Electronic House Magazine features Illuminations Lighting Design home theater in December 2007 issue. The article titled "Playroom Transformed into Home Theater" describes how a simple kid's playroom was converted into a high tech home media room. This home theater system installed by Illuminations Lighting combines the highest professional grade equipment with a custom configuration built according to the specific dynamics of an individual home. While less expensive retail equipment offers a tempting do-it-yourself savings, a home theater from Illuminations Lighting Design represents one domain that requires maximum investment for full enjoyment and satisfaction.
Playroom Transformed into Home Theater
From stuffed animals to subwoofers, with children grown, this family updates a forgotten playroom into a well-used home theater.
This bonus room functioned admirably for many years as a child’s playroom. Stuffed with games, toys and a 24-inch analog TV, it had everything a kid could want. But that was then. Now that the owners’ kids are 10 and 15, the family craves a space that’s more grown up. Illuminations Lighting Design of Houston, TX, had just the thing. The home theater design and home automation installers would convert this outdated 20' x 24' extra room into an age-appropriate home theater and gaming mecca. The bookcase was reconfigured slightly to make room for an 84-inch-wide Stewart Filmscreen screen, three Vienna Acoustics Grand Series Haydn bookshelf speakers (the two rear surround speakers were placed on stands near the back of the room), and two REL R-Series sub woofers. Also tucked inside were a high-def cable box, Marantz 5.1 surround-sound receiver and DVD player, Sony VCR, APC H-Series power conditioner with surge suppression and battery backup, and PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Phantom LED light strips were installed as showcase lighting and to provide a home theater lighting source when watching movies or relaxing in the room.
A specially programmed Universal Remote Control MX350 handheld controller lets the family switch between movies and games with the touch of one button. No matter what digital media the family chooses to watch, the ceiling-mounted Runco CL-420 video projector is up for the challenge. During daytime viewing, the machine receives a helping hand from motorized Lutron blackout shades that lower over the windows on command from the MX350.
For clientele who have an ardent interest in stereo or high fidelity sound reproduction the decision to invest wisely in a media system design are never disappointed when they turn to ILD to make their dreams for a home theater system become a tangible, personalized reality tailor-made for their home and individual lifestyle.
Need help planning a home theater?
Contact us to learn more about our home automation services or by calling 800-863-1184. See what your home can do that no other home—or even public cinema—can even come close to doing when you hire a professional audio/video consultant.
Labels: Home Theater Design, Home Theater Experience, Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation
Why is whole house surge suppression the very best safeguard against the hazards of transient surge?
Because technology has evolved to the point that virtually every electronic device in today’s home contains a printed circuit board like the type found in computers. Professionally installed whole house surge suppression is the only reliable safeguard against catastrophic equipment failure. Whole house surge suppressors also safeguard against fluctuations of power in rural areas known as “dirty power.” These fluctuations occur due to long distances between small communities and generating stations, and they will often wreck havoc on kitchen lighting systems, satellite dishes, kitchen appliances, home audio automation, and of course, computers.
Many people remain unaware of these hazards, believing that retail power strips traditionally used to shield computers and printers are all that is required to protect sophisticated electronics. This is a dangerous myth to place faith in, because in today’s world virtually every subsystem coming from the service provider is a potential threat that requires whole house surge suppression to counter.
Can I install a whole house surge suppressor myself?
You can but, we do not recommend this. These devices are difficult for the self-trained electrician to correctly install — and almost impossible for the novice. It is better to invest in the services of a certified electrical contractor such as ILD who has the training and experience required to choose the right device and to configure it for optimal home protection. This brings home electrical generators, commercial grade service and technology to the residential environment in the safest and most affordable fashion when one considers the long term benefits that result.
Illuminations Lighting Design offers the best whole house surge suppression technology combined with over 20 years of training and experience.
Exactly what does whole house surge suppression protect?
The most important thing it protects is the electrical panel itself that controls and modulates the distribution of power into the house. Many homeowners are surprised when they learn that newer electrical service panels also contain printed circuit boards just like computers. If the voltage spike of a transient power surge reaches a panel, the panel itself can burn out and thus destroy devices and systems throughout the home.
Illuminations Lighting and Design can minimize the likelihood of catastrophic power loss with sophisticated whole house surge suppressors engineered to block transient surge from dirty power and lighting. Our typical size whole house surge suppressor has been will block fluctuations of up to 300,000A and is only 50% the size of equivalent devices.
Larger and smaller units are also available based upon the size of the panel and the total capacitance of the new home wiring systems and installed components. Most people in larger homes now have up to four televisions and one wall-sized plasma TV. We often enter such dwellings to find that the plasma TV is plugged directly into the wall—and therefore waiting to be the first device destroyed without effective whole house surge suppression to protect it. Other home automation systems like security alarms, satellite dishes, and telephones also must be protected with a low voltage surge suppressor for each component.
Whole house surge suppression is not only necessary, but mission critical for any homeowner using home automation or home theater equipment.
Home automation devices are in actuality sophisticated electrical subsystems operating within the homes overall electrical system. Calculating the precise level of whole house surge suppression needed to safeguard everything from electronic equipment to lighting control programming requires not only certified electricians, but also a team like Illuminations Lighting and Design with an entire division and successful track record in the discipline of home automation itself.
Illuminations Lighting and Design not only installs whole house surge suppressors, but we can also perform any electrical upgrades relevant to safety and industry evolution.
As a multi-specialist consulting firm blending the technical and the aesthetic, we strive to be all things to all residential clients with a level of commercial sophistication that makes us the leader in multiple disciplines throughout Houston and Greater Texas.
