by Christy Heitger-Ewing
HOMEOWNERS RELISH EXTENDING THEIR LIVING SPACE WITH LUXURIOUS OUTDOOR FEATURES
After a long and tiring day, many find it enjoyable to unwind outside with some fresh air and quiet time. Sipping on a glass of wine or your favorite cocktail, you can relax in nature while watching a ballgame or listening to your favorite tunes by the fire pit. Increasingly, people are craving this time – and space – without having to leave the privacy of their home. By extending their living space with an outdoor dining area, pool, spa, patio, or pergola, their backyard truly becomes a livable, outdoor oasis.
“The square footage of your home increases with the addition of an outdoor living space. The patio essentially becomes living room number two,” says Chad Brewer, General Manager of BRAVAS, a leading national technology integrator. “A three-season room can now be utilized all year round with the addition of outdoor heaters on the ceiling.”
In recent years, creating an outdoor oasis has become even more popular as homeowners seek both personal respite as well as an awesome area to entertain. In fact, according to Mark Vyain, BRAVAS’ Principal, more people than ever are focusing on their exterior areas than interior. They view the outdoors as a nicer place to entertain during the spring, summer and fall months. To accomplish this, they’ll install top notch technology in their outdoor living space, including both weatherproof and water-proof televisions and speakers, as well as in-ground subwoofers.
“There was a time when you placed two speakers on the wall of the patio and called it the ‘outside zone,” says Brewer. “Now we can install TVs with speakers everywhere, zoning it out to where you can listen to something different on the patio, by the pool, under the pergola, or you can combine it all and have all zones playing the same thing.”
If you want to watch the game but also have music playing in the background as well, that can be done. The options are limitless.
“The reason we do a lot of speakers and in-ground subwoofers is that normally if you put a single set of speakers outside, you’re trying to project audio over a long distance,” says Vyain. “It may have really poor audio where you are wanting to listen to it and be way too loud in the space where the audio is originating. So, these [speakers and subwoofers] allow for really blended, smooth audio coverage throughout a large exterior space.”
By using BRAVAS’ technology solutions, homeowners can create a seamless indoor-to-outdoor entertainment experience. This also means that homeowners can use the same handheld remote or tablet to program their outdoor living area, including operating automatic shading, lighting, televisions, speakers, heaters, and more.
“It can all be done with one touch of a button,” says Brewer.
Most of BRAVAS’ control systems have a drop down menu that lists the various living spaces. The homeowner then engages with whichever space they want to control (e.g., pergola, pool, firepit, etc.). If you select the pergola and you have a television in that space, then TV functions would show up on that screen as well.”
“Modern control systems do a good job of only giving you the buttons that actually mean something to the source you’re trying to listen to. There aren’t a bunch of ancillary control buttons that [get in the way],” says Vyain. “People appreciate the simplicity of design where they can engage with a space the same, whether they are inside or outside.”
Adds Brewer, “Technology has gotten a little bit better every year, and these last few years it’s gotten to a whole other level.”
If you are looking to take your outdoor living spaces to the next level with a custom integrated technology plan, connect with the experts at BRAVAS.
