This billionaire client bought a circa-1905 antique home and wanted its smart home technology to be clean and easy to use. The client owns five other homes and wasn’t happy with their complicated technology, says frayednot Owner/Lead Tech Constantinos Sandoukas.
“So, we designed this redesign as we normally do, with simplicity in mind! The biggest challenge was hoping the client was going to be happy with the end result of ‘super simple,’” Sandoukas says. “Sometimes making a home this size run and operate reliably in a simplified fashion is tougher than having the flexibility to add a little complexity to the design.”
It wasn’t like a modern home that an integrator typically deals with either. Due to its age, the antique home didn’t have any existing wire prior to the massive renovation, according to Sandoukas.
Governed by a URC automation system, the final installation by frayednot incorporated eight video locations including the theater; 10 zones of audio mainly featuring Stealth Acoustics speakers and Sonos controls; climate control with over nine zones of heating/cooling; and Lutron shade and lighting control.
The Stealth Acoustics invisible speakers enabled frayednot to heed the client’s wish for as little visible technology as possible for the overhauled residence, which was originally two lots that a prominent local architect help convert into one huge lot.
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Despite the antique home’s size at 9,000 square feet, closet space was limited and tight for the large-sized 42U AV rack that was needed to accommodate the smart home’s distributed audio, distributed video, surveillance, network backbone and wireless backhaul, according to the integrator.
“The luxurious design of the home was kept aesthetically intact when we were finished. We have one main AV rack in the tech closet and a second wall rack for our networking backbone and CCTV systems,” Sandoukas comments. “The home flows beautifully and is one of those locations where service is for the most part non-existent due to the simplified design.”
Also, toward that end, mounted TV locations were all designed to be recessed into the wall space where they were being installed to keep the displays flush with the wall plane.
So, was the customer satisfied? Indeed, he was thrilled with the simplicity and functionality of the outcome. As Sandoukas reports, “Exceeding the client’s expectations with the Summit home has us now consulting on his two Hamptons projects working with the local AV integration firms in designing those two locations as close as they can be to the N.J. home.”
Systems & Equipment
- URC controls
- Lutron lighting & shades
- Origin Acoustics, Stealth Acoustics & MartinLogan speakers
- Sonos, AudioControl audio electronics
- Epson 4K projector
- Ubiquiti & eero network
- Wattbox power
- Hikvision NVR & surveillance
- Tributaries, ICE cabling
- Evolution video distribution
- Araknis network switches
- Middle Atlantic racks
This project is part of our coverage for the 2023 CE Pro Home of the Year Awards. Presented annually at CEDIA Expo, the Home of the Year Awards represent the best of the best smart home innovations within the CEDIA channel. If you have a project you would like to submit to the Home of the Year Awards, stay tuned for our next round of submissions.
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