Contact us, visit our lighting blog or call us at 800-863-1184 to learn more about Phantom Lighting, whole house surge protectors, advanced electrical installations and home automation services.
Labels: Emergency Power Generators, Houston Electrical Contractor, Lighting and Home Automation, Whole House Surge Protection
The simple answer is all kinds.
Very soon, almost every industry in today’s commercial marketplace will become aware of the power of digital media design. Digital media design represents the next step in video evolution—and possibly an entirely new direction for media in general. Digital media design unites computer memory with high resolution and high definition video, completing the first successful step toward the blending of computer technology and television that many have predicted will unite all media into one in the near future. In addition to its sophisticated and sheik aesthetic, digital media design offers tremendous commercial potential that represents value with imagery and combines presentation with highly visible, advanced technology.
Digital media design converts electronics to image and image to impression, thus making an emotional statement without argument or pretense. It’s as if the clear facts at hand speak louder than any words of persuasion your best sales person can muster!
Illuminations Lighting and Design’s home automation department has now begun to extend its service offerings into the commercial arena due to the growing demand for digital media design as a highly effective tool of advertising and showcasing both products and services. As an authorized distributor of home theater audio and video equipment of the highest commercial grade, and as Houston’s leading design firm multi-specializing in five aesthetic and technical disciplines, ILD offers this service to eclectic consumers, service industries, and high-end vertical markets. Digital media design is not only increasing sales, but also sells more with less effort in a number of industries. Here are a few examples that illustrate the emerging trends in digital media designs.
Art Galleries
Many curators and art collectors have found that adding a projection screen to showcase impeccable images of rare works of art can be used in a number of promotional capacities. Pending grand openings of emerging artists can be silently—but prominently— showcased in an “upcoming events” presentation.
Museums
Archeology and historical specialists have discovered that bringing the past to new life through digital media design reintroduces our busy modern world to its myth poetic roots in an exciting, mesmerizing, and innovative fashion.
Hotels
High-end resorts are replacing print media with projectors and screens. This allows them to showcase in their hotel lobbies all the many amenities and special events located on their property. Guests walk into the lobby and see the entire grounds on the screen, making them want to see more in person.
Travel and Vacation Resorts
Timeshares sales have increased as well, and reputable timeshare companies have finally differentiated themselves from less well-thought-of competitors by offering slide shows to prospective buyers that clearly show them what they are being offered.
Many more industries are discovering the amazing potential of digital media design. Click here to read our full-length article on the subject and learn what ILD can do to help you advertise your value like never before…
Labels: Digital Media Design, High-End Lighting, Lighting and Home Automation, Media Design Company
Illuminations Lighting Design home theater designs offer the astute consumer a truly superior cinematic experience. Home theater designs must reflect, balance, and work in complete harmony with its immediate environment and end-user commands. Audio and video are both directly affected by architectural acoustics, interior lighting, and natural light encroaching into the home, so truly exceptional home theater designs must consist of multiple design layers where key components are balanced and networked together to provide a harmonious audiovisual unity that works in tandem with homeowner controls and automation and lighting programs. Lighting also plays a critical role in home theater design, requiring a tricky balance at all times between functional illumination for comfort and safety and dimmer, specialty light for film viewing and appropriate special effects. Automated, home theater seats are the latest innovation in home theater design, adding physical movement to motion pictures and making home theater a truly moving experience that movie houses still do not offer to this day.
Every home theater design we produce is custom-developed through a series of consultations we conduct at your residence. We use advanced CAD software to designate control locations and wiring designs for automated controls and subsystems, and we build visual models of layered lighting and acoustical affects. The resulting 3-D visual schematic of our proposed home theater design allows you to clearly visualize the outcome and to play an interactive role in the design process. Upon approval of the proposal, our team then conducts a series of highly detailed, systematic tests on room acoustics and lighting levels. We use this data to then select the very best audiovisual equipment for your particular home theater design.
Our certification and extensive experience in electrical design and home automation makes it possible to design a home theater in virtually any size room or custom floor plan, provided the environment offers exceptional acoustic potential. We partner with top architectural firms to learn the nuances of their industry, and then we apply that to your custom project. We analyze acoustical qualities of wood, stone, interior brick, and other composite materials that will function as the physical housing of the new home theater. Systematic analysis of ceiling height and corner angles enable us to precisely anticipate the optimal audio frequency that will deliver the maximum quality of sound in that particular room. This data in turn helps us determine the size, number, manufacture, and placement of forward and surround sound speakers and audio distribution systems.
As distributors of every major television and sound system manufacturer in the world, we have an available inventory that is actually larger than that of any home theater store, and we choose that equipment after we develop the superior acoustics and lighting effects so there is never a conflict between theory and form. It is so much better to hire ILD for your home theater design than to spend gas and travel time going to a home theater store. We not only build the system just for you, but we build it with manufacturer grade lights and theater that only that only authorized distributors such as ILD can legally resell.
As home theater design becomes increasingly popular and sophisticated, more people are calling ILD to give an experience beyond retail that makes staying at home more fun that going to the movies ever was. Why not become a part of that growing group of satisfied clientele?
Call 713-863-1133 today for a free consultation, and line up friends and family at home for a whole new kind of movie adventure.
Labels: Home Theater Design, Home Theater Experience, Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation
The main drawback of self-installed home theater systems is the inability of retail grade components to exactly match acoustics with the size and configuration of a room’s interior architecture. Retail components of home theater systems are engineered for mass production and sale, and consequently manufacturers use less expensive materials in building these components. While self-installations can sometimes produce a close equivalent to public theater, sound produced by retail components will never completely eliminate muffling, reverb, and acoustical dead spots that only professionally fine-tuned, manufacturer grade components can accomplish. However, when a multi-specialty distributor such as Illuminations Lighting builds a home theater system with any number and combination of literally thousands of possible professional grade components, it becomes not only possible to equal public entertainment, but to surpass it altogether.
