Smart Home Technology & Style – Can They Co-Exist?
Technology has grown exponentially fast over time! In order to give you an understanding of how fast, believe it or not, the iPhone was first released in 2007. Apple have since managed to release over 20+ models of the iPhone in the space of 13 years. That’s ridiculously quick when you see where they are as a business now. However, with technologies rapidly rising into our daily lives, the request for technologies to be integrated into our homes or to be considered during renovations has grown tremendously.
Technology is now an integral part of interior design. All of our interior design projects include an element of technological integration. If integrating smart home technology is something you’re thinking of for your next project, then there’s many areas and aspects you will need to be thinking of. Whilst we may specialise in the management of interior design projects and FF&E procurement, rest assured, we can give you all the information you need here. The question of whether smart home technology & styling can co-exist has been asked many times. The answer is to simply read on and let me show you exactly what we do for our customers.
What is a smart home technology?
Imagine being able to connect your lights, TV, speakers, blinds, intercom, windows and heating to the internet, controlling every single one of these items from your mobile phone. This is what we call smart home technology or home automation. It gives you the ability to control everyday items within your homes at a single press of a button or if even more advanced they can be voice enabled.
How popular are integrated technologies amongst clients?
Very! It’s a must! Our clients see us as a high-end luxury interior designers that manage the entire process. Not only do we support clients with ensuring their smart home technology is integrated we ensure they have user friendly systems installed that are not too complex.
What do you need to think about when focusing on technology and style?
When it comes to focusing on technology and style for clients and for us, it’s extremely important we focus on producing and delivering based on what the client wants and not what the designer wants. It can be easy to get carried away, helping build bespoke smart home technology that looks good but does not meet the clients needs, we ensure the clients aspirations are kept at the heart of it all. We’ll ensure aesthetic and technology work together with their brief and price point in mind.
Where do you start when it comes to technology integrations into properties?
Smart home technology is now discussed on every project and we start every project with an initial project consultation. This is to understand the conceptual thoughts of what the client wants implemented within their project. The coordination will be discussed in great detail to ensure we focus on every aspect, understanding how they use technology and how they want it embedded into their project.
We bring in a specialist who can advise clients of their options. There’s no one better to support a client’s concepts than the specialist themselves. This ensures you get instant feedback on your concepts, and are advised of the latest systems, whilst being able to bounce ideas back and forth. This allows us to make your integrated technology work well for you as a client. Included within this is a full FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) procurement, so we’ll source all the items that will need to be connected up to your smart home technology. We’ll be perfectly positioned to conceptually discuss the look and feel you’re after and include the smart technology integrations around that. Bringing in specialists from the beginning for parts of your project is simply part of the design process.
Are there any rooms or spaces in the house that clients predominantly want the latest technology in?
When clients come to us with their projects they are usually interested in smart home technology integration. There are 3 spaces which seem to come up the most and these are:
The Lounge
Entertainment Space
Master Bedroom
Unless there is a dedicated Cinema room, these 3 rooms seem to be the main spaces whereby clients want technology and this is where we’re required to get very innovative.
There are also other technologies that can be incorporated throughout the entire property too.
What type of smart home technologies are clients interested in?
Clients are interested in all the latest trends and this includes technology integrations such as:
Controlling Lights – Lights that can be remote or voice enabled. You even have the opportunity to select how bright the light is for the right ambiance.
TV’s – TVs are a must have in most homes. Client’s want the latest TVs and need them to be the right size for the space. Alongside that, they need to be properly setup by being integrated into the space or entertainment setup.
Sound Systems – Must be implemented in entertainment spaces and ideally hidden so the space has a sleek feel.
Blinds or Curtains controlled through an iPad remote – Automated blinds that can be controlled from an operational remote system is a common ask amongst clients.
Entire Property Heating integration – The ability to turn on the property heating from any internet-based device, from an internal remote used to control other smart technology devices or even your mobile.
Here a couple of interesting examples of how we’ve integrated smart home technologies for clients.
Project Barca is a full turnkey solution of a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment in Knightsbridge. This particular client loved technology so this was the basis of the project. Understanding the client’s requirements, we installed a Savant system to control the lighting, audio and visual system and a fully motorised window treatment system which could be fully controlled from remotes as well as their smart devices.
In addition to this example, we’ve also installed a fully integrated Building Management Systems (BMS) in another of our projects whereby a master control system is installed to a network to control all the mechanical systems, IT, electrics and security installed throughout the property. Installing an BMS system enabled us to control all AV systems throughout the property, lighting, sound systems and even the heating. Our client was able to fully control their heating from anywhere. When they weren’t home, they were able to still turn on the heating, returning to a heated home. This feature is particularly useful during the winter months when you return home from holiday.
What are key brands that are preferred for smart home technology are?
When focusing on bespoke luxury home control systems, there are specialist systems you want to be considering and working with. These specialists will be able to support with automated solutions that transform the way people live for example:
Integrated Control Systems
Audio and Video Distribution
Lighting Control
Collaborative Technologies
Motorised Blinds
Speakers
Dynamic Control Surfaces
And much much more!
Crestron and Savant are luxury household brands that are easy to use and cover all of the above. Savant deliver everyday luxuries that are customisable to match the way you live. They’re able to deliver bespoke smart home technologies.
At SP3 London, we’re be able to manage the entire complex process or you. If you’re interested to understand how we can benefit your project, contact us here.
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