Embrace a Shading Solution That Fits Seamlessly with Your Lifestyle

There are few technology additions you can make to your Baton Rouge, LA home that will have a bigger immediate impact than motorized shades. In previous blogs, we've showcased how motorized shades help you conserve energy, streamline your daily routines, and protect your family's privacy. Despite their benefits, it's not always easy to figure out how to choose the right ones your space.

Unfortunately, many motorized shades on the market offer limited features and models. Some have the opposite problem—they advertise so many features that it’s hard to know which you need. To make things easier, we've highlighted some characteristics to look for when installing motorized shades. If you still have questions once you're done reading, one of our shading experts can advise you on the ideal solution for your space.

SEE MORE: 3 Reasons Motorized Shades Are Worth Your Investment

Enjoy Control Just the Way You Want it

The primary benefit of motorized shades is not having to rely on wands or cords to manage them. Though some low-end models just offer remote control, industry experts like Lutron provide a wide range of control options. It’s your choice to pull shades up and down using mobile apps, dedicated touchpads, elegant keypads or even voice commands. Or automate changes entirely using scheduled scenes that open shades at a given time each morning and close them when it’s time for bed. Use photo sensors that close blinds when a window is hit by direct sunlight to eliminate glare and heat gain.

Choose the Perfect Match for Your Décor

Relish in the benefits of motorized shades without sacrificing your décor with Lutron’s wide range of models and fabrics. Entry-level solutions usually only offer roller shades in a handful of colors. Revamp your lifestyle and décor with honeycomb shades, drapes, blinds, and more. All models come with custom color-matching options to ensure they fit seamlessly with the rest of your interior design.

Incorporate Wireless Solutions When Needed       

Not as flashy but just as important is figuring out if you want to go with wired or wireless shading. Even though wireless options are cheaper and easier to install, wired installations will always be more reliable. Not only are they easier to maintain—with no battery replacements needed—but they typically also include a wider range of model and control options.

However, there may be times when wireless options are the best option—especially if you’re adding shades to an existing space. Cutting down walls to integrate wiring is costly and invasive. Some windows may also be hard to reach with wires so a wireless option may be the only feasible solution. Add Lutron’s wireless Sivoia models which include drapes, shades and blinds.

Security Solutions to Help School Days Stay Safe

Summertime has come and gone, and the kids are back to school. Whether your children are learning their ABCs or how to drive this year, ensuring their safety after school isn’t always easy. Even if you have a babysitter or trust your teens with a key, you may find yourself distracted at work wondering how the kids are doing.

But with a fully integrated home security system from Control4, you can grant yourself the gift of peace of mind while the school bell rings in the afternoon. As a Baton Rouge, LA-based smart technology firm, we have years of experience building custom security systems for a range of homes and families. Continue reading to learn how a typical school day can benefit from smart home technology.     SEE ALSO: 5 Security Tips to Better Protect Your Home from Theft

Leaving the House

Cereal bowls are empty, bags are packed, and your family is out the door for school and work. Prepare your house’s security in just a few taps on your tablet or smartphone with the Control4 app. Lock all doors, set alarms, and turn on security cameras if they’re not activated already. You can even arrange for the thermostat and lights to turn on at specific times, so later tonight, your kids won’t have to fiddle with the temperature, and your walkway will be lit for your return. As the kids journey to school, and you head off to work, you can rest assured that your home is safe.

Kids Return from School

As your kids walk home from the bus stop or are driven back by a babysitter, you can avoid mishaps of lost or forgotten keys with smart locks. Your children can use an easy-to-remember pin code (perhaps a birthday or the year you adopted a dog) to unlock the door. You can also assign your nanny their own personalized code too. Codes can easily be changed or suspended from your device when necessary, and automatic locks will keep your entrances safe from forgetful children. Smart locks are a much sounder solution than spare keys under a matt or in a flowerpot, which intruders can easily take advantage of.

After your children open the door and walk inside, you’ll receive an alert to your phone of detected activity. The daily message will be a comforting reminder that the kids returned home safe, and you can check your entrance’s surveillance cameras to ensure it is them. If you don’t receive a notification that the kids returned home, you can call them or their nanny to see if everything is alright.

Check-in Remotely

Another perk of a home security system is the ability to check in on your home from any location. If the kids are in and out of the house in the afternoon, you can verify the status of your home’s locks right from your smartphone. Lock the garage remotely and turn off any lights that may have been left on. If the kids call saying, “Someone is at the door,” you can inspect live camera footage to see who it is. And through a video doorbell system, you may even communicate to the visitor. If it’s just a neighbor or friend on your font steps, let the kids know. But if it’s someone suspicious or dangerous, you’ll be able to notify authorities immediately.

Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Lighting With Diverse Control Options

During our meetings with clients, we talk to them about how to use mobile apps, sensors, and dimmers to optimize their lighting. Usually, conversations focus on the indoors—where people spend up to 90 percent of their time. But it's important to know smart lighting control is vital for outdoor spaces as well. Even when you're not using them, the right lighting still leaves a significant mark.

With lighting conditions subject to change at any time and security paramount, you need a proactive and intuitive way to manage all your fixtures. How can you use some of those same tools you use indoors to optimize your outdoor spaces? Each of the sections below highlights an essential benefit of outdoor lighting and the ideal means to bring it into your Mandeville, LA home.

SEE MORE: 3 Smart Lighting Control Benefits that Will Surprise You

Stay Ahead of the Darkness

Sunlight does a great job of illuminating your outdoor spaces throughout the day, but do you have an efficient way to transition into nighttime without being left in the dark? A smart lighting control system lets you use timers linked to astronomical clocks. These automatically turn external fixtures on when the sun sets and turn them off again when the sun rises. You stay safe and comfortable without wasting energy.