Representing companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Runco, Sharp, Boston Acoustics, Vienna, and Triad, ILD also provides superior sound, video, and audio distribution equipment for home theater systems. We can select any size and configuration of speaker, front or rear end projector, flat panel television, and surround sound distribution system and literally build a home theater system into the existing floor plan, physical size, interior design, and specific location and architecture of the room. We even install special home theater seats that move with the action of the movie---something public cinema has yet to do.
Because of their extensive cross training in architecture and interior design, ILD engineers can actually assist a homeowner choose the ideal location to set up the home theater system. Such factors as ceiling height, wall and ceiling material build, and even the angles and positions of corners and large decorations play a major role in how sound travels and reflects in a room. Lighting represents another critical factor that requires a trained, professional eye to design. Few rooms in modern homes are windowless, so limiting natural light and creating special lighting effects require not only commercial grade lighting equipment, but also lighting automation programming that is only available through a team trained in home automation technology. We program hundreds of lighting combinations, colored lighting effects, and dimmable lighting options into your system and bring them directly under your control at the touch of a button.
Clients who make the wise decision to invest in high expectations are never disappointed when they turn to ILD to make their dreams for a home theater system become a tangible, personalized reality. Why not become one of these satisfied clients day by calling 713-863-1133 . See what your home can do that no other home—or even public cinema—can even come close to doing. Labels: Home Theater Design, Home Theater Experience, Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation
Home theater design consists of much more than high-powered televisions and surround sound speakers. To be truly competitive with public movie houses, and to offer the eclectic homeowner a truly superior cinematic encounter, home theater design must reflect, balance, and work in complete harmony with its immediate environment and end-user commands. As sound and video are both directly affected by architectural acoustics, interior lighting, and natural light encroaching into the home, exceptional home theater design actually consists of multiple design layers where key components are balanced and networked together to provide a harmonious audiovisual unity that works in tandem with homeowner controls and automation and lighting programs. This requires both a multi-specialty skill set and access to literally thousands of audiovisual devices in order to provide a truly custom home theater design specific to the taste and desires of the individual client.
Our team initiates every home theater design project with a systematic and detailed consultation with the client. We develop a soft copy of the system first, using CAD software to represent individual audio/visual components, map out the automation and networking of controls and subsystems, and build visual models of layered lighting and acoustical affects. The resulting 3-D visual schematic of our proposed home theater design allows the client to clearly visualize the outcome and instantly provide us with feedback or request for changes prior to purchasing equipment of accruing labor costs.
Upon client approval of the proposal, our team then conducts a series of highly detailed, systematic tests on room acoustics and lighting levels. We measure window dimensions and corresponding natural light levels in order to determine which methods of natural light control will work best in that particular home theater design. We draw upon years of cross-training and partnership with major building contractors and architectural firms to carefully assess the acoustical qualities of wood, stone, interior brick, and other composite materials that will function as the physical housing of the new home theater. Systematic analysis of ceiling height and corner angles enables us to precisely anticipate the optimal audio frequency that will deliver the maximum quality of sound in that particular room. This data in turn helps us determine the size, number, manufacture, and placement of forward and surround sound speakers and audio distribution systems. Our certification and extensive experience in electrical design and home automation makes it possible to design a home theater in virtually any size room or custom floor plan, provided the environment offers exceptional acoustic potential.
We rely heavily upon client preference for television and projector selection. Often this is simply a matter of taste. Some clients prefer front-end projection screens that fill an entire wall. Others prefer their home theater designed around smaller, flat screen televisions that sit within the wall or an entertainment system. Regardless of build or model ultimately installed, each television and projection system features professional grade components whose picture quality, anticipated lifespan, and level of customization far surpass retail equivalents that may appear, but by no means function, the same.
Lighting also plays a critical role in home theater design, requiring a tight balance between functional light for comfort and safety and dim and speciality light for film viewing and appropriate special effects. Our relationship with over 20 major lighting manufacturers enables our home theater design team to select energy-saving, high-end lighting equipment that delivers the exact level of control and flexibility necessary to customize lighting to movie genre, historical period, audience, and homeowner preference. Our technicians can turn direct control of these lighting levels over to the host, or we can link multiple lighting levels and effects back to a central home automation control unit, using sensors and timers to automatically dim the lights the moment the host hits “play.”
As ever-growing numbers of people return home for entertainment that offers direct participation and personal control, home theater design becomes increasingly popular and sophisticated. ILD leads the way in this new, exciting, and continuously evolving industry. Contact Us at 713-863-1133 and learn how we can design a home theater for you!
Labels: Home Theater Design, Home Theater Lighting, Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation
Illuminations Lighting Design strives to be a rich source of informational content about lighting products and lighting design issues. We regularly update our website and lighting blog with articles, commentary, press releases and news from the lighting industry in Houston, Texas and around the world. We want to share this valuable information with you by providing many convenient means for syndicating our information on your own website or blog, or the home page of your Google, Yahoo or MSN account.
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Illuminations Lighting Design is the only “One Stop” destination for lighting design, engineering and installation in the state of Texas, and remains unrivaled by any lighting firm in the United States. As homes grow larger and needs become more complex, having a single resource provides home owners with peace of mind. This translates into a smoother process, reduced costs and a better product.
Like fine wine, Illuminations has matured and become a classic for those clients with a discriminating palate for comfort, mood and ambiance.
