Set in acres of landscaped grounds, The Darlands has its own indoor swimming pool, theatre room, library and no fewer than ten bedrooms. This quirky property has been renovated to the very highest standard and boasts an enviable technological specification. Uniquely, the homeowners’ priority was not for audio-visual provision: preferring that the children take full advantage of the surrounding grounds, indoor pool and tennis courts; instead they wanted technology that delivered real benefits by offering the ultimate lifestyle of comfort, convenience and security. In answering the brief, Smartcomm have delivered an all-encompassing, fully integrated and Crestron-controlled automation system, which is capable of addressing all the needs of the property’s occupants. But, don’t just take our word for it; Smartcomm received national recognition from industry trade association CEDIA (the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) for their work on The Darlands when the project won the Best Integrated Home under £100,000 category at the 2008 CEDIA Awards!
With over six acres of landscape surrounding the family home, a dependable security system was a must. A Siedle video and audio entry system was integrated with a Crestron control system and a Panasonic phone system to allow the owners to see and hear visitors at the front gates before allowing them access. Furthermore, a motorised PTZ (Pivot, Tilt, Zoom) Day-Night colour camera was installed just inside the gates to cover the main entrance and driveway. A further 2 mini dome cameras with IR were installed at the front of the property covering the carriage driveway and the front door.
At the rear of the property, a total of 7 high resolution Sony chipped cameras with IR were installed covering the boundary of the property, the gardens and the tennis courts. An additional camera has been installed inside the stunning pool room which also boasts audio through Polk wall mounted speakers, lighting and CCTV control all through a state-of-the-art Crestron TPS2000L flush, wall mounted colour touchpanel. The pool room also has a built in Jacuzzi and a Suana/Steam room.
The rear gardens and tennis courts video signals are sent using a wireless CCTV transmission system. This system allows video signals to be transmitted up to 1km away using class-leading 54Mbps for high resolution images. The security system also encompasses a Colossus real time CCTV DVR with 1TB of storage.
Crestron control is featured throughout the house either through wall mounted or wireless touchpanels. The contemporary kitchen not only looks stylish but is fully functional and is further enhanced with lighting, audio, CCTV, gate entry and electronic door lock control through a TPS2000L touchpanel. Bespoke colour changing floor lights set into dark wooden floorboards run through the kitchen, the dining room and the drawing room leading up to a striking lightbox set into the back wall of the music room. The floor lights change colour in sync with the lightbox creating a playful atmosphere perfect for parties and entertaining guests.
Multi-room audio is offered using B&W CCM-65 in-ceiling speakers through the hallway, down the stairs, kitchen, dining room, drawing room, music room, library, swimming pool, rear terrace, master bedroom, master en-suite and dressing rooms 1 and 2. All of these rooms are granted control through TPS2000L touchpanels.
The chocolate leather walled cinema room houses a 60” Pioneer HD Plasma, 5 Speakercraft AIM8 motorised in-ceiling pivoting speakers and 2 Sonance A800 in-ceiling active sub-woofers with a separate amplifier. An additional Denon AVR 4306 AV amplifier is also incorporated. A Sky HD receiver allows for day to day TV viewing. All this, and the motorised blinds, are controlled via a Crestron TPCM8X touchpanel. Incredibly thin and compact, the TPMC-8X is brilliantly designed to provide a powerful mobile control solution that's easy to hold and intuitive to use, allowing for a simple and pleasurable home movie theatre experience.
A Kaleidescape music and DVD server is used to store the family’s movies and music collection thus simplifying management and storage and allowing the Kaleidescape System to deliver movies and music to a chosen room at any time. A total of three movie players were installed for the cinema room, master bedroom and guest bedroom. A 4 zone music player was installed for the multi-room audio system.
The master bedroom features a 50” Pioneer HD Plasma TV, a Denon AVR 3806 AV amplifier, A B&W 5.1 speaker package , a Crestron RMC room control box and motorised blinds and curtains with control access via a MT1000-C mini-touch handheld wireless touchpanel. The MT-1000C MiniTouch is a compact wireless touchpanel combining an eye-catching colour touchscreen with a streamlined array of backlit hard buttons in one sleek, stylish handheld package. The guest bedrooms feature 40” HD LCD televisions and motorised blinds.
A Middle Atlantic Rack houses the brains of the entire system, including Crestron’s 2-Series Control System which enables every audio, video, and environmental element of the property to be integrated and accessible. Unmatched for power, performance and scalability, the AV2 boasts six built-in COM ports, eight IR/Serial ports, eight I/O Versiports, eight isolated relays. A C2ENET1 Ethernet Expansion Card provides the essential interface for control of the property’s numerous devices including video projectors, plasma displays, switchers, DVD players, screens and much more.
With such a wealth of Smartcomm installed technology in situ, this is one property that may have been built in the thirties but offers a lifestyle which is certainly bang up to date!