When designing our home, we knew we wanted to have some form of home automation. So what is that exactly? It’s when you turn aspects of your home a “smart home” and can control things like your TV, music, lighting, and thermostat all with your remote control or app on your phone. Today I’m sharing a few ways how we incorporated some pretty cool technology into our new home!
We used Insight Automation in our previous townhome to add a surround sound system and loved it! They are a local Charlotte company and took care of all of our electrical & tech needs. We love watching TV and movies and think the sound quality of surround sound speakers (and subwoofer) make such a difference. So when we were designing our new home, we knew that we wanted another surround sound system. We added a whitewashed cedar ceiling and the guys at Insight Automation were able to seamlessly blend the speakers to where they are barely noticeable. We didn’t want to use a sound bar over our fireplace- especially since we got a Samsung Frame TV, so we knew the built-in way was the way to go. Last time our subwoofer was tucked away in a corner of our living room but in this house we didn’t have a good place for it. At first we thought we were going to have to do an in-wall speaker & amp (which is way more $$$) but luckily we discovered that our subwoofer would fit perfectly in our built-in cabinets. Another pro of having extra storage!
And can you guess how excited I was for the universal remote?!! We have a system called Control4 that makes controlling our TV and music so easy. We can control our TV, DirecTV, speakers and Apple TV all through this remote and also through an app on our phones. In our last house, I told Ryan I couldn’t handle 4+ remotes laying all over the place once we moved so this remote was a must-have! In the next few months we are also going to upgrade our light switches in our living room and add a smart thermostat so they can be controlled through the remote & app as well. How cool is that?!
I am a huge fan of technology and sometimes nerd out over this stuff but I think it’s amazing how far along technology has come over the years. We literally went from 4 remotes down to 1 with this new system… Marie Kondo would be so proud! We also have all the wiring and devices in a coat closet so that everything is easily accessible but also tucked away out of sight to keep the living room as clean looking as possible. Ryan had this vision in his head from the very first floor plan design with the architects. I know it’s not the prettiest photo (cords everywhere!) BUT I thought it was important to show you a behind-the-scenes look at the technology hub for our house.
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Wow, I’m really impressed with how you guys added automation into your home! That’s definitely something we are considering!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
This is impressive! I’d like to incorporate this in my home. It’s so handy and practical.
Yes to home automation. It’s the little things like controlling your home from a cell that make a big deal. 🙂
Xx, Nailil
thirtyminusone.com
I’ve been talking about doing some similar things in our home. It’s good to know these are options even in townhomes – since that’s what we have right now. I love how you all made it work in your new house as well. Such cool features!
This looks amazing! We just bought a house, so I def need to look into this.
How cool is this?! I absolutely love these type of things! The universal remote is a life saver.
This is so cool! I have a couple of outlets that automate my lights but def need to look into this more.
I’ve always loved the idea of living in a “smart home.” I have to forward this post to my husband, so he can get the hint for Christmas, haha!!
My bf has given me two amazon circle things and two smart plugs so I can use voice command to turn my living room lamp on/off and my bedroom one! I ADORE being able to get into bed, say Alexa play white noise and Alexa good night and boom light is off without having to get up and turn off a light switch. ? Also like listening to local radio stations or my Spotify through the Alexa circle thing (lol clearly tech savvy idk what it’s even called) while I work out- I can watch my Blogilates on the tv then listen to Spotify or watch a diff YouTube video on iPad (muting the workout video)
I love the idea of this for my next home! I bet it makes life 10x easier.