Labels: Home and Garden Landscape Lighting, Houston Texas Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation, Lighting Feed
Illuminations Lighting and Design delivers specific audiovisual services combined with the latest strategies and controls for home automation technology. ILD’s trained and fully certified staff consults extensively with homeowners to determine key areas of need and entertainment preference. After developing a customized procurement list from the world’s top manufacturers, our audiovisual services team layout a plan of action that unfolds step by step into an audiovisual solution unparalleled in its ability to meet every detail of client need and desire. We build our audiovisual service methodology around four key areas of home automation that not only deliver the very best in video output and sound like you’ve never heard before, but that also integrate seamlessly into centralized computer control and user-friendly access to a whole-house living experience.
The goal of our audiovisual services team is to accommodate the highly American (and especially Texan) high expectations of personal space and freedom. Even when relaxing with family at home, people often separate and claim their own personal spots. Families with children often observe new territorial boundaries established and renegotiated daily between growing siblings. Servicing the audiovisual needs of the average family requires innovative thinking and design strategies to say the least. Our audiovisual services team therefore plans from the beginning to deliver an equal level of sound and video quality throughout the entire structure. Once installed, the new audiovisual system can deliver an equal level of superior entertainment to both private bedrooms and spacious living areas all under master control.
Audiovisual services specialists deliver and regulate sound distribution throughout the home automation network with a series of touch panels and keypads that regulate every subtlety of music. Our systems are fully digital and employ technologies from audio giants such as Boston Acoustics, Triad, Vienna, AMX, and Niles, just to name some. Our audiovisual services include all electrical remodeling and cabling required to fully integrate your new entertainment experience with both existing home wiring and new home automation. The multiple certifications and cross-disciplinary experience our audiovisual services team brings to your table ensures safe operation and aesthetically pleasing, easy to use controls that require little, if any, maintenance and support. With keypads, touch panels, IR and remote controls designed with a sheik appearance equivalent to technical delivery power, clients can enjoy a home theatre and stereo experience that not only looks good on the flat screen and sounds like nothing else on the speakers, but they can also count on the equipment that runs the show to blend beautifully into the home’s architecture and decorum.
ILD’s audiovisual service professionals strive to create a home theatre experience that surpasses that of the largest and most sophisticated movie houses. With dedicated surround sound solutions, we can deliver audio feeds straight from the DVD to every corner of the home with full Hollywood sound effects customized to the acoustics of your homes unique design. Our home automation specialists will then take the experience to a whole new level, tying lighting control into audiovisual control and allowing hosts to either dim or increase lighting levels to provide an optimized audiovisual environment specific to the tastes of those gathered. No movie theatre can do that. Illuminations Lighting and Design can.
Call ILD today at 713-863-1133 to talk to an audiovisual specialist and start planning a home theatre experience that will exceed your expectations and dazzle the minds of your friends and family.
Labels: Audio Video Employment, Home Theater Experience, Houston Texas Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation
El color, la textura, la forma y la sombra son los bloques de edificio de todos que veamos. Pero ENCENDERTE solamente puede traer estos elementos a la vida.
En muchos hogares y oficinas, la LUZ se entiende en sus aspectos funcionales. Está raramente entendía en términos de sus calidades artísticas. ¡La iluminación es más que utilitario-es teatro! Cómo un objeto está iluminado es tan importante justo como qué se está enfocando sobre. Eso es qué hace las iluminaciones que encienden diseño únicas. Combinamos experiencia práctica con gusto estético para encender la etapa de tu experiencia diaria. ¿Cuándo viene a tu hogar o negocio, por qué settle para cualquier cosa menos?
Las iluminaciones que encendían el diseño (ILD) han proporcionado las soluciones aerodinámicas para los dueños del hogar y del negocio por más de 20 años. Nuestras áreas principales del foco incluyen diseño de la iluminación interior, iluminación del paisaje, iluminación fina del arte y de la exhibición, hogar/automatización y los medios comerciales, así como contraer eléctrico general. Porque ofrecemos una gama de servicios completa, podemos resolver virtualmente cualquier necesidad eléctrica y de la iluminación. No hay proyecto demasiado estrecho, o demasiado amplio.
Diseño y consulta interiores/de interior de la iluminación - están un espacio las iluminaciones que encienden el diseño de la firma del diseño donde cada linterna, sconce, chandelier, para arriba-luz y abajo equilibrios ligeros un cuarto para su intento exacto. Usando la informática sofisticada, creamos que equilibrado diseñar las semanas, o aún los meses antes de los accesorios llegan. Cuando van las luces para arriba, te sorprenderán verdad en cómo la interacción hermosa de la luz y de la sombra te hará la sensación inmediatamente inspiradas, y en la facilidad. Eso es sobre cuál está el buen diseño de la iluminación todo.
Iluminación del paisaje - si has invertido energía considerable en tus espacios al aire libre, no desearás ciertamente dejarlos por la mitad oscuro del año. El paisaje y la iluminación al aire libre permite que coseches una vuelta completa en tu inversión. Destacando características arquitectónicas únicas de tu edificio u hogar, tan bien como texturas naturales tales como árboles, charcas o arbustos, tus espacios al aire libre encontrarán una segunda vida debajo del claro de luna. Los pasos y los caminos de la iluminación también ofrecerán un sentido de la seguridad tú, a tu familia y a las huéspedes. Eligiendo calidad, los accesorios duraderos instalados por los profesionales experimentados de ILD, ganas todas estas ventajas mientras que evita los molestias de los honorarios interminables del mantenimiento.
