Chelsea Control4 Home

by Ben Davies | 20th Mar 2024

Radnor Walk, Chelsea — Control4 Smart Home & Home Cinema

A complete smart home and cinema installation in a high-specification Chelsea townhouse, delivered in partnership with London developer Higginson Grey. The project centred on a 1,000 square-foot basement conversion — a double-height media room, whole-home audio across eight zones, and a Control4 system bringing lighting, entertainment and control together across the entire property.

The brief

Higginson Grey's redevelopment of this Radnor Walk townhouse required a technology partner who could deliver a whole-home system to match the finish of the interior. The brief covered a basement media room with reference-quality picture and sound, lighting control throughout the property, multi-room audio including outdoor zones, networking to support the full system, and a single Control4 interface for the homeowner.

The challenges

A basement conversion in a Chelsea townhouse brings particular constraints — limited access for equipment, structural considerations for acoustic treatment, and coordination with multiple trades working to a developer's programme. Every system had to be specified, wired and commissioned within the build schedule, with no room for retrofit.

What we designed and installed

Cinema and media room
The double-height basement was designed around a 90-inch Sony 4K display with a 5.2 surround sound system using Klipsch and Triad speakers. The room serves as both a family media space and a dedicated cinema — Control4 scene control shifts the room between modes at one button.

Lighting
Rako lighting control throughout the property, with scene-based programming for every room. Lighting was coordinated with the interior design from the outset so keypads, faceplates and fittings complemented the finish rather than competing with it.

Audio
Eight audio zones covering the full property, including four video distribution zones and one outdoor zone. Distributed audio means music follows the homeowner through the house, controlled from the same Control4 interface as everything else.

Networking
A commercial-grade wired and wireless network underpins the entire system — essential for reliable control, streaming and multi-zone video distribution across a property of this size.

Control
A single Control4 system manages lighting, audio, video, heating and a whole-house-off scene from touchscreens, keypads and the homeowner's phone. One interface, one system, properly programmed.

Technology summary

System	Specification
Control	Control4
Display	Sony 90" 4K
Audio	Klipsch / Triad, 5.2 surround + 8 audio zones
Lighting	Rako, whole-home scene control
Network	Commercial-grade wired + wireless
Video	4-zone video distribution via WyreStorm

Developer partnership

This project was delivered in partnership with Higginson Grey, a leading London residential developer. We work routinely with developers across London, providing a single point of accountability for all technology within the build programme.

Related projects

Working on a London development or renovation? Get in touch →

Project Information

Year: 2017
Audio Zones: 8
Video Zones: 4
Location: London
Property: Town house
Installation: Redevelopment

Brands: Control4, Rako, Sony, Klipsch, Pulseight.

This project was created using:

Double-height basement media room with 90-inch Sony display in a Chelsea townhouse

Wine room in a Chelsea basement conversion by Higginson Grey

Control4 whole-home system in a Chelsea townhouse by Inspire Audio Visual

Rako lighting control in a Radnor Walk townhouse hallway

Marbella Control4 Villa

by Ben Davies | 20th Mar 2024

Puerto Banús villa with pool and outdoor audio by Inspire Audio Visual

Marbella Villa — Control4 Smart Home & Cinema

A complete smart home and cinema installation in a villa in Puerto Banús, Marbella — designed for a long-standing UK client whose West Yorkshire home we had built and maintained for over five years. The brief was to replicate the same standard of Control4 integration in their holiday property, with the addition of remote management so the villa could be controlled from the UK year-round.

The brief

The client wanted their Marbella villa to feel exactly like their Yorkshire home — the same Control4 interface, the same reliability, the same level of finish. The system needed to cover entertainment, lighting, outdoor audio for poolside entertaining, climate control, heating and security, all manageable remotely so the property was ready before they arrived.

The challenges

Installing in southern Spain brought particular logistics — sourcing and shipping equipment, coordinating with local contractors, and designing a system that could be maintained remotely from Yorkshire. The outdoor audio and lighting also needed to handle the climate: UV exposure, heat and occasional heavy rain.

