Whether you have a Texas-sized backyard or a modest outdoor space, you want to be able to enjoy it day and night. To do that, though, adding landscape lighting is a must! Hanging out with friends in the dark isn’t fun, nor is shooing away bugs and squinting to see one another because there’s a too-bright spotlight nearby.

To avoid party-hosting snafus, it’s crucial to have the right kind of lighting installed, and to do that, you need to work with a professional landscape lighting team like Relative Home Systems. Keep reading below to learn how you can take your outdoor entertainment in River Oaks to new levels with lighting.

SEE ALSO: How to Create a Stylist Landscape Lighting Design

Light Up Pathways

Whether it’s a small get-together or a large party, guests should be able to navigate your space safely. With our trusted brand partner, Coastal Source, we can help you illuminate your property with various lighting fixtures. A combination of pathway lights, niche lights, lip lights, and step lights not only makes the architectural features of your property look great, but every guest and family member is sure-footed. We know nights like these are made for memories, so we’re here to light up the way safely.

Set the Mood

Imagine floating in the pool and looking up into the trees. Instead of a pitch-black scene, you’ll see a variety of hanging lights and bullet lights showcasing your seating area and trees. Landscape lighting allows you to make a statement – even in the dark – and sets the mood for any gathering. We’ll automate your lighting, too, so once the sun goes down, your backyard spaces will shine. Lights aren’t jarring, either. They’ll dim to the perfect setting for whatever mood you’re trying to create in your backyard.

Texas homes need Texas-sized solutions that make life easier while also adding a sophisticated aesthetic at the same time. Luxury smart home technologies such as motorized shades, outdoor entertