Home of the Year Project Profile
- Name & Location: Jude Showcase Home, Southlake, Texas
- Integrator: Elite AV and Lighting (Elite AVL), Southlake, Texas
- Award: Home of the Year 2026, Best Combo Tech + Design, Gold
Working in the interest of St. Jude, integrator Elite AV and Lighting (Elite AVL) came together with Atwood Custom Homes and interior designers Maria Mock and Julie Parrent to build a showcase home as part of St. Jude’s broader community support efforts. As part of this effort, Elite AVL was tasked with delivering as robust a system as possible while ensuring that as little of the cost as possible got passed off to St. Jude.
Elite AVL coordinated manufacturer and integrator support around a cohesive design. Control4 donated lighting products, Rio Grande and Sonance discounted the invisible-audio package, and Elite itself donated the custom LED lighting system. These generous donations allowed the team to expand the home’s technology package beyond the initial scope while preserving more resource for St. Jude.
Invisible audio meets oversized video at St. Jude
Elite treated the interior design established by Atwood, Mock and Parrent as the system specification. Sonance invisible speakers and an in-wall subwoofer provide distributed sound without introducing visual clutter, allowing the walls and architectural finishes to remain the focus.
The media room centers on a 115-inch Samsung Micro RGB display, while an 85-inch Samsung Pro display serves the living room and a 65-inch display extends video into the primary suite.
Custom lighting transforms home after dark
Lighting became one of the project’s most visible expressions of technology, despite the effort required to make the system itself disappear. Elite’s custom LED installation traces stair treads, washes the kitchen and bar, accents architectural coves and adds layers of illumination throughout the bath, laundry and other spaces.
The technical complexity remained behind the walls while the finished spaces gained another visual dimension after sunset.
One control layer for the entire residence
Elite absorbed much of the complexity required to make the Control4 system as intuitive and comprehensive as possible. This included programming and testing under a compressed schedule caused by delayed internet service.
Elite completed final commissioning on March 6, one day before public tours began. For visitors, the finished home presents warm lighting, large-format video, distributed audio and centralized control as natural parts of the environment.
Technology with a larger purpose
The project demonstrates how manufacturers, designers and integrators can contribute to a charitable build beyond simply supplying equipment. The technology may be nearly invisible, but the collaboration behind it is not.
Equipment list:
- Video
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- Samsung Displays
- Sanus TV Mounts
- MetraAV HDMI Cables
- Audio
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- Anthem Multiroom Audio Amplification
- Sonance Loudspeakers & Subwoofers
- Paradigm Audio Amplification
- Denon AV Receivers
- Vanco Audio/Video Extenders
- Ethereal Audio Cables
- Control
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- Control4 Control Systems
- Control4 Touchscreens & Remotes
- Control4 Lighting Control
- Strong Equipment Racks & Rack Accessories
- Networking
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- Araknis Networking
- Eero Wireless Networking
- Security & Access
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- Qolsys Security Systems
- Control4 Video Doorbells
- Luma Surveillance Cameras & Recording
- Lighting
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- Control4 Lighting Keypads & Dimmers
- DMF Architectural Lighting
- American Lighting / Proluxe Lighting
- EliteAVL Custom LED Lighting
- Power Management
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- WattBox Power Management
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.