What we designed and installed

Cinema
A dedicated cinema space with a 120-inch 4K screen, Epson projection and 5.2 surround sound using Triad speakers — built to the same reference standard as our UK installations.

Audio
Ten audio zones including three outdoor zones with six subwoofers, covering the pool terrace, garden and entertaining areas. Lutron lighting scenes shift the villa from daytime to evening entertaining at one button.

Lighting
Lutron control throughout the villa, with seasonal scene programming — the lighting adapts to how the property is used across the year, from family holidays to large-scale outdoor entertaining.

Video
Eight video zones via WyreStorm distribution, allowing any source on any screen throughout the villa.

Remote management
The full system is accessible from the client's phones wherever they are — heating, air conditioning, security and lighting can all be set from the UK so the villa is prepared before arrival.

Networking
Commercial-grade UniFi network supporting reliable control, streaming and remote access across the property.

Technology summary

System	Specification
Control	Control4
Display	Epson 4K, 120" screen
Audio	Triad, 5.2 surround + 10 zones (3 outdoor)
Lighting	Lutron, seasonal scene programming
Video	WyreStorm 8-zone distribution
Network	UniFi, commercial-grade
Security	Remote-managed heating, AC and security

Architecture and design

This project was delivered alongside Inhabit Architects, whose interior design and architectural work defined the villa. The Inhabit video below shows the finished property.

Related projects

CTA: Planning a smart home abroad or a second property? Get in touch →

architecture team at https://inhabitarchitects.com/

Project Information

Year: 2021
Audio Zones: 8
Video Zones: 8
Location: Marbella
Property: Villa
Installation: New Build
Brands: Control4, Epson, Triad, Unifi, Pulseight.

This project was created using:

Aberdeen Control4 Home

by Jonathan Apaloo | 9th Apr 2021

Title Image: A room in a manor house converted into a home cinema

Granite Den

We designed and specified the systems within this house in close partnership with the homeowner. Having previously owned a system within another house, they were in a great position to know what they would use and what they wouldn't.

The client also had a clear idea of the look and feel of the house so equipment choices in terms of location and finishes was made simple. Being a family home, the emphasis was on comfort, convenience and entertainment ... the smart home system gives them control over AV devices as well as lighting and heating for when they're at home and away at one of their holiday homes.

Even though the house was stripped back for the renovation, the solid construction of this turn of the century home presented some challenges ... the thick granite walls are superb for insulating against noise and the elements but no so good for sending wireless signals around, so the network was designed with this in mind.

The home cinema is a key feature with its 3m wide screen and 4K image, the experience is backed up by its reference level audio system, its a really absorbing experience. The acoustic panels were design, built and supplied as part of the package, controlling the audio to create the perfect soundstage.

The finished article contained:

A stunning home cinema installation featuring a Sony 4K projector, 3m acoustically transparent screen and a 7.2.2 Dolby Atmos system with speakers capable of achieving reference levels
A lighting control system which allows the homeowner to change lighting levels across each room and create their own scenes for different moods or uses
A robust and secure home network, capable of handling data traffic from variety of devices including Wifi access points to provide complete wireless coverage
A multi room video system capable of distributing SkyQ, Apple TV and a stream from the CCTV NVR across 8 rooms in the house, all in 4K resolution.

Take a look through the gallery below to see the end result.

Project Information

Audio Zones: 8
Video Zones: 8
Property: Turn of the century period
Installation: Refurbishment
Brands: Control4, Sony, Marantz

How It's Made

This project was created using:

Yorkshire Control4 Apartment

by Jonathan Apaloo | 16th Jun 2016

Automated Apartment

Set in 8.5 acres of delightful Wood and Lakeland the award winning building is a 19th Century converted cotton mill provides luxury apartment living for its residents. Just step inside this apartment and you cannot fail to be impressed by the accommodation provided which has an abundance of charm and character enhanced by the view from the balcony of the lake. The original brief was to provide an element of luxury and convenience as the homeowners live overseas and want a comfortable place to stay when back to see family and friends. Working with the client, interior designer and build team, we began exploring the opportunities from positioning of centralised lighting control and audio visual equipment (initially limited within the predefined space) to deciding how and what to control in each area. The impressive lighting scheme was agreed with the client and provided by our own design team, highlighting key features within the apartment, providing it with a real touch of luxury living. The lighting is all controlled via Control4 panalised lighting control giving simple one-touch control to all areas ... the 'all off' function on the lighting keypads are located at each bedside and at the main entrance for convenience. The heating system is integrated within the Control4 smart home automation system using Heatmiser which allows the owners to set the heating to static level when away or, if its winter, leave it in its automated mode so that the temperature increases if we have a cold snap. The alarm can also be controlled remotely with the ability to set, unset and receive alerts if its triggered, all from the other side of the world. The cleaners can access the property without requiring the homeowners to disclose the alarm code ... the alarm is unset and reset between certain times of the day, allowing the cleaners time to enter, clean and leave ... all they have to do is lock the door behind them. The finished article contains:

A complete smart home automation system including heating control, automated blinds, lighting control, integrated alarm with remote access
A lighting control system that provides four different scenes for each room.
A house-wide music system, controlled from a phone or computer, able to access streaming services, such as Napster and Spotify, or a collection of locally-stored music.
A resilient wireless home network.

Take a look through the gallery below to see the end result.

Project Information

Year: 2014 Audio Zones: 3 Video Zones: 3 Location: West Yorkshire Property: Converted Victorian Mill Installation: Audio Visual Retrofit Brands: Sonos, Control4, Sky, Monitor Audio

This project was created using:

bathroom audio visual

smart home automation

Lighting

kitchen audio visual

bedroom audio visual

Yorkshire Automated Home

by Ben Davies | 4th Apr 2016

Title Image: A warmly-lit glass hallway linking two ends of a converted Yorkshire farmhouse.

Yorkshire Automated Home

This beautiful automated home started life as a number of smaller farm buildings, and now pridefully houses a family with fully automated home. Our client wanted a fully automated home encompassing audio visual, heating and lighting, but were also looking for a clean and technology-free finish. The craftsmanship involved with this build, combined with our system integration, makes it a pleasure to return home from a hard day. This automated home was being restored and revamped both inside and out, allowing us to design and coordinate exactly what type of system and technologies our client wanted.

Every space in the property has had careful lighting design principles applied allowing each room to change between different atmospheres by altering the light levels of each circuit. We've created pre-defined scenes using our experience, to make these transitions easy (for example, time-of-day scenes, feature-wall scenes, cleaning or security scenes, mid-film scenes, and many others.) Our choice of Control4 panelised lighting for this project had one significant advantage: all these scenes can be invoked from keypads around the room, which occupy the same wall-space as normal light switches - no need to stumble around with an iPhone trying to turn on lights!

Automated home lighting control allows this family to live in a home where its identity is constantly being highlighted - feature lighting can automatically dim up on triggered events, the external lights can be active from dusk, main lights within the house can dim automatically as the evening progresses, patterns of lights will flash when the security alarm sounds, and even pausing a film will raise the ambient level at foot-height, allowing you to make your way out of the room. Our aim has been to make the house work for the client and anticipate their needs - integrating the lighting with AV, heating, security and intercom has allowed the house to harmonise with our client's lifestyle.

The finished article contains:

An exceptional lighting control system that leaves the house looking elegant from the outside. The lighting system within the is project is huge, including 40 dimmed, 40 relayed circuits and 36 switches.
An exhaustive audio system to provide amplification to 8 different zones within the house, the audio system includes a power amp, an audio matrix and also a wireless music bridge which allows you to connect your phone to the network and stream music via you phone.
A full house control system including touch screens and remotes scattered around the house, can also be controlled by your mobile phone or tablets.

Project Information

Year: 2015
Audio Zones: 9
Video Zones: 6
Location: West Yorkshire
Property: Farm House Conversion
Installation: Conversion
Brands: Control4, Sky, Denon, Onkyo, Sonos, Sony, Key Digital