One of the best things about living in a smart home is the ability to customize it to fit your lifestyle. Every smart device in your home can be optimized to make your life more convenient and comfortable. But getting started with smart home automation can seem daunting at first. That’s why we’ve put together this guide of the most popular and useful technologies worth integrating into your Westlake, TX smart home. 

SEE MORE: What Are Some Perks of Living in a Smart Home?

1. Lighting Control: With lighting control technology from Vantage, you’ll never have to walk into every room of your home to turn off the lights before bed or get up from a comfortable spot to brighten the lighting while reading. Instead, all you have to do is tap your smartphone or tablet, and the lights will adjust automatically.
2. Audio/Video System Control: Imagine being able to turn on your TV, select a movie, and adjust the volume for your kids…all without ever stepping into the room that held the equipment. With a centralized A/V system, you have instant access to the speakers, TVs, gaming systems, streaming services, etc. throughout your home.
3. Smart Home Security: Modern security systems go far beyond really good locks and deadbolts. When you make your surveillance and security system “smart,” you gain the ability to view camera footage in real-time from anywhere, lock or unlock your doors remotely, access your home without any physical keys, and more. Your home security can even react intelligently to certain events—for example, calling the fire department if a fire is detected or even shutting off your HVAC system to avoid fanning the flames.
4. A Strong Network: Networking probably isn’t what comes to your mind when you think about smart home automation, but it’s absolutely essential if you want all of your devices to work smoothly and reliably on a daily basis. By optimizing your home network and adding in wireless access points or routers to ensure all devices receive a strong connection, you’ll never have to worry about dropped signals or lagging shows.
5. The Total Control System: Each of the technologies listed above is a great way to make your life a little bit easier at home, but by connecting them all together into one easy-to-use system, you gain a solution that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Savant’s smart home control systems are intuitive and streamlined so that you can skip the hassle of trying to figure out your technology and go straight to enjoying it.

If any of these smart home automation technologies appeal to you, contact us! We’ll help you design a fully customized smart home solution that includes the technologies that matter most to you.

There are a lot of great smart home automation technologies out there. You can control your lights, your HVAC, and your home security all using one simple system. A popular component of a smart home is a home video distribution system, in which all of your A/V devices are connected to simplify access to shows, movies, etc. To help you decide if a video distribution system makes sense for your Dallas, Texas smart home, answer the three questions below.

SEE ALSO: How to Connect All the A/V Devices in Your Home

Do you have 3+ TVs?

The amount of A/V equipment you have in your home is usually a good indicator of whether home video distribution is a smart investment for you. If you have just a few TVs, each with their own Blu-Ray player or gaming system already set up, then a distribution system may not be as valuable as another automation technology. However, for homes with TVs in the bedrooms, dedicated home theater, living room, patio, etc., a video distribution system can vastly simplify the process of using and managing all of your different TVs.

Do you waste time moving A/V equipment from room to room?

If you want to play your Xbox in your bedroom but it’s currently in the living room, what do you do? Without a home video distribution system, you may resort to unplugging the equipment and lugging it to a different room, only to have to repeat the process the next time you want to use that system elsewhere. It’s time-consuming and annoying, and it makes it difficult to hide your equipment away where it’s not cluttering up your home’s décor. This issue is solved completely by a home video distribution system because you can centralize all of your equipment in one location, such as a utility closet, then easily switch sources using a remote, smartphone or tablet to access the device you want in whatever room you’re in.

Do you have redundant gaming systems, streaming services, etc.?

When faced with moving those devices from one room to the next, many people will decide to skip the inconvenience by just buying an extra device for each room. While that makes it easier to access your media content, purchasing redundant equipment isn’t the best option for two primary reasons.

For audiophiles in the Colleyville, Texas area, there’s one room that you definitely need in your home: a listening room. As the name suggests, a listening room is a space dedicated to the enjoyment of high-end audio. In this blog, we cover the main things to keep in mind when building a listening room so that you end up with a truly immersive music experience.

