If you or your kids grew up on Disney Channel originals, you might remember Smart House—the 1990s vision of an all-knowing home that eventually goes off the rails. Thankfully, today’s smart homes are truly helpful additions that make your life easier, calmer, and more beautiful—especially during your busiest seasons. Our design team looks at home technology the same way we look at any finish or furnishing: Does it add value to your life?
For many of our clients, the answer becomes clear around the holidays. Between travel, guests, and winter weather, the right automation can take dozens of small worries off your list all year long. At Speas Interior Design, we integrate smart technology into your home design in a way that feels intuitive and invisible—not like you’re living inside a computer.
Start with How You Actually Live
The difference between a chaotic “Smart House” and a truly intelligent home comes down to intentional design. Before we talk specific devices or platforms, let’s start with how you live in your home day to day.
- Are you early risers who want bedroom shades that open with the sunrise, or night owls who need blackout, quiet, and more dark in the mornings?
- Do you work from home and move between a home office, kitchen, and other spaces throughout the day?
- Are there rooms that stay busy year-round and others that only come alive when guests visit?
- When you travel, do you worry about security or returning to a dark, cold house with your arms full of luggage?
Understanding your lifestyle allows us to design smart features that quietly support you every day: shades that shift with your schedule, settings that shift to “away” mode when you leave, or devices that communicate with you when they require repair. Choose technology that lets your home perform better for you, whether it’s an ordinary Tuesday or a late-night return from holiday travel.
Automated Window Treatments: Window Treatment Motorization
Automated window treatments are often the first smart feature our clients fall in love with, because they blend seamlessly into any design. Most blinds and shades—even shutters and drapery—can be fit with motorized control options like Hunter Douglas PowerView® Automation or Somfy™ that make managing even your tallest windows a breeze.
With programmable shades, you can:
- Enjoy treatments that rise in the morning and close at night on a set schedule or by demand from practically anywhere. With two-way communication, you can track your shade’s positioning in relation to your designated placement once the command is initiated.
- Simulate the look of being at home while you’re away, by opening and closing your shades at standard times so your home doesn’t look obviously vacant while you travel. This creates the appearance of a full house whether you are in town or away.
- Arrive to the right level of light control when you need it: to welcome you as you’re driving home, to reduce UV damage in sunny spaces, etc.
We can design the perfect window treatments for your design, including material, hardware, and control locations during your design phase, so the technology disappears into the architecture of your space.
Smart Home Lighting Controls with Lutron
Thoughtful lighting design doesn’t stop at your windows. Lighting is one of the most effective design tools in how we create a dynamic and functional space—and your options become even more flexible when paired with smart controls.
Systems like Lutron allow you to create bespoke lighting scenes almost anywhere through a combination of recessed lighting, architectural lighting, lamps, and track lighting. During the holidays, that might mean a single button that lowers overhead lighting, highlights the tree or mantel, and creates a soft, cozy glow for evening gatherings.
From a design standpoint, we’re looking at layers of light. Every room should balance ambient light with task light and accent lighting. Smart controls make those layers effortless to set without walking around the house searching for switches.
Designing with Whole Home Smart Systems
As devices become more connected, it’s easy to end up with a different system for everything. A broader platform like Control4 can tie each system together into one hub.
- Coordinate with smart thermostats to lower energy use while you’re gone and warm/cool important zones before you arrive.
- Connect to smart appliances and security features, so you can check in on your home, receive alerts, or make small adjustments from anywhere.
- Centralize your audio and video—from built-in speakers to media rooms to outdoor sound—so music, movies, and streaming services are all at your fingertips.
- Use a single, intuitive universal remote or app, so everyone in the household can easily start a movie night, turn on the exterior lighting, or cue a favorite playlist from their phone or tablet.
We can help design around hardware and wiring, choose switch locations, quietly support your routines in a way that feels beautifully designed first and intelligently automated second.
Smart Homes That Still Feel Like Your Home
The difference between a chaotic “Smart House” and a truly intelligent home design comes down to our process. At Speas Interior Design, we:
- Begin with listening—to how you travel, work, and live.
- Collaborate with your build partners early so wiring, control locations, and equipment all support the design vision.
- Choose smart features that reduce stress, rather than adding for the sake of novelty.