The Raleigh/Wake County Home Builders Association Parade of Homes is one of the largest exhibits of its kind in the country. When Bost Custom Homes of Raleigh, N.C., wanted to partner with a professional systems integrator for its 2007 Parade entry in Wake Forest’s Hasentree community, Rex Bost knew exactly who to turn to: Audio Advice.

The idea for the installation in Living Waters, an 8,745-square-foot, $3.2 million home, was to go beyond the conventional and provide systems designs to complement the feel of the home. Music and video systems needed to blend seamlessly into the elegant décor of the home’s American Craftsman style. Among the creations were a theater room with a 135-inch, 2:35 aspect ratio screen and hidden projector to create a retro-style movie house effect, and customized, retractable art to conceal the flat-screen television in the family room.

The project presented unusual circumstances, says Keegan, Audio Advice consultant for the Bost installation. For example, the large space for the home theater was divided approximately three-quarters of the way across the room by arched supports, creating a small hallway beside the open theater space. To help improve the sound conditions created by the room’s separation, a two-tiered seating arrangement was designed with subwoofers located underneath an elevated rear seat riser and draped banners were used as ceiling treatments. B&W in-wall speakers were hidden to enhance the theater feel of the room, with the concealed Runco projector displaying movies through cinema glass onto the expansive 135-inch Stewart Filmscreen. “This theater room gives the homeowner the chance to escape the everyday routine with movies in an old-fashioned theater environment,” says Keegan.

All music and video components were hidden throughout the home. In the family room, a VisionArt frame with a retractable custom painting hides the Sharp 46-inch LCD television located over the hearth when the set is not in use. The flat-screen televisions located throughout the home (in the kitchen, master bedroom and master bath, sitting room, patio and grotto) offer the ability to enjoy media in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings while respecting the integrity of the designer’s vision. The Niles IntelliControl music system is easily operated with custom programmed, wall-mounted Niles touch-screen keypads throughout the home. Wireless Niles iRemotes provide control in locations without a keypad. The Niles SmartDock iPod docking station enables the homeowner to integrate his or her own iPod into the system and personalize the music selections for the home.

“We took the lead in suggesting systems and components we thought would best integrate with the design of the home,” Keegan says. But the theater was the biggest hit of them all during the Parade of Homes. “Some visitors were so blown away by the sound and the video during the demo they returned to the room to experience it a second and third time.”

 

 

Photos by Melody Walker

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