SEE MORE: 3 Ways to Fill Your Home With Music

Create the Right Environment

While it’s true that you can really use any space for a listening room, such as your living room or office, the best listening rooms are spaces that are dedicated for that purpose. That way, you can design the environment to be perfect for high-end audio, as opposed to accommodating multiple functions in the space. Your listening room should be a completely separate space that is able to be closed off from the rest of the house, removing any distractions that could get in the way of your music enjoyment.

Choose the Best Equipment

For a dedicated listening room, not just any speakers or audio equipment will do. In this blog on buying high-end audio speakers, we cover the characteristics you should look for when inspecting different speakers, but another topic worth discussing is brand. You simply cannot get the same level of pure, clear sound from cheap speakers, so do yourself a favor and choose a quality brand from the start. Here are our favorite audio brands—any of these companies will provide reliable, robust A/V equipment perfect for your listening room.

• Triad: Handcrafted in the USA, Triad’s loudspeakers are custom-built to fit your needs, including custom paint and veneer. Triad uses top-notch components and proprietary engineering to ensure each speaker offers premium sound.
• Denon: From amplifiers to analog turntables, Denon’s selection of high fidelity audio equipment leaves nothing to be desired. Their speakers are engineered to make it easy to enjoy pure sound.
• Integra: Integra has been around since 1969, and in that time, their A/V equipment has only gotten better. Whether you’re looking for Dolby Atmos surround sound or the perfect amplifier for your system, Integra has you covered.

Optimize the Acoustics

The most expensive speakers in the world won’t yield the type of sound you want for a listening room if the room’s acoustics are bad. Your audio/video integrator should design and implement your listening room with acoustics in mind from the very beginning. For new construction, your integrator should get involved during the initial planning of the building so that your room ends up with the appropriate ceiling height, room shape, and size for optimal acoustics. Other factors that can significantly impact acoustics include speaker positioning and placement as well as the objects and materials in the room, such as glass cabinets or bulky furniture.

If you’re considering designed a home theater system for your Southlake, Texas home, we have a question for you: how do you plan on making it unique? You don’t have to settle for a cookie-cutter home theater design. Instead, you can make your space as personalized and fitted to your needs as you’d like. Of course, to achieve that custom theater look, there are a few design tips you should keep in mind, and you can read about them below.

SEE MORE: How Can You Upgrade Your Home Theater System?

Choose a Theme

If you have a hobby, movie, or location that’s important to you, why not use that as a theme for your home theater system’s décor? Choosing a theme, whether it’s your favorite sports team or a binge-worthy television show, makes it much easier to create a cohesive design for your theater.  

Use Every Space

Yes, it’s easy to plan out the screen and the seating, but what about the ceiling? A popular design choice for home theater systems is to recreate the night sky above you. Twinkling lights provide ambiance to the space without causing too much extra light on your movie screen. Tie in the carpet pattern and lighting sconces into your chosen décor theme, and you’ll have a truly immersive theater experience.

Hide Your Speakers

A blatantly obvious speaker can break through the immersive décor scheme in your home theater, so avoid the clutter of devices entirely by hiding them behind the screen. In order to do this properly, you need the right type of screen—an acoustically transparent fabric that allows the speakers to transfer high-end audio without any loss of quality. 

While Southlake is one of the safest communities in Texas, the gorgeous homes in the area are the perfect mark for thieves hoping to score big. That’s why it’s essential that your home be adequately protected. So how do you know if your home security is up to par? Answer the questions below to find out for yourself. 

SEE ALSO: How to Choose the Right Home Surveillance System

Do you know whether all of the doors are locked?

We’re not talking about walking throughout your home every day, checking the doors one by one. A smart home security system can tell you at a glance which doors are locked and unlocked. Even better, you can lock all of the access points to your home with the push of a single button.

Can you see who is at the gate or front door?

Having surveillance cameras around your property is a great first step toward home security, but you also need to make sure they’re placed appropriately. You should definitely have the ability to see in real time who is ringing the doorbell or driving through the front gate.

Are you notified immediately about safety threats?

Smartphone integration is more than just a convenient feature for your home security system—it allows you to act quickly in the face of a threat. Receive alerts about attempted burglaries, electrical fires, water leaks, and more so that you can mitigate any damage immediately.