An Ohio estate discreetly integrates entertainment, comfort control and security with products from Ampro, Lexicon and Panja

Story By Norman Kolpas
Photography By David Wolters

Good taste, that most elusive of aesthetic characteristics, may be defined as being present only when something of quality does not call attention to itself. Good taste is discreet. It glows instead of shining. It quietly resonates, never blaring. By such criteria, the home electronics system recently designed and installed by the Cincinnati-based firm of Unique Home Systems as part of a new estate in the rural outskirts of Dayton, Ohio, stands as an exemplar of exceptional taste. Never seen nor heard until it is needed or desired, it hides away behind the trappings of a traditionally styled contemporary country home. At the touch of a button, however, it provides state-of-the-art entertainment, comfort, and security.


Credit for such an impeccably executed achievement goes first to the homeowners. He is a nationally recognized surgeon. She masterminds investments for an elite clientele. Together, they researched every aspect of the project, from the architectural and interior design style they preferred to their home entertainment needs, before ever talking to the professionals they would eventually hire. "They had really done their homework," says architect Jim Bauman, owner of Architrend Associates, who was hired to design the home in the autumn of 1995.

That homework extended to reading the latest issues of Audio Video Interiors, where the clients first learned about "stealth" home entertainment systems that remained virtually invisible when not in use. Achieving just such a system was the goal, so the couple contacted the sales manager with Unique Home Systems.

"They had a set of plans and some pretty ambitious ideas," the sales manager recalls. Those plans, architect Bauman's initial draft of the home's design, called for a dedicated home theater to be incorporated into the house's step-down media room, an impressive 30 x 40-foot space with 14-foot coffered ceilings.

Destined to be "the hub of their family activities," says Bauman, the media room would connect on one side through leaded-glass doors to an enormous gym. On the other side, French doors would open to the pool, terrace and gardens. At the rear, a fully equipped bar with wine storage would connect to the kitchen. The remaining wall, on the home's exterior, would be dedicated to the home theater itself. But he didn't want it to dominate the room when not in use.

Nonetheless, a room of such impressive scale called for the big viewing image that only a projection system could provide. That, in turn, presented a particular challenge. The owners did not want to add any window treatments. And with generous light entering the room from banks of glass doors on both sides, a rear-projection system was necessary. Unfortunately, insufficient space existed in the plans to position a rear projector far enough away behind the wall to fill the Stewart 110-inch diagonal Fresnel/lenticular rear-projection screen selected by Unique Home Systems and the client.

Therein lies the advantage of the audio/video designer getting involved with the architect from the very beginning. Without dramatically altering the look of the home's exterior, Jim Bauman was able to bump out the wall by an extra six feet, thus creating a 10-foot-deep room to house not only the Ampro 4600 projector but also other essential system equipment. "Without doing that," says Unique Home Systems, "the largest screen we could have accommodated would have been 70 inches, which would have seemed like 27 inches in a room of that size."

But how do you stealthily conceal a 110-inch screen--not to mention a full complement of audio/video components and controls, front speakers, and a separate 36-inch monitor for previewing other channels--when they are not in use? Inspired by the clients' desire for traditional interior styling, Unique Home Systems sketched out a design for a library-style alcove of built-in cabinets and wood paneling. Master craftsman Tim Staton and his team of cabinet makers and trim carpenters at The Joinery refined those drawings and executed mahogany built-ins that deceive the eye most artfully, including a panel, complete with framed print, that slips away to reveal the screen.

With similar stealth, the coffered ceiling allowed the system's PSB Stratus Mini rear speakers to be tucked away. Each hides above one of the 3 x 3-foot panels defined by the beams, and lowers on its own Auton lift mechanism when in use.

All the descending platforms and slide-away panels in the world, however, would achieve nothing if a system were not also easy to operate. The owner wanted to be able to press one button that says 'Watch a Movie' and have the screen and speakers suddenly appear and the lights dim down. This seeming miracle is accomplished through an icon on a Panja touchscreen control system. It also runs the distributed audio/video system, sending and receiving signals to and from zones throughout the approximately 11,000-square-foot home.

The Panja system, in turn, also links to and coordinates with the Vantage lighting control system installed throughout the house and its grounds by Unique Home Systems. It runs 97 different lighting loads, along with eight audio zones and four thermostats. And that's putting it simply.

Consider, for example, that incandescent bulbs behind floor-level smoked-glass panels in the hall leading to the master bath cast a soft glow at 10 percent of their full wattage when a motion detector senses footsteps in the middle of the night. Still another load ensures that the exterior outdoor lighting gradually intensifies as daylight slowly wanes, all in coordination with a celestial calendar that knows what time the sun sets and rises each day. "This is the kind of ambiance that we love to create through our designs and installations," comments Tim Galvin who, along with his brother Christopher, started Unique Home Systems in 1985. "It's very satisfying to see how everything fits into our clients' lifestyles."

The outdoor lighting also coordinates with a thorough and highly efficient security system. Ten Crow D&D motion detectors completely cover the home's perimeter. When one is activated, it triggers a group of lights in that area, as well as one of six video cameras. At the touch of a button, the view from that camera can be accessed on any of 11 monitors throughout the house.

Full credit for coordinating it all goes to David Wikette , production manager at Unique Home Systems . He and his team also planned and worked with the electricians to execute the massive task of laying in the structured wiring for audio, video, cable, computers, and telephone, as well as all lighting and electrical fixtures. "It was so much easier to do this while the house was actually being built," says Wikette. Adds architect Jim Bauman, "It took a lot of teamwork to pull off the integration of the architecture, audio/video systems, interior millwork, and interior design."

David Wikette also was the mastermind behind programming the Panja and Vantage systems to communicate fluently with each other. He spent a lot of late nights staring at a computer screen, adjusting a kitchen under-cabinet light by 10 percent or a bathroom vanity light by 18 percent to achieve the homeowners' ideal levels. Most people don't realize the skill required to do something like that.

Indeed, most people do not. And, like every other detail of a project the homeowners have now been enjoying and appreciating for two years, that virtually invisible hard work only further enhances a home audio/video system in which good taste quietly abounds.