Rickmansworth

This Hertfordshire home is the last word in connected luxury. The six-bedroom newbuild was developed with full home automation in mind from the outset in collaboration with the developer, who also owns the home. The client, who runs construction company Ivaro, reached out to Equippd to help create a more connected family home that would both improve his family’s lifestyle but also act as a show home for Ivaro’s prospective clients.

The existing structure was demolished to create a detached four-storey house over  basement, ground, first and second floors. It has an office, a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos cinema room with seven leather seats, a basement games room and bar designed by Custom Interiors and fitted with bespoke Artcoustic audio, and a gym. Six bathrooms boast Hansgrohe fittings and Valentino tiles. Lutron smart lighting has been installed throughout so the client can programme specific scenes on custom-engraved Pico keypads to create the perfect ambience for any room. Control4 enables beautifully simple control of all the systems and in-wall touchscreens throughout the home, from TV and audio to lighting and CCTV.

The solid concrete building centres upon a stunning cast concrete staircase, which spirals up through the middle of the home like a huge helix, symbolising adaptability and resilience. Durable and versatile cast concrete marble-effect floors are the perfect pared-back finish for this elegant home, but can cause problems for WiFi and RF (radio frequency) communication. We overcame this by using the UniFi WiFi 5 system, created to provide powerful wireless coverage for high-density environments.