Case studies

A Modern Lifestyle in Kings Hill Park, Kent (1/10/2004)

By Dome Systems

Paul and Laurance Traynor were searching for a new home to suit their vision for a modern lifestyle, and found it at Environ Sunley's Kings Hill Park development near West Malling in Kent.

Atrium at Kings Hill Park

Designed in a 'New England' style on three floors, large areas of glass provide a bright, crisp modern interior for this contemporary house. Located overlooking the golf course and within easy driving distance of Gatwick airport, the situation gives the seclusion of the countryside combined with the convenience of good travel links, both important factors for the Traynors.

The ground floor provides two bedrooms and bathroom, the first floor is configured as the main living space with kitchen, dining room, living room and outside deck area, while the top floor houses the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom. "The layout of the house exactly matches the way we live our lives," said Paul Traynor, "The open plan living and deck area are ideal for entertaining, and if guests stay over, we can maintain our privacy with sleeping accommodation separated by a complete floor."

Technology from Dome Systems was a further attraction. The whole Environ Sunley development has been pre-wired with twisted pair cabling which avoids interference from electrical sources for smart home technology, and offers distributed control of lighting, communications, audio and video. The Traynors chose to enhance the system, commissioning Dome to install multizone audio, a plasma television, and digital dimming controlled from the master bedroom. Paul Traynor explained the operation of the lighting system, "Each Siemens touch panel lightswitch throughout the house operates the lighting through a central control unit. Dome has supplied four standard lighting schemes, which we find are very useful. We can configure more, but the standard schemes are well chosen, so it has been unnecessary." Traynor continued, "The digital dimming and main switch in the master bedroom allow the control of all the lights in the house - particularly important in a three-storey home."

The plasma television and flush ceiling mounted speakers were installed before the Traynors moved in. Dome engineers worked with the electrical contractors to ensure correct fitting and proper operation of the audio visual system, which required cutting holes for speakers and repositioning of cables for the wall-mounted television. Traynor was delighted with the standard of workmanship, "The speakers and television were fitted perfectly, which was crucial to the sleek and minimalist style of the house, where any imperfection would have been unacceptable."

Living room at Kings Hill Park

Dome supplied a Fujitsu P42VCA21EH 42" plasma screen, a Pure DRX DAB tuner, and Sony five-disc multi CD player CDP-CE375, DVD player DVP-NS705, and amplifier STR-DE875 AV. The plasma screen is fitted directly to the wall in the living area, while all the other equipment is stored in a central control cabinet. Four operating zones for audio are controlled by wall-mounted touch pads, which relay instructions to the centrally-located equipment. Traynor enthused, "With this system, we can listen to CDs in the kitchen, and radio in the living area - all driven from the stylish wall touch pads. We find that the ambience created by a mixture of lighting, sound and video enhances the clean lines of this house."

The neatness of the installation complements the house design as trailing cables and connection boxes have been eliminated. "The technology was very important to us, installing a conventional TV or audio system would clash with the look we have achieved with the remainder of the interior," added Traynor.

The Traynors have been pleased with the reliability of the Dome system, which has operated faultlessly. Dome also returned to help with the installation of a Sky+ system, assisting the Sky engineer to understand how the system should be configured to operate though the smart home cabling. Paul Traynor concluded, "The service from Dome has been very good, and the look and feel of the controls and equipment they supplied is of a very high quality. We love the minimal look of the house, and the discreet technology has enhanced it greatly."

Dome Systems offers Smart Home Technology solutions to the new build and refurbishment markets.

www.domesystems.co.uk