2009 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Award Winner

Best Integrated Home: Overall Winner

Electronic Systems Consutlant: T&T Automation Ltd.—British Columbia, Canada

When Tony Harper, the managing director of T & T Automation Ltd., was hired to handle all the a/v and automation for a sprawling 35,000-square-foot residential compound in Vancouver, Canada, it’s fair to say that the word “imposing” crossed his mind. 

She loves technology, he fears it. While their new home is loaded with the latest-and-greatest gear, it's built to please both personalities.

Designer Sandra Canada explains how she made two clients happy in one house.

A bachelor’s private home cinema in South Florida becomes an instant getaway.

We chat with Jeffrey Smith—owner of North Miami’s First Impressions Theme Theatres Inc.—about how he orchestrated every detail.

Best Media Room Installation

Supreme Sound

This media room/library features an entire wall built from custom CAT/MBX speakers.

Best Audio Installation

Carefree Electronics Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz.

Beating the Spread

The solution for an exceptionally large theater: towering speakers and towering amplifiers, all artfully concealed.

Best Video Installation

Signals Audio/Video Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif

TVs by the Dozen

This ultra-advanced installation distributes any video source a family member may want—to any of 22 video displays.

2008 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Award Winner

Hidden Installation: Silver Technical Design & Best Overall Winner

Electronic Systems Consultant: Amnet Technology Systems—Stamford, Conn.

Say your wife is pushing you to renovate a little-used room into a beautiful retreat that you can enjoy every day. And you’re a former Fordham University football player. And you love the architectural detailing of New Haven’s famed Temple Bar. The answer is simple: Just build a tavern-like space with lots of TVs, right? Not quite...

Every time the owners step foot into their golden home theater, they feel as if they’ve traveled back in time to their Italian honeymoon.

Consider this: A regular everyday person—not a big-name, highly-in-demand interior designer—masterminded every single detail of this elegant private screening room outside of Los Angeles.

While the wife doesn’t have any formal interior design training, she bravely orchestrated all of her home’s interiors from top to bottom.

A homeowner, who built a private screening room for his family to enjoy, has fallen in love with it himself.

Walk into this gigantic 2,600-square-foot home theater and try to envision the kind of person who would build a private screening room of this magnitude. It’s probably owned by a man, right? It’s extremely masculine in style with polished wall-to-wall woodworking, two bold rows of sturdy-yet-handsome leather recliners, and a red velvet theater curtain with gold tassel fringe.

The no-nonsense design is confident. Bold. Refined. Sophisticated. This is a serious space for serious entertaining. Or is it?

In this award-winning home, what’s new is meant to look old. Translation: This house was designed to resemble a finely restored Georgian home. And that means every ounce of technology is hidden and out of the way.