Smart Home Technology for Peace of Mind
Good interior design demands an understanding of automation across various disciplines. Without this knowledge, designing, building, renovating, or implementing technology into your home can be problematic. A professional interior designer needs to be able to work together with their chosen automation company to deliver a seamless result. Across the board, suppliers now provide ranges of slick, minimalistic systems with synergy and aesthetic appeal to even the most sophisticated, luxury interior-designed rooms. With budget comes the ability to bypass bulky, old-era technologies and to implement streamlined, state-of-the-art hardware into your living environment.
Smart Lighting Solutions
Lighting systems are so sophisticated that they allow one to remotely control every single room and environment through your tablet or mobile phone whether you are resident or away. Controlling your exterior security lighting installation is now at your fingertips and when entertaining you can at a click change the mood, intensity, and colour variations of your interior lighting. The possibilities are endless including the control of your home cinema lighting strategy for that big cinema feel experience. At Interiors by Wanda Michelle, we have installed many smart home solutions and built the most sophisticated home cinema environments for our clients. However, one needs to be very discerning in choosing your supplier as we have experienced enormous cost variations with the same technical detailing and specifications. We will conduct a detailed procurement audit to ensure you have maximised the best technology solutions within your budget.
Remote security at your fingertips
Most of our clientele live in South or Southern Africa where home security is a daily challenge that requires investment and discipline. Nobody wants to feel like they are living in a fortress and so we design exterior and interior smart technology security systems to address your lifestyle without overcomplicating the installation. At Interiors by Wanda Michelle, we try to maintain a balance between high-end technology opportunities and what for the average homeowner is a practical, manageable security solution. By way of example, some smart home tech suppliers want a single console to drive your HVAC, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning needs as well as your security, audio, lighting, and access controls off the one docking station. We prefer to separate the key components of our smart home strategy so as not to overwhelm the user be they tech-savvy adults or kids trying to access the cartoon network in a living room.
Smart home climate control
The list of supplier options is endless so managing your way through the tech and brand options is never-ending. At Interiors by Wanda Michelle, we will always recommend Daikin https://www.daikin.co.za/en_us/about.html and Samsung units https://www.samsung.com for many reasons. HVAC solutions are a long-term investment and by cutting corners and buying on price alone, you lay yourself open to short-term malfunctions and potentially expensive repair work. With HVAC the most important technical feature we look for is the quality of the guarantee, they will all provide climate control but your brand of choice as well as your installation team need to be first class to avoid serious pitfalls. As part of your interior design procurement package, we will guide you through the variables of HVAC and secure a professional installation of the correct hardware and software as well as the quality of installation.
Energy-saving technologies are of course a priority and we can offer a variety of solar, battery, and if needs be, generator applications to reduce consumption and improve sustainability. In our experience specifying the correct hardware following a lifestyle audit and implementing a phased approach to your off-grid needs is the most practical and cost-effective approach.
Home entertainment in a smart home
Today, everyone has a handle on their preferred streaming services, apps, decoders, and handsets of choice, but one must look at home entertainment as a holistic part of the bigger smart home installation. The most common mistake is over-complication of the system to the degree that the homeowner suffers from tech burn-out and all the supposedly lifestyle benefits of the audio-visual system are eroded by high-end user interfaces. Whatever the budget, balancing out functionality with user-friendliness is our mandate. Again, there are many suppliers in this field and so for peace of mind, we will gather three quotations from reputable, reliable suppliers we trust so you can make an informed decision.
Automate your daily routines for comfortable living.
With today’s smart technologies, we can automate your external shutter positions, curtain openings and closings, and blinds and manage both lighting and energy consumption through light-sensitive technologies. We prefer to keep the window treatment tech separate from the smart home modules for ease of use. We would be happy to share our thoughts and experiences in this field as well as forward the best, most valued suppliers we have worked with over time. That said, we are open to entering the procurement process with any of your preferred contractors.
Sustainability
With our erratic, expensive, and limited power options in South Africa, we aim to provide a balance between upfront investment and long-term return on investment, especially related to the speed at which technology solutions are moving both in performance and cost. Together we can embrace a greener future and ensure your new, luxury home has the smart features within your budget to make home living as comfortable and energy efficient as possible.