Category: Design

SMARTER LIVING FOR THE ENTIRE HOME

Relax and entertain in a home that is more comfortable and inviting. Be eco-conscious with smart lighting, indoors and out. And be reassured—while at home or away—that things are safe and sound. With one touch, dim the lights, play music, turn up the heat, lock the doors and arm the security system. Or, have your house respond to your schedule and needs without touching anything at all.

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Some of our designer and architect friends

Schrader Design is a Charlotte based architecture firm that was established in 1999. Our office is located in the original 1920’s Packard Automobile showroom, a preserved historical structure that was sensitively transformed into a creative work environment for us to dream, collaborate, and craft the architecture of our clients. Check them out here.

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Top home automation tools in 2017

There are several things that have been released lately to help improve home automation and lifestyles.

Home automation is exactly what it sounds like: automating the ability to control items around the house—from window shades to pet feeders—with a simple push of a button (or a voice command). Some activities, like setting up a lamp to turn on and off at your whim, are simple and relatively inexpensive. Others, like advanced surveillance cameras, may require a more serious investment of time and money.

There are many smart home product categories, so you can control everything from lights and temperature to locks and security in your home. Here’s a rundown of the best products we’ve tested for every room of the house.

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Ikea is getting into home automation with a new smart hub

Ikea is finally getting into the home automation game with its own system for smart lighting. The new range of products is called Trådfri — which means “wireless” in Swedish — and is built around the ZigBee Light Link standard for connected lights (the same as Philips Hue). The system seems to have rolled out to select European countries last fall, but will be seeing a larger release at the end of March.

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Controlling your smart home from beyond the front door

Security companies, of course, for years, have provided remote monitoring of our homes to those willing to pay for it. Many companies like ADT, FrontPoint or AT&T Digital Life are expanding into at leastoffering some home automation gadgetry.
With the advent of affordable home automation, people are looking for more than just “security.” We want to be able to monitor and adjust their smart homes, themselves, even when remote. Want to look in to see how the puppy is doing, from work? Turn on the lights before you get home… You get the idea. That means that WE need the ability to do our own monitoring, even if we are paying a company for security monitoring. And we want to be able to make sure we locked the door when we left, or closed the garage. Or turned down the thermostat.

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Make your living room more enjoyable

Proper lighting is essential for any home. It is important to maintain balance between personality and the functionality of the room when it comes to lighting the living room. One can transform the entire atmosphere of their living room within the proper use of lighting. One should remember that lighting not only has aesthetic and mood enhancing values, but play an important functional role in illuminating important task areas in the living room.

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