Create an Inviting Atmosphere

Through dedicated scenes and motion sensors, design the ideal lighting to greet guests when they approach your home. Have a 'Welcome" scene that activates whenever someone pulls into your driveway. On command, all the fixtures lining your driveway turn on as do all path lights leading up to your front door. The main goal is safety here, but for new guests, it's also an ideal way to guide them to the entry you want them to use when they arrive.

Boost Your Outdoor Design

Showcase your favorite landscape decorations or your home's best architectural features with specialized fixtures from Coastal Source. A smart lighting control system makes it easy to use an app or on-wall keypad to alternate what you spotlight on a given day. Let us craft custom lighting scenes that each bring attention to fountains, gardens, or statues on your property.

Bolster Your Security

There are a lot of ways lighting also enhances your safety if used properly. Use path lighting linked to motion sensors to reduce tripping hazards. You should also integrate lighting with your security system. One thing intruders hate is being noticed. The second they set off motion sensors on your perimeters, drown them in bright lights to let them know you see them. These lights will also help you get better footage from your security cameras.

Enhance Your Comfort

Do you want to sit back and have a drink, host a pool party for the kids, or grill for friends on the patio? Efficiently transition your lighting for any situation through the use of smart scenes you pull up from a mobile app or keypad. Add in the rest of your smart home technology for optimal results! Take a "Grilling" scene, for example.  It switches on the patio’s overhead lighting and the light over the grill, turns on the fan to keep smoke from accumulating, and starts playing your favorite cooking playlist.

 
Are you ready to embrace the outdoors with a custom smart lighting control solution? Not only will you have more comfortable living spaces, but you’ll also boast the most beautiful house on the block. Our experts can help if you call us at 225.906.2589, fill out our contact form or chat with us below.

Lighting Plays a Vital Role in Employee Morale and Efficiency

Designing a successful office space is all about finding every way possible to improve your employees’ efficiency, morale and productivity. Every day there's an innovation promising to revolutionize office design, whether it's an open workspace, standing desks, or fitness centers. It's a focus mostly on real estate rather than the environment that results in missing the obvious. As companies try to think outside the box, they often ignore one vital component: lighting.

During your office design, it's essential to consider what kind of lighting you're providing for your staff. Using inadequate lighting can result in fatigue, discomfort, and overall discontent. A lighting control solution in your Baton Rouge, LA space needs to be able to meet all your employee's needs without resulting in high energy bills.

Solutions that let you efficiently manage artificial and natural light will result in happier, more efficient employees and improved productivity for your business.

SEE MORE: 3 Ways Conference Room AV Makes Meetings More Productive

Enhancing Your Artificial Lighting

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, an improved lighting control system results in less absenteeism, better product quality and less turnover within your company. Having the ability to manage lights through dedicated touchpads, sensors and timers will significantly affect your employee productivity while cutting down on energy bills.

Follow These Steps to Enjoy High-Performance Audio Outdoors

Though the summer weather in Lafayette, LA is sweltering in August, the cool breeze of autumn is just a few weeks away. How are you preparing to spend more time outdoors once the temperatures start cooling down?

Outdoor activities don't have to involve day-long hikes or fishing trips—though we'd certainly recommend both. Usually, on a day-to-day basis, all it takes is the right drink and playlist as you sit by the pool or prepare some steaks on the grill. Let us help you embrace some added fresh air this fall with a comprehensive outdoor sound system.

Use your outdoor audio video to enjoy your favorite music in your pool, veranda, and patio. We outline five steps to get instant access to your go-to recordings without sacrificing quality or getting noise complaints from the neighbors.

SEE MORE: 3 of the Best Ways You Can Enjoy Your Outdoor Entertainment System

1. Set a Strong Foundation

Designing a successful outdoor sound installation will depend mainly on having the right foundation. Take your whole home audio outside with underground wiring that links your sources to all your outdoor speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers (if applicable). Do you like to stream music? Add wireless access points to ensure you have a strong network connection.

2. Choose the Right Equipment

The next step is adding the ideal equipment for the job. Never take indoor speakers or subwoofers outside as they will be promptly damaged and offer poor quality sound. Outdoor speakers from Coastal Source are designed to brave the elements and deliver powerful audio throughout large spaces. These speakers use airtight designs, rustproof materials, and directional amplification to offer optimal quality. Choose from landscape, bollard and rock models to find a speaker that best fits your landscaping or patio design.

3. Optimize Your Speaker Layout

Adding high-quality speakers is only the first step. The wrong layout will still result in uneven sound and angry neighbors. A professional outdoor audio video installation takes speaker layout into account to offer level sound that stays contained within your property. Line your space with speakers every few feet facing inwards, so sound doesn’t seep out. Doing this also has the added perk of bolstering the audio as it bounces off your home’s exterior.

4. Connect Your Favorite Sources

Your outdoor sound installation will be useless if you can’t listen to what you want! Linking it to the rest of your whole home audio system is vital. Each of your favorite music sources—digital libraries, streaming services, and more—is available for you to use without having to take any vulnerable equipment outside.

5. Control it the Way You Want

Integrating with your whole home audio has another benefit. All your music will be at your fingertips from the same user interface that you use to listen in the kitchen, bedroom, or media room. Now you can pull up the tracks you want, choose where you want it to play and adjust the volume from the one device. And you can even select which control method you want! In some cases, a mobile app is ideal while in others, you may prefer a waterproof remote.

 Start your journey to immersive outdoor audio today to be prepared when the cooler fall weather arrives. The first step to a custom-crafted outdoor audio video solution is setting up a one-on-one consultation with our team by calling 225.906.2589, filling out our contact form or chatting with us below.