As a home away from home, this project gave the owners the opportunity to create something completely bespoke and personal to them. Their vision was to build a Passive House-certified property, prioritising sustainability, comfort, and modern convenience.
Despite never having used home automation before, a visit to our showroom helped them see the potential benefits. Their brief centred around making the home simple to live in, elegant in appearance, and future-proofed through smart technology. Security and remote oversight were also key considerations.
Designing for Seamless Integration
Working closely with the clients, their interior designer, and the build team, we designed and delivered a tailored smart home system that aligned with the Passive House requirements while respecting the design-led goals of the property.
A particular focus was placed on ensuring the technology felt seamless and unobtrusive. As the interiors evolved, we adapted elements like the AV layout to suit. In the Living Room, for example, the TV was mounted on a custom motorised arm, allowing it to drop down from above the fireplace to an optimal viewing position. When not in use, it returned to a higher position, doubling as framed artwork. The same picture-frame TV was also installed in the Kitchen.
Speaker choices were refined too, replacing visible models with recessed soundbars and hidden subwoofers to maintain the minimalist look.
Lighting Design & Control
The lighting was designed by our in-house expert, Chhaya, whose goal was to create a scheme that not only elevated the architectural design but also delivered exceptional energy performance, using high-quality, Part L compliant fixtures throughout.
Given the property’s location and orientation, glazing was a key architectural feature, allowing for abundant natural light and enhancing the connection to the outdoors. As part of the wider lighting strategy, we designed a shading solution that allowed the clients to control natural light levels throughout the day. Automated blinds were installed across the property to provide seamless control of daylight, reduce glare, and support the overall comfort and energy efficiency of the home.
In the two main bedrooms, which overlook the river, privacy was also a consideration due to the proximity of nearby public pathways. We specified automated venetian blinds that offered a flexible and elegant solution, preserving the views while ensuring privacy and comfort. These blinds integrated seamlessly with the lighting control system, enabling both natural and artificial lighting to work in coordination and provide a user-friendly experience.
By approaching lighting holistically, considering both electric light and daylight, we were able to deliver a system that adapts intuitively to the clients’ needs and enhances the experience of the home across every hour of the day.
Cinema Room
Originally intended as a flexible office/third bedroom space, the ground-floor room was reimagined at the start of the project. After experiencing our demo cinema, the homeowners realised it could offer a much more valuable function: a second, more intimate living space.
With the main TV area located in the open-plan living room, the addition of a dedicated cinema created a cosier environment to unwind, perfect for evenings or quieter moments. The room was fully soundproofed while still maintaining the Passive House envelope, with bespoke acoustic solutions developed in partnership with specialist suppliers.
Having lived there for a few months now we increasingly appreciate the benefits of an integrated home system and find it inconceivable that we might have built a modern house without one. It simply makes accessing all the intelligent elements of our home a breeze and we feel that we couldn’t have chosen a better partner in IndigoZest to achieve that goal.