Iluminación fina del arte y de la exhibición - las iluminaciones que encienden diseño son una firma fina de la iluminación del arte del primero ministro. Hemos consultado y hemos encendido algunas del público más prestigioso del mundo y de las colecciones de arte privadas incluyendo trabajos de los artistas renombrados tales como Chagall, Picasso, Matisse, Renoir, Rockwell, Salvador Dali y Rembrandt. Empleando las técnicas más innovadoras de la iluminación del arte del mundo, podemos asegurarte que tus pedazos atesorados brillarán tan brillantemente como la visión verdadera del artista.
Anuncio/a casa automatización y medios - los teatros de interior de la película que rivalizan la cosa verdadera, los “humores diversos” que se fijan en el tecleo de un botón, y los generadores que guardan la energía encendido durante una interrupción son todos los una parte de los servicios ofrecidos por el equipo de la automatización y de los medios de ILD. Este campo se está convirtiendo rápidamente, y nuestros profesionales permanecen continuamente al corriente de las innovaciones más últimas. Traigamos tu hogar o lugar del negocio en el siglo XXI.
El contraer eléctrico - el contraer eléctrico de ILD es proporcionado por los profesionales licenciados que entienden la importancia del trabajo conjuntamente con el equipo de diseño. Esto se asegura de que todos los aspectos de la iluminación de interior, de la automatización casera y de la iluminación del paisaje tengan la corriente eléctrica necesitada para funcionar correctamente y con seguridad. Las iluminaciones que encienden a electricistas consiguen el trabajo hecho a la derecha la primera vez, permitiendo que te centres en más importante materia-como gozar de tu diseño y automatización imponentes de la iluminación.
Cada área del servicio se provee de personal con los expertos excepcionales que entienden que el impacto que sus esfuerzos tienen en tu hogar. No hay otro firma de la iluminación proporcionar una línea de servicio tanredondeada. Pero apenas no tomar nuestra palabra para ella. Apenas pedir la lanza Armstrong, George W. Bush, o docenas de otros establecimientos comerciales o residencias, grande y pequeño, a través del estado de Tejas que han gozado de nuestros servicios.
En Tejas, hay solamente un nombre para la iluminación del profesional, funcional y artística: Iluminaciones que encienden diseño. ¡Recepción!
Labels: Fine art lighting, houston landscape lighting, Houston Texas Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation
Home automation wiring combines the very best in technology with the most creative and custom solutions available to today's sophisticated and busy homeowner. Home automation wiring links vital home systems and entertainment features directly to a central computer that allows for single-point access to the many different elements of quality home living. As life becomes increasingly hectic, the home becomes more of a sanctuary and the one environment that the individual has direct and unilateral control over. Wiring the home for automation not only makes things more efficient, but also empowers the individual with a sense of control not only over technology, but of personal freedom and choice which can seem a bit elusive at times in today's unstable and chaotic times.
Illuminations Lighting and Design maintains a fully trained staff of certified electricians who know the ins and outs of electrical wiring and home automation systems. Since we work in the most exclusive neighborhoods of Houston such as River Oaks, West University, Tanglewood, and the Memorial Villages, we routinely encounter custom homes with unique architecture that calls for home automation wiring that the standard generic equipment of retailers simply cannot adequately or safely deliver. Our goal is to provide each and every homeowner with structured wiring that will accommodate future upgrades and home renovations and expansion. Before laying the wire for the home automation, we carefully calculate the many variables that compose the system and install cable plant design based upon the client's unique automation requirements. While almost all of our systems utilize home automation controls by manufacturers such as Lutron, Vantage, and AMX our home automation wiring layout is tailor-made for the architecture of the house and the individual tastes of the homeowner.
ILD knows that entertainment matters to its clients now more than ever before. As increasingly larger numbers of people entertain friends and family at home, they need increasingly sophisticated technology to deliver a superior audio/visual experience. Few of our competitors can deliver the level of customization we routinely employ to the benefit or our many satisfied clients. Even fewer can design automation systems that will anticipate and adapt easily to new technologies. We take a very active and forward-looking approach to home automation wiring that distinguishes us in this marketplace and provides the customer with the most adaptable system congruent with present and anticipated future technologies. We centralize low voltage solutions that accommodate current audio/video demands and leave room for future upgrades. We further enhance these layouts with high cables for speakers, high definition video, phone systems, intercom systems, and security cameras. Knowing that technology changes very rapidly, we wire home automation systems with high end low voltage cabling that offers the very best interface for anticipated technologies that could appear on the market at any time.
ILD prides itself on the level of satisfaction we deliver daily to clients throughout Houston and Greater Texas. As our communities continue to show every growing interest home automation, our specialized blend of creativity and technologically savvy proves increasingly valuable in this unique and rapidly evolving industry. Call us today at 713-863-1133 to see what we can do to take your life to a whole new level.
Labels: Home Automation Lighting Systems, Home Lighting Controls, home theaters, Houston Texas Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation, Lutron Homeworks Lighting Controls
Home automation represents a rising and rapidly evolving industry. Home automation installers are highly trained professionals who are equally savvy as technical experts, licensed electrical contractors, and creative designers. Illuminations Lighting and Design, Houston's premier lighting design and electrical consulting firm, heads up the city's most impeccable home automation department, with installers trained and cross-trained in every nuance of equipment selection, installation, and project development strategy.
Home automation clients can be new homeowners or existing homeowners who decide to take their lifestyles to the next level. Often we encounter new clients who have already installed or had installed a measure of home automation from either a retail source or a competitive entity. The first thing these clients usually tell us is that their existing home automation network fails to deliver control over every element of life. A client with a state of the art home theatre system may suddenly realize he or she has to get up and walk across the room to close the shades or dim the lights. Clients hosting parties at home quickly realize that remote control of the air conditioner would not only add convenience to the event but help them save on energy costs as guests fan the doors all night and move back and forth between the home theatre, the garden, the patio, and the spa. Such integrated and centralized control is the difference that sets a custom home automation project by ILD apart from competitive entities specializing only in the equipment itself or limited home automation installation specific only to segments of the lifestyle rather than comprehensively accommodating the entire lifestyle.
