HOME TECH FOR OUTDOOR LIVING
You know you want to be outside. Sun-drenched Florida weather beckons and we must answer the call. When it comes to spending quality time on your luxury high-end patio, lanai or poolside, only the finest setup will do, and its important to have just the right tech for your experience. These days, as you can well imagine, tech goes far beyond the standard TV placed above the bar. It can get confusing, and your interior designer can help you sort through all the choices and configurations to make your outdoor area just as opulent as indoors.
OUTDOOR TELEVISION
Even during the cooler winter months, Florida presents weather challenges to your Naples or Boca Raton home outdoor configuration. Gretchen Gilbertson, CEO of Seura, manufacturers of outdoor TV and tech, cautions against the assumption that indoor media equipment can stand up to these extremes and function as well alfresco as long as it’s beneath a roof cover. “TVs designed for outdoor use can withstand extreme heat, cold and insects, are brighter and more rugged, and contain antiglare properties,” she maintains. “This means an optimal outdoor TV won’t fail right before your big patio dinner party because a tennis ball hit it.”
Your designer can integrate Smart Home options into your outdoor setup as well, giving you remote options to turn up the lights and the music, fire up the grill and put on a movie at a specific time, then gently shut everything down, cover the pool, turn off the spa and fire up the alarm system at the end of the night
Miragevision has an answer, offering televisions specifically designed for outdoor use that hold up easily to rain, wind, dirt, direct sunlight, humidity and heat, even the extremely occasional near-freezing temperatures. They also take it a step further with individualized television designs based on where exactly in your luxury high-end home backyard you want to put it, from full shade patio placement to partial and full sun models for backyards and pools.
Make sure you have all the important accessories to accompany that state-of-the-art TV. Seura offers a premium outdoor soundbar with enough woofer and tweeter capacity to ensure that the whole party at your luxury high-end home hears what’s going on in crystal clarity. Don’t forget to have your outdoor TV remote on hand, also built to comfortably be forgotten on the minibar when the party’s over.
OUTDOOR SPEAKERS
You’ll also need to calculate just how many speakers you’ll need, and your designer can help with those measurements. More is better, advises Dave Raines, president of Osbee Industries, Inc., Miami-based installers of luxury home media systems. Your designer can get creative here, as there exist many varieties of wireless outdoor speakers disguised as rocks or garden features.
OUTDOOR LIGHTING
When it comes to lighting, LED is your luxury high-end friend in outdoor lighting options. LED strips can be easily integrated into your setup and controlled to match your mood, your music or by the setting of the sun. Loxone speakers are custom-built to work with lighting displays, making your pool and patio reflect the current situation in a simple setup.
OUTDOOR AUTOMATION
Your designer can integrate Smart Home options into your outdoor setup as well, giving you remote options to turn up the lights and the music, fire up the grill and put on a movie at a specific time, then gently shut everything down, cover the pool, turn off the spa and fire up the alarm system at the end of the night. The possibilities are endless with the Smart options of today.
As many will agree, oftentimes bigger is better, so why not install a luxury high-end LED video wall if you have the space? Better yet, utilize companies like Planar, who do both permanent and temporary outdoor LED video wall installations. Your designer can help figure out the best placement for both viewing and audience capacity.
If you’re not ready to go the LED route, enjoy a backyard movie using a portable screen like Airblown’s inflatable 12-foot model, or Da-Lite’s Portable Insta-Theater screen that can be easily moved in and out of the house. There’s always an option for your Naples or Boca Raton home and outdoor lifestyle choices.
For additional outdoor tech ideas and more, visit Clive Daniel Home, either online or in our Naples or Boca Raton showroom. You can also contact one of our interior design specialists like Kathleen Monahan in our Naples showroom for some great ideas. Email Kathleen at [email protected] or call 248-506-0974.
Image credit: Interior designers Sherie Weidner and Laura Giles
