then came the focus on entertainment. AMX handheld MIO R4 remotes were used in each TV area for easy control. Dedicated satellite receivers fed each viewing area, as well as a dedicated Blu-ray in the master suite and shared Blu-ray in the living area. All of these source's switch through an HDMI distribution matrix and an audio matrix switcher. Audio was made available in several other areas using a Sonos Connect, one of the satellites, or the shared Blu-ray player. The crown jewel was an iPad using AMX app that allowed for whole-house control of any area, as well as "party modes" for presets to listen to several rooms at once.

Here's a snapshot of all the tech we packed into this wilderness respite:

Going Above & Beyond

If you take a closer look at the cabin, you'll notice something: Even with that long list of different pieces of equipment listed above, you really don't see any of it. All of our wires and widgets are hidden away, redirecting attention to the parts of the cabin that the inhabitants truly want to enjoy, the ambiance.

2013_HoursYou're probably wondering what sort of time and expertise went into the finished product. Well, we've got an answer for that:

After 516.33 hours spent 3 hours away from our Rock Hill office, we completed a project that our clients, our team, and ElectronicLifestyle thought was truly award winning!

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