This Luxury Automotive Showroom Gives Buyers a Golf Simulator for Entertainment

Home of the Year Project Profile

• Name & Location: Skyway Motor Space, Palmetto, Florida
• Integrator: Innovative Sight & Sound (Tampa), Tampa Bay, Florida
• Award: 2026 Home of the Year Award, Best Commercial Space, Silver

Designed to showcase a collection of multi-million-dollar vehicles, this premier automotive facility combines architectural low-voltage lighting, automated control and entertainment technology in an open-concept design. The main showroom features a continuous linear lighting system that wraps the perimeter of the space, while an open mezzanine loft above houses a golf simulator. Innovative Sight & Sound in Tampa delivered the integration.

Lighting that makes the vehicles glow

The showroom’s defining visual element is a continuous linear baseboard lighting system built into custom architectural reveals. Precision-diffused, high-CRI LED channels create a low-level ambient glow that spreads across the high-gloss showroom floors.

Because the floors reflect the light, the illumination effectively wraps around the vehicles, creating a halo effect that emphasizes their contours, finishes and overall presentation, making the lighting an integral part of the automotive display.

The lighting channels were integrated into custom baseboard reveals in collaboration with drywall and millwork teams, while remote driver enclosures kept serviceable components out of sight. The system was also tuned for smooth architectural dimming and scene transitions, allowing the character of the showroom to change without visible stepping or abrupt shifts in brightness.

Golf simulator provides unique entertainment to buyers

The loft’s location directly above the showroom added concerns that stray, high-velocity golf balls could potentially damage the vehicles below. Permanent barriers and conventional static netting would have disrupted the sightlines between the mezzanine and showroom, so the technology team worked with the general contractor and interior designers to develop an automated solution.

The golf simulator’s automated protection system means the loft can transition between an open architectural space and a contained playing environment with a single automated sequence.

When the simulator is activated, Lutron motorized drapery fitted with dense, impact-absorbing fabric deploys automatically. When the simulator is inactive, the drapery retracts into concealed architectural pockets, restoring the open views between the two spaces.

Technology as part of the display

The final design incorporates each piece of technology into the architecture, creating a showroom that can shift between automotive gallery, entertainment space and architectural showcase while maintaining the clean, high-end aesthetic established by the design team. Architectural lighting shapes the way the vehicles are presented, while automated shading and control allow the golf simulator to operate safely without changing the character of the space when it is not in use.

This project is part of our coverage for the 2026 CE Pro Home of the Year Awards. Presented annually at CEDIA Expo alongside the BEST Product Awards, the Home of the Year Awards represent the best of the best smart home innovations within the CEDIA channel. Check to see when the next submission window is open in case you have a project you would like to submit and don’t want to miss your opportunity.