Camping Out

Best Technology Meets Design winner achieves the perfect balance — a modern interior infused with smart home solutions.

Residing just outside of Denver, Colorado, this contemporary home includes many features that accentuate the family’s lifestyle and hobbies, such as a home theater, a golf simulator, and a wine cellar. The homeowners knew this would become their forever home from the evergreen design and tailored characteristics that would cater to lives today and in the future.

The challenge

After falling in love with the clean lines, natural light, and modern design, these homeowners finalized the home’s purchase and wanted to add an automation system that could tackle security and access control as well as whole-home lighting and distributed AV. With their rather extensive wishlist for control features, some creative retrofits would be needed to polish off this recently completed construction.

The solution

As a referral from the realtor, the homeowners decided to partner with integrator Quality Audio Video (QAV), who could deliver upon their automation requests with the Crestron Home® platform. By choosing Crestron Home OS, QAV was able to incorporate all the features rapidly due to the ease of programming and configuration allowing the homeowners to get into their forever home quicker than anticipated.

The technology

The entire home was retrofitted to include a user-friendly Crestron Home system, Crestron Horizon® keypads, and whole-home lighting. Black beams and matching window furnishings create a nice contrast to the bright walls and daylight that seeps into the seamless open floorplan that brings the kitchen, living room, and dining room together for a spacious entertaining area. With a style that flows smoothly from one room to the next, the technology needed to be discreet yet accessible for easy control from any nook of the home. Crestron touch screens are placed strategically throughout the home for the control of lighting, climate, and security. There are also six zones in the house with TVs where Crestron remotes are the primary control solutions.

With minimal disruption to the room designs, Crestron Horizon keypads are the main point of control for lighting, allowing the homeowners to change the temperature of light at any time. Large windows throughout the home bring in natural light daily, allowing the homeowners to stay energy efficient by keeping the lights off. The keypad’s design is consistent with the rest of the residence, maintaining modern aesthetics in each room, and the ability to adjust the lights and HVAC controls while away gives the homeowners a sense of relief.

Adding audio to a home where construction had been finalized posed a slight challenge to this project. However, distributed audio was accomplished using Crestron DM NAX™ technology for all audio zones with new and preexisting wires. Audio control runs throughout the home to play soft tunes during meals in the dining room or to amplify the sound from a TV show marathon in the living room. Audio is also a main component of the contemporary home theater, ensuring the sound captivates the viewers through every plot point. Exterior audio zones are also available to the homeowners to provide an immersive entertainment space for themselves and their guests to enjoy along with some fresh air.

The lower level of the home is where the family’s personalities truly shine with activities that keep everyone amused. After working hard in the sophisticated home office, the homeowners can end the day with a round of golf in their fully customized golf simulator or cozy up for a movie. Complete with popcorn and a bar only a few feet away, the homeowners can cap out any day of the week in the home theater. As avid golfers, the homeowners can work on their golf swings throughout the year — a plus with Colorado’s unpredictable weather. This well-designed space features a large projection screen and a realistic green for an authentic experience.

The results

New to the home automation world, the homeowners are completely delighted with the results of their Creston system with rich features and beautiful finishes. The smart home system has brought the homeowners a new elevated lifestyle experience with technology features that support entertaining friends and family, enjoying a movie experience, and improving their golf swing year-round.

“We fell in love with this home’s interior design and architecture. We are blown away with the Crestron system that supports the design of the home rather than take away from it,” says Homeowner.