When our home automation installers step into such an arena, they carefully evaluate existing technology and retrofit the very best in new technology for a home automation network that leaves room for future growth and evolution of technology. Since most home automation installation in today's market requires customizing or creating a home theatre system, we require all of our home automation installation consultants to train and certify in high-end home theatre systems by Sony, Boston, and Vienna Acoustics. This way, our clients are assured that every element of living is not only automated, but also fully optimized to manufacturer standards and equipment specifications.
ILD's home automation installers spend many years in training and continuing professional education programs to develop the knowledge base required to meet the high demands of this intense, technically demanding industry. Additionally, each ILD technician mentors as an apprentice under a veteran technician to learn the proprietary methodologies exclusive to Illuminations Lighting and Design. The result of our intensive training and apprenticeship programs is a knowledgeable, experienced team of home automation installers whose expertise in current and upcoming technologies enable us to install home automation networks that are completely unique and individualize to each specific client we service. The safety, reliability, and exceptional value of our work are backed up with tangibles every time at the end of the day. Our home automation installation specialists carry design certifications and undergo frequent cross-training with other industries such as architecture, construction, and landscaping as well to ensure that our solutions truly address every aspect of home build and home living.
Throughout Houston and now Greater Texas, our division of home automation installers is rapidly gaining not only notoriety, but also an outstanding reputation for being the single source of the most comprehensive home automation designs that apply only the very latest and advanced technology in a one of kind design. Best of all, our home automation installers are good communicators and even better listeners who know how to make a project not only a technology upgrade, but a lifestyle upgrade as well that exceeds the expectations of clients. Call today 713-863-1133 to see what our team can do for your world starting now.
Labels: Home Lighting Controls, Home Theater Experience, home theaters, Houston Texas Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation, Lutron Homeworks Lighting Controls
Illuminations Lighting and Design offers full design, consultation, and installation services for any commercial or residential landscape lighting design project. With years of experience and extensive cross training in other disciplines, our consultants can design lighting landscapes that enhance the aesthetic and functional element of any property. Our clients rely upon us to develop unobtrusive lighting solutions that emphasize features and minimize the appearance of fixtures. As a certified electrical contractor and a certified design firm, ILD offers the unique benefit as a one-source provider of both the creative and technical aspects of the project. Houstonians and residents throughout Greater Texas come to us as one of the few firms that can design, supply, install, and service a one of a kind landscape lighting theme from start to finish.
Commercial clients can advertise twenty-four hours a day with sign lighting that brands their logo with continuous illumination. The more sophisticated the building sign, the more opportunity we have to showcase its uniqueness. We have many landscape lighting fixtures optimized for three-dimensional artwork that also work equally well on three-dimensional granite and marble surfaces. We also carry a number of landscape lighting fixtures that create superior facade lighting effects. For buildings that appear too homogeneous in color and material, facade lighting proves the ideal alternative to renovation or relocation. The effects of certain lighting can actually alter color and texture in such a fashion as to make the plain face of a building appear as something completely different under the effects of the light.
Residential landscape lighting and design often requires illuminating both organic and inorganic features of the landscape. ILD accommodates this complexity by linking interrelated landscape lighting design subsystems into an overall theme or home automation system. We specialize in accent lighting for sculptures and structures that takes a minimalist approach to illumination. We find that softer lighting such as moon lighting creates a surreal enhancement of three-dimensional art without the distracting glare generated by generic, high-voltage bright lights. We utilize similar techniques in path and garden lighting, casting only enough light to provide a safe path for travel and environmental enhancement. With special equipment from the world’s best lighting manufacturers, we can even provide water feature lighting for fountains, ponds, and waterfalls located near sidewalks and garden paths. Commercial clients value landscape lighting design as a tool to showcase the most excellent elements of their facilities and commercial property. Residential clients find them essential elements to a truly entertaining home-based event that involves any extended time outdoors near the pool, the garden, or the patio.
Regardless of whether a client is a residential client or a commercial client, safety and security concerns are foremost in our mind whenever we design a landscape lighting them. Lighting creates a continuous emotional presence that deters criminal and nefarious activity simply because it minimizes the opportunity for miscreants to conceal themselves. Without compromising aesthetics, we install motion sensors around and within the property's perimeter and link these sensors to security floodlights and alert systems. What appears to the casual passerby to be a soft, illuminated fountain or walkway is in actuality a highly sensitive detection system that will alert building and homeowners, along with law enforcement, in an instant if something suspicious occurs. We fine tune this equipment of course to ensure that only humans trigger the sensors, so false alarms by pets and wildlife occur much less frequently with ILD landscape lighting and security designs than they do with generic and retail floodlights.
ILD maintains a full-service staff of technicians with a typical four-hour response time to landscape lighting design clients in need of upgrade or maintenance. After twenty-seven years of consistent value production in this unique and eclectic niche market, ILD is the premier source of equipment and service regardless of the nature of your landscape lighting design needs. Call 713-863-1133 or request a lighting design consultation to determine what exactly we can do for you.
Labels: Home and Garden Landscape Lighting, houston landscape lighting, Lighting and Home Automation, Mercury Vapor Tree Lighting Houston
Architectural custom lighting utilizes illumination to enhance structural beauty and develop aesthetic sub themes that support the overall design and decorum of buildings. Commercial clients and residential homeowners alike benefit from the exponential enhancement that architectural custom lighting brings to building form and function. As a distributor of the world's best architectural custom lighting equipment and a full-service firm certified in electrical and design work, Illuminations Lighting and Design delivers solutions that bear the signature of superior planning and technical skill by balancing key elements of structure and function into synthesized, synergistic themes.
Many people are surprised to learn that materials play an enormous role in architectural custom lighting. Since the purpose of any lighting theme is to either minimize fixture visibility or blend decorative fixtures into their surroundings, architectural custom lighting in particular requires the trained eye of a professional lighting designer who is familiar with building materials knows which lighting fixtures will compliment the environment with maximum aesthetic. It also requires access to the widest variety of fixtures on the market, as each building and custom home will consist of one or more very unique elements that require a highly customized equipment to properly illuminate. ILD delivers value on both levels by cross training its technicians in architectural theory and methodology so that no surprises occur when they arrive on site to service our client. We further support our projects by making available the widest selection of lighting fixtures from the world's top manufacturers. Armed with knowledge and advanced technology, our technicians can bring out the hidden beauty latent in building materials such as marble, glass, granite, and even wood.
As a creative firm fully aware of the philosophical, scientific, psychological and spiritual connotations of light, we pay careful attention to color in all of our lighting design work. Superior custom architectural lighting rarely consists of a single design theme. Due to the complex nature of most custom homes and buildings with high-end architectural design, customized lighting has to first focus on key structural and aesthetic features and accentuate points of differentiation. Once a balanced illumination of keynote features appears within the structure, a synthesis evolves where various illuminated subjects combine into an aesthetic of interrelationship and design similarities. Color is the key to all of this. By correctly applying varying degrees of color to objects and features which otherwise would appear in congruent or separatist in relationship, ILD architectural custom lighting specialists create fields of complimentary colors that combine to aesthetically support high-end building and custom home design elements.
As in any custom lighting project, architectural lighting in particular requires precise measurements of light on the color-rendering index and in photometric calculations. (Photometrics measure luminosity and determine the level of brilliance a particular bulb emits upon the subject.) Lighting architecture with customization foremost in mind requires that we determine in advance what combinations of color; light, and possibly even shadow will most effectively highlight homes, office buildings, and public facilities. For ambient and mood lighting in custom homes we normally link custom architectural lighting design to home automation controls that can change the appearance of the room or even the entire house with multiple lighting themes, each offering its own unique aesthetic and point of view. In commercial arenas we often link architectural lighting to security lighting and landscape lighting to fully protect and beautify commercial property at all hours of the night.
Custom architectural lighting is a must for any eclectic homeowner or business owner looking to create the appearance of multiple realities within the space of fixed reality. The fluidity of design available through this medium makes it one of our most sought after service offerings, and has helped build our twenty-seven year reputation as a lighting design industry leader. Call us at 713-863-1133 or request a design consultation to see what new experience we can bring to your world today.
Labels: Commercial Lighting Design, Hospitality Lighting Designers, Lighting and Home Automation, Lighting Design Company, Resort Lighting Design
As a Houston based company, Illuminations Lighting and Design services a broad segment of the Houston homeowner community. We routinely encounter extremely large and custom homes and unique architecture throughout the many neighborhoods we service. As such, home automation for Houston clientele has to be a custom science congruent to the diversity of the marketplace. As an unzoned city, the diversity of floor plans we frequently find even in smaller neighborhoods such as the Upper Kirby district requires further innovation in home automation design and installation. As a vendor of cutting edge technology from every major manufacturer, and with a trained staff certified in both residential and electrical contracting, we specialize in a level of home automation consulting, creative solutions, and equipment installation unparalleled in the Houston marketplace and quite possibly any marketplace throughout the Lone Star State.
Spanning a geographic area second only in size to Los Angeles, Houston requires a significant commute to work from almost any location on the city map. As such, Houstonians fight traffic delays and road construction daily both to and from the pressure cooker workplace of the world's energy capital. When they return home, they want stress relief, convenience, and entertainment on demand. The home automation systems we install for these individuals must reflect both downtime and unique personal lifestyle to truly accommodate client needs. Setting the right mood after returning home from an exhausting day in the office requires one-touch control of one's automated home lighting system. With Vantage lighting products, ILD clients can choose between keypads or touch panels and give themselves control of both brightness levels that set mood and lighting scenes that reflect activities, function, decorative themes, and private events.
Many residents of large and custom homes especially like the interactive home automation available through AMX, Vantage and Lutron controls, where a central processor ties together a series of touch pad or key panel controls, giving one the ability to manipulate light in individual rooms or select whole house lighting scenes. Another popular option for Houston homeowners is wireless home automation systems that require no rewiring within the existing architecture. For smaller homes we normally install a Lutron RadioRA system, and for larger or custom homes we utilize the Lutron RF system. Both home automation options utilize a special radio frequency to communicate between controls and devices, and their ability to adapt to existing wiring eliminates damages that can result from cheaper materials and generic installs.
Once the lighting sets the mood, it is time to truly unwind to some music or watch a movie favorite in the comfort and privacy of the home. For family members that want to watch the same movie from the privacy of separate rooms, we can install a home automation system with multiple TV's, DVD players, and media rooms throughout the house. We can then configure the very same home automation system to simultaneously manage musical selections, distributing both control of music sources and volume levels to LCD keypads placed in as many rooms of the house the owner desires. For this level of sophisticated entertainment, we often recommend that the overworked Houston homeowner invest a bit more in quality downtime by upgrading to a custom designed and installed ILD home automation theatre system replete with options ranging from multi-screen output, high definition projectors, shades automatically responsive to movie start times, and theatre screens that cover entire walls and output surround sound quality equivalent to the best movie houses in town.
