I have tremendous respect for what interior designers do. The best ones we work with are managing an incredibly complex process — client vision, architectural constraints, vendor relationships, installation sequencing, budget management — all while trying to create something genuinely beautiful. The last thing they need is a technology integrator who's adversarial, slow, or cavalier about their design intent.
Here's how we work, and what we need from you to make your projects as good as they can be.
What We Need From You (And When)
Early: Preliminary furniture layouts. This tells us where the TVs go, which informs where outlets and conduit get roughed in. We've had beautiful rooms where the TV ended up 18 inches from where the outlet was roughed in because nobody told us the sectional configuration had changed.
During design development: Fixture schedule with dimmability noted. The dimmer technology we use needs to match the fixture technology. Most LED fixtures are dimmable, but not all LEDs are compatible with all dimmers — Lutron's fixture compatibility list is extensive, but we need to check.
Before permits: Keypad locations. We have strong opinions about these (they should be where someone logically wants to control the room, at the right height, in the right finish), but we want your input. A keypad in the wrong spot in a beautifully designed room is a failure.
What You Can Expect From Us
We'll tell you early if something you want isn't possible or requires a tradeoff. We won't let you find out at rough-in that the camera mount location conflicts with the crown detail you designed.
We'll match our hardware to your finishes. Lutron makes keypads and dimmers in dozens of finishes — we'll get samples in the room before we specify.
We'll keep our equipment invisible wherever possible. The rack is in the equipment room. The speakers are in the walls or ceiling. The cameras are integrated into the architecture. You should never have a client asking "what's that thing on the wall?"
The Collaboration That Produces Great Results
The projects we're most proud of are the ones where we were at the design table early and the designer was genuinely engaged in the technology choices. Not necessarily deeply technical — we handle that — but engaged in the questions that affect the design: where does the TV go and how does it look when it's off? What do the keypads look like and where are they? Is there a way to hide the equipment that integrates with the millwork?
Those conversations produce better outcomes for the client and better projects for everyone involved. If you're working on a project in the LA area and want to start that conversation, we'd genuinely enjoy it.
