In the heart of Boston’s SoWa neighborhood, a 1,700-square-foot creative loft has been transformed into a haven of approachable luxury through design and smart technology. The homeowners, a couple who are interior designers with experience in lighting specification and design, embarked on a journey to create a space that inventively blends cutting-edge smart technology with their design narrative of a “black Japanese forest.” This unique concept draws inspiration from Japanese, Italian, and Scandinavian aesthetics, resulting in a home that is both sophisticated and welcoming.
The Vision: Approachable luxury
The main narrative driving this project was the concept of approachable luxury. “Our goal with the design of this home, and the smart technology integration, was to make everything nice, but not ostentatious,” the homeowner explains. This philosophy guided every decision, from the choice of materials to the selection of smart home systems, ensuring that the technology enhanced rather than dominated the living space.
Lighting: Illuminating the vision
The cornerstone of this smart home is the Ketra and Lutron HomeWorks lighting system. Ketra lighting, renowned for its tunable and dynamic capabilities, is featured in every room, and used in most architectural and decorative lighting. This choice was crucial, as the loft’s location on a lower floor increases the possibility that new construction could significantly reduce its plentiful southwest light.
“Ketra was really the only choice for us,” the homeowners explain. “It provides the functionality and flexibility needed to properly illuminate each space.” This is particularly evident in rooms with little to no natural light, such as the guest bedroom, an office, gym, and bathrooms. Here, Ketra lighting steps in to recreate the impression of daylight and the sun’s path, ensuring that occupants can move from naturally lit spaces to completely artificial lighting without losing the feel or quality of natural light.
Ketra lighting works flawlessly with the Lutron HomeWorks system, allowing for precise control and customization of the lighting throughout the home. This integration was essential in achieving the desired ambience that aligns with the design narrative.
Voice control: Security meets convenience
For voice control, the homeowners opted for Josh.ai, moving away from more common alternatives like Alexa. “We weren’t fans of Alexa, both from a usability and a security standpoint,” they note. Josh.ai not only integrates seamlessly with their AV systems and lighting and automatic window treatments but also offers enhanced security features – an increasing priority for many homeowners.
The Josh.ai system’s ability to understand complex demands sets it apart from other voice control options. It can interpret and execute multi-step commands, making it an intuitive and efficient way to control various aspects of the home. For example, a single voice command can adjust lighting, lower shades, and start playing music – all tailored to the homeowners’ preferences.
While keypads are the smart home’s answer to traditional light switches and dimmers, dynamic lighting goes far beyond on, off, and basic dimming. Voice control takes tunable lighting control to an entirely different level, putting infinite scene control options at the tip of your tongue. The ability to fine-tune the intensity of light, color temperature, or color without pressing a button or scrolling through an app is game-changing, allowing homeowners to take full advantage of their investment in intelligent lighting.
Window Treatments: Mastering Light and Privacy
The loft’s window treatments showcase a thoughtful blend of aesthetics and functionality. The great room, boasting 25 feet of windows, features two motorized drapery tracks for floor-to-ceiling drapery and sheer light filtering. This approach allows for precise control over natural light and privacy, complementing the Ketra lighting system in creating the perfect ambiance for any time of day or occasion.
In the primary suite, a massive southwest-facing window is equipped with a Lutron blackout roller shade and channels, ensuring total darkness for optimal sleep hygiene. “The blackout feature in our bedroom has been a game-changer for our sleep quality,” the homeowners share. “It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes in our daily lives.”
The homeowners collaborated with Makkas Drapery for all soft window treatments, utilizing Sivoia wired drapery systems from Lutron for seamless integration with the home’s smart systems. This collaboration ensured that the window treatments not only functioned flawlessly but also adhered to the overall design aesthetic of the space.
Audio-Visual: Invisible Luxury
The AV system in this smart home epitomizes discreet luxury. Sonos provides whole-home audio, offering high-quality sound and easy control through the Sonos app or Josh.ai voice commands. To maintain the clean aesthetic throughout the living spaces, the homeowners opted for Sonance invisible speakers. These speakers, once installed and painted over, blend seamlessly with the walls, providing rich sound without visual intrusion. To up the audio game, they installed wedge speakers from Sonance on the industrial ceilings in the main entertaining space and the primary suite.
Bathrooms are equipped with Sonance in-ceiling stereo speakers, allowing for a luxurious audio experience even in these more private spaces. A Sonance DSP (Digital Signal Processor) drives the entire speaker system, integrating perfectly with Sonos for comprehensive audio control. This setup ensures that whether the homeowners are hosting a dinner party in the great room or enjoying a relaxing bath, the audio experience is always top-notch and perfectly balanced.
Challenges and Solutions
One of the main challenges in this project was compensating for the lack of natural light common in many urban homes. The combination of Ketra lighting and motorized window treatments provided an elegant solution. “We can now mimic the natural progression of daylight even on the most overcast days,” the homeowners explain. “It’s had a noticeable positive impact on our mood and productivity.”
Another challenge was integrating all the smart systems without compromising the graceful aesthetic. The use of invisible or discreet speakers, well-considered lighting fixtures, and hidden wiring for the motorized drapes allowed for a clean, uncluttered look that aligns perfectly with the Scandinavian-Japanese design inspiration.
Conclusion
This creative loft exemplifies how smart home technology can enhance living spaces without compromising design integrity. By carefully selecting and integrating systems like Ketra lighting, Josh.ai voice control, motorized window treatments, and invisible audio solutions, the homeowners have created a space that is both technologically advanced and aesthetically pleasing.
The result is a home that embodies approachable luxury, where technology serves to enhance the carefully crafted design narrative rather than overshadow it. It demonstrates that with thoughtful planning and integration, smart home technology can create living spaces that are not only more convenient and efficient but also more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.
As smart home technology continues to evolve, this project stands as a testament to the possibilities of harmoniously blending high-tech features with high-end design, creating spaces that are truly responsive to their inhabitants’ needs and preferences.