As Houston continues to grow and its international business community continues to diversify into new industries and marketplaces, increasing numbers of Houstonians will come to value the uniqueness of a home automation system custom built from the ground up by Illuminations Lighting and Design. After fighting the detours, the heat and humidity, and the traffic jams, don't you deserve the best we have to offer? Contact us today at 713-863-1133 and let us assure you that you do.
Labels: Home Lighting Controls, Home Theater Design, Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation, Lutron Homeworks Lighting Controls
When facing any kind of electrical work, one must also face the potential hazards both to safety and property that go with it. Today's new homes often feature architecture that makes even the simplest work on electrical panels and wiring more complicated than it should be. Trying to work on an electrical issue or remodel yourself can often result in unforeseen damage to the structure of your home, and it can also result in electrocution or fire if you overlook one small detail. For these reasons, Illuminations Lighting and Design has developed a systematic approach to electrical work that not only involves troubleshooting and fixing basic problems, but also brings increased comfort, safety, and even higher resale value to your home!
People throughout Texas, and especially the greater Houston area, come to us any time they need electrical work that revolves around new lighting fixtures and schemes. As a vendor of lights and lighting equipment of all kinds, we can not only handle the wiring requirements of your electrical work, but we can also help you acquire virtually any device necessary to illuminate your home, garden, or patio. This is important when you consider that electrical work requires more than simply knowledge of electricity and wiring. It requires knowledge of how basic components integrate into specialty lighting fixtures for ceilings, patios, walls, and outdoor lighting. If you are looking to add chandeliers or a chandelier lift to your decorum, consider how we can benefit you not only from the perspective of professional work in full compliance with electrical safety and quality regulations, but also from the many designs we can implement to add style and comfort to your living room, den, or even kitchen and bathroom.
Homeowners looking to sell their homes should consider contracting basic electrical upgrade work prior to listing the house on the market. Sometimes even the simplest of additions can add several thousand dollars to a home's list price, and it goes without saying that homes perceived as top-quality and highly safe will sell faster than those with questionable value. For such clients, we offer electrical work as a comprehensive resale value package that will immediately attract a buyer. Every home, (whether being sold or not,) should have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) installed as safety features. A GFCI protects human life the same way a circuit breaker or fuse protects the circuit panel. If a wire gets wet or frayed and the current suddenly spikes, the GFCI will sense the upsurge and shut down the circuit, thus minimizing the treat of electrocution. Imagine how the value of your house will rise from this one simple element of electrical work! We don't have to stop there, however. If you are really serious about electrical work that brings you the highest return on investment, then consider adding a generator and emergency lighting system to the property. Potential buyers will certainly be attracted to the extra security and convenience you are providing them, and they will be more inclined to meet your asking price at a faster rate than otherwise. Best of all, ILD can top off whatever electrical work you hire us to do by including the electrical inspection report for any home resale. We truly are a one-source solution shop for home sellers throughout Texas.
If you recently moved into a new home and have decided it is time to really celebrate with a new level of entertainment, call Illuminations Lighting and Design for any type of electrical work pertaining to home entertainment. We can install your cable TV wiring at affordable rates and eliminate the hassles people often encounter when they deal directly with cable TV providers. If you want to add new outlets in your home but are worried about phone company charges, call us instead. Our team of electrical specialists can work on phone lines as easily as circuit breakers; and we will time our visit to accommodate your schedule and your convenience - something big phone companies often cannot do for you. If you live in Central or North Texas and have decided to install a new 220V water heater, we can provide you both with the unit and do all the electrical work crucial to making it compliant with regulations and safety codes.
Electrical work will never be easier than it will be on the day you call Illuminations Lighting and Design to handle your next project and eliminate the and headaches of unforeseen dangers and damages that can easily result without professional certification and experience. Call 713-863-1133 and request a design consultation!
Labels: Advanced Electrical Installations, Emergency Power Generators, Houston Electrical Panel Upgrades, Houston Residential Electrical Contractors, Lighting and Home Automation
A side from all the Audio/Video equipment, speaker and subwoofer placement is the foundation for a true home theater experience. The shape of the room, paint, furniture, texture of the walls and color of the walls and furniture can enhance or distort sound in a room; therefore, the ability to evaluate a room for proper placement of speakers and subwoofers becomes even more crucial.
Some of the basic factors used to determine the placement are:
Room size
Room shape
Speakers installation (in-wall, in-ceiling, floor standing, etc)
Speaker and subwoofer specifications
Primary viewing distance
Secondary viewing
To truly understand the importance of speaker placement, let us for a moment wear our physicists' hat. Sound behaves just like light. There is reflection, refraction and diffusion of sound in a room. If the speakers are not placed in most optimized locations, there will be dead zones as well as really loud zones in the room. This will cause some viewers to turn up the volume while others will want to lower the volume depending on the seating location.
For a complete evaluation of your home theater or assistance designing a new media room in your office or home please contact Illuminations at 713-863-1133. ILD is a CEDIA (Consumer Electronic Design and Installation Association) Certified Designer as well as being certified in both Vantage and Lutron Lighting Controls.
Illuminations Lighting Design is full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting installation, service and maintenance. Our experienced staff of professional lighting designers, system engineers and licensed electricians is well trained in all aspects of new home construction, remodeling, electrical wiring, home automation, architectural lighting and landscape lighting design. Illuminations works with architects, interior designers, custom home builders, contractors and homeowners by providing professional services, from consulting, CAD drawings, documentation and project management, to furnishing, installing and fine tuning all types of lighting fixtures and control systems.
Labels: Houston Home Theaters, Lighting and Home Automation, Whole House Audio Video
