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Electronic House crowns iOS-equipped dwelling 2011 Home of the Year
Electronic House just announced its pick for 2011 Home of the Year, and from the look of things, this iOS-enabled abode has the stuff to put your robotic butler out of work. The mammoth craftsman's interiors, designed by OCD poster boy Jeff Lewis, were automated by HD Media Systems using the Savant app. Everything from lighting to shower temperature are controlled using wall-mounted iPads or a series of unencumbered iOS devices. A pre-programmed "party button" immediately adjusts lighting and temperature, and bumps music to the 15 different Sonance in-ceiling speaker zones while displaying a slideshow on monitors dispersed throughout the house. Among the extravagant extras at work here are a switch in the master closet for flipping on the iron in the laundry room, a chandelier that flickers when it's time to switch out the toilet paper, and a virtual butler that warns of impending visitors. Looks to us like Rosie the Robot's days are numbered. Check out the source link for more automated overkill from this year's runners up.
Electronic House sifts through, selects 25 greatest DIY home theaters
Electronic House recently published their 2010 Home of the Year award winners, but one thing those medal swingers were lacking was a tried-and-true DIY touch. Sure, there's no doubt that cold, hard cheddar can buy a fairly swank home cinema, but it's another chore entirely to piece one together with your own two hands, using your own vacation time and fending off screams from spouses, children and fellow constituents. Now, the aforementioned site has crawled through AVS Forum in search of the top 25 DIY home theaters, and after what can only be described as a Herculean search, the proverbial cream has risen. From a Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired lair to one of the tightest attic-squeezed setups we've ever seen, it's (just about) all there in the source link. Have a gander to get your own creative juices flowing, and feel free to drop images of your own layout in comments below if you somehow got slighted here.
Electronic House crowns 2010 Home of the Year award winners
It's that time of the year again, when the folks from Electronic House recognize the most impressive and downright jaw-dropping homes and home theaters they've seen since the last awards were handed out. While the categories cover everything from more modest home theaters to the best kitchens and outdoor spaces, the standout has to be the award for best home theater over $250,000, which this year went to the theater pictured above put together by First Impressions Theme Theaters. While the exact price doesn't appear to have been disclosed, the home theater was apparently four and half months in the making, and centers around a 174-inch screen (which can be adjusted for scope ratio) and a TITAN 1080p-250 Pro Series projector that itself weighs in at 200 pounds. That, of course, is just the beginning -- the room also includes a Crestron automation system that automatically adjusts the lighting and changes the sky on the ceiling when folks enter, sound-proofing that lets you "hear your heartbeat," a completely concealed Genelec surround sound system, a custom dog bed, and Italian leather CineLounger seats complete with LED-lit glowing cup holders, to name just a few standout features. Hit up the source link below for the complete details, and the rest of the award winners.
Electronic House crowns Home of the Year winners
While we've seen a variety of domiciles packed to the hilt with consumer electronic-related goodness, the big boys and girls most certainly come out of the woodwork (or the downstairs home theater) when Electronic House begins accepting applications for its Home of the Year. The award goes to the home that most perfectly displays "a mix of electronics and design," and while we're fairly sure the 300 or so entries they received could all be worthy of gracing the pedestal, only three were picked to take top honors. Clearly, money was of little or no concern in the construction of these fine dwellings, but rest assured, the thousands upon thousands that went into objects of desire such as Runco plasmas / projectors, Crestron home automation systems, Lexicon amplifiers, Denon receivers, and the host of other LCD HDTVs, lighting systems, and in-ceiling speakers weren't used carelessly. Each of the top three homes sports a distinct angle and motif not directly shared by the other victors, and while we personally wouldn't mind visiting any of the three, be sure to hit the read link for the breakdown of how each crib won its medal, and click on through for a few more shots.
