Southwell Gardens, SW7
This was a comprehensive “back to brick” refurbishment of a two bedroom flat in South Kensington. Due to the property’s relatively small square footage, our brief specified the need for space saving devices and for no wires to be seen, although a high tech solution was required.
Kensington Home Technology (KHT) worked with the building contractors and
the client to ensure that the flat was fully future proofed. This required
the installation of a CAT 5 network and all of the coax required for Sky
+, terrestrial, FM and DAB - all terminating in the Central Distribution
Point (CDP). The CDP box also housed the patch panel, router, Networked
Attached Storage box (NAS) and BT infrastructure.
KHT installed Sonos multi room hi-fi throughout the master bedroom and
en-suite bathroom, as well as the reception room and kitchenette, and also
created two independent music zones. The Sonos system works off MP3 files
which are stored on the Network Attached Storage (NAS) box and operates
using iTunes, Microsoft Windows media player and other MP3 playing software.
In order to get another 248 CDs onto the client’s NAS box - which
he had not had time to do himself - we provided the KHT music digitisation
service.
In the master bedroom we installed Sky+ and a wall mounted LCD TV. The Sky
set top box was to be located in the top of the wardrobe, so KHT had to
use an infra red (IR) re-broadcaster in order to send the IR signal to the
unit. Due to the location of the TV on the chimney breast, KHT had to chase
all wires to it for signal and power. Therefore, we installed two scart
leads for the current technology but also installed two HDMI leads in the
wall which the next generation of HD products will require. The TV has its
own speakers and the Sonos system uses the wall mounted Audica speakers.
In the reception room KHT installed a 50” Pioneer plasma screen with external speakers driven through a surround sound amp (shared with the Sonos). To enable the client to browse the internet, send emails, view photographs and movies and manage his iTunes collection in the main reception room, we installed an Apple Mac Mini with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Apple Front Row software, together with a wireless keyboard and mouse. This allows him to work effectively using his 50” plasma screen as a monitor. He can even keep an eye on the news or live sports events whilst working, using the picture-in-picture feature on the screen!
Although the scope of the home technology works for this apartment was relatively small, it is a good demonstration that to have a high tech home such as this, it is not necessary to spend a fortune on technology.
