When your client is looking to have their new home transformed into a state-of-the-art smart home masterpiece, and the location is deep within stunning yet foreboding Park City, Utah, with its long and often punishing winter season, the challenges are many.
Add to this the fact the home had to be built to LEED green building specifications, which added a few additional obstacles with regard to low-voltage wiring, particularly any wiring that penetrated the exteriors of the home.
All this was part of the daunting task that faced Matt (president) and Brad (creative director) Montgomery, of TYM Smart Homes & Home Theaters.
Just like the home itself, the technology design the Montgomery brothers needed to meet was all about exacting specifications without any compromises – to either the LEED requirements or to system performance.
“The clean lines and detail-oriented design of the interior meant that everything had to be perfect. Positions of every speaker were checked and then rechecked with laser guides to ensure everything was harmonious with the architecture,” began Brad Montgomery, recalling the very exacting specs this project presented. “The media room’s zero-edge projection screen is mounted to a thin aluminum sheet and seemingly floats in front of the fireplace stonework. Its positioning perfect, it looks like it was made for the home.”
The building requirements and attention to detail caused this project to take nearly two years to complete. Several contractors came and went in the early stages as the high standards of the work, both physically and aesthetically, were simply too much to handle.
After consultations with TYM’s designers, the clients chose Control4 to be their automation system for the home. There is not a wire, cable box, or amplifier in sight. Everything was centralized into a rack is that is tucked out of sight and everything is integrated into a single, easy-to-use mobile app. Control4 universal remotes offer control for the TVs and the media room. Even the heat tape used to help reduce dangerous snow buildup on the roof is integrated.
TruAudio Ghost in-ceiling speakers were chosen for the home audio — both indoors and out for their high quality. Paradigm CI Elite speakers and an in-wall subwoofer were used for the media room, with their micro-perforated grills that were painted to match the ceiling for a completely seamless appearance.
It is clear the second you enter this magnificent home, the interiors are modern, minimalistic and exacting. There was no room for intrusion as the technology needed to effortlessly blend in.
Working closely with other contractors was critical as TYM coordinated the electrical work to make sure lights were centered with the projection screen rather than the room itself and the outlet for the TV in the gym was perfectly hidden behind the mount. These are merely two examples of the overall mindset TYM needed to bring to this project from Day One.
The homeowner was also the project’s interior designer, Melanie Batista, and her exacting standards and eye for detail are apparent in every inch of this amazing and alluring home.
“The goal here was to make sure the technology essentially went unnoticed,” Montgomery said. “Of course it’s there, but eyes are drawn to the home’s beautiful architecture—not the gear.”
In the end, despite myriad challenges, technical, geographical and weather-related, it was mission accomplished for TYM, as the Montgomerys ultimately transformed this space into the mountain range sanctuary the homeowners were dreaming of.
