Automating one large space can be daunting to many homeowners. Professional integration companies are available to install smart homes and guide clients, but thorough and long-lasting assistance is difficult to come by. This is especially frustrating when there are thousands of smart home devices and multiple ways to connect them all but no obvious path to seamless integration.
One company has come to save homeowners from this challenge. With Daisy, technology is carefully curated to optimize smart home automation and enlighten homeowners how best to use it. This is apparent in one 10,000-sq.-ft. luxury home in northern California, where an older home with mismatched technology but a classically stunning design received unified integration.
Facing an Older Home’s Dated Technology
On more than three acres, this prestigious home overlooks the San Francisco Bay area and enjoys a private area at the top of a gentle hill. While features like elegant terraces, idyllic gardens and French doors leading to private courtyards drew homeowners to the property, there were still some issues that needed to be solved.
The homeowners were a returning client to De Mattei Construction due to the quality and trustworthiness proven on past projects. Meanwhile, integration company cyberManor, now called Daisy, had a similar approach to customer service that reassured De Mattei Construction that referring Daisy for this project would have a positive outcome.
“Before the smart home integration and remodel, the areas of the home were a bit compartmentalized,” said Zachary De Mattei, the project manager with De Mattei Construction. “Parts of the home were dark, and the second floor lacked flow.” De Mattei explained that the challenge for the team was to not only upgrade each of these systems to the latest technologies, but to work with the designer and Daisy to illuminate shadowy areas and create a cohesive space. All of these needed to be done with minimal disruption to the customized and artistically finished surfaces in the home.
The home had gone through a succession of several recent homeowners, and each owner had updated or changed different systems, resulting in a mishmash of technology. Making the automation uniform and simple to use throughout the expansive property was crucial, and it would reflect the aesthetic updates also being made.
The systems already in place had extensive problems. The old Vantage lighting control system only supported parts of the home, sported dated keypads, and did not allow for app-based or remote control. Many of the home’s network connected systems — such as the security system, pool, and energy systems — were unsupported by the slow and unreliable networking infrastructure. The home’s music system had several unconnected, independent zones that could not be controlled by an app or touchscreen, and the music content was limited to CDs. Meanwhile the gate station could only notify the homeowner that a guest had arrived at the gate via phone.
The Challenge of Retrofitting Technology
Working with Daisy, the team designed solutions to solve these technological issues without having to damage the home’s original beauty. By leveraging the existing lighting and speaker wire, existing racks, lighting control panels, and a fiber optic line from the home to the pool house, they were able to upgrade all of the technology.
“The clients’ needs were to have one central application that operated the lighting and speakers,” said Ed Lalosh, the senior engineer from Daisy. “Through smart tech integration services, Daisy and De Mattei were able to make this a reality.”
During this remodel, Daisy served as the ideal partner to the builder. From project management, timeliness, effective communication and being proactive, Daisy was able to provide the integration skills needed to succeed in outfitting this large project.
Before the essentials like lighting, music, and security were updated, a robust wired and wireless Access Networks networking infrastructure was installed. The networking goes throughout in the main home and the multi-acre property, and the existing fiber was used to install a network in the detached pool house. The home’s entire suite of technology solutions could now simply be controlled locally and/or remotely using a single control app from the Control4 home control system.
When Whole Home Automation is Seamless
The builder, designer, and Daisy then worked together to maintain the character of the home while updating the individual systems. The client worked closely with the interior designer and Daisy to ensure the technology fit their needs and the design of the house.
“On this project, the collaborative effort of working with a team of professionals to create a beautiful and inviting space was very rewarding,” said LuAnn Elliott, the interior designer on the project.
This large home no longer has any dark corridors or unpredictable lighting patterns. With Control4, the new centralized lighting system uses each of the existing lighting keypad locations and the old Vantage lighting system controller panel and wires. Each existing Vantage light switch was replaced with a contemporary Control4 dimmer, which connects back to the Control4 lighting panel. The outdoor landscape lighting system was also connected to a centralized Control4 panel. Together, all of this can be controlled by the easy-to-use touchscreens or a phone app.
“The convenience is huge,” said the client, adding that the iPad and mobile app are intuitive and also make it simple for visiting family members or housekeepers to use. The ability to select preferred combinations of lighting scenes through single programmed buttons, either on wall switches or the control pad, are an advantage the client pointed out. Plus, the integration team will return post-project six months and then a year later to ensure the client can still use every system to its full capacity and make any alterations for customized use.
The lighting upgrade was essential but only part of the puzzle. All of the home’s six original speaker zones were reconnected to new Sonos amps; this allows each zone to be individually controlled from the Sonos app and the Control4 touchscreens.
In addition, a Control4 Door station was installed in the existing gate station gooseneck using the wire already run from the home to the gate station. The final result was an aesthetically pleasing and functional gate station that allows the homeowner to see and communicate to their visitors on a simple touchscreen. They can also operate the gate from their mobile phone or touchscreen.
“The impact this full remodel and smart home integration had on this home was superb,” De Mattei said. “We were able to modernize the feel of the home without sacrificing its original French, farm-style roots.”
Related: Daisy Launches National Smart Home Tech Integration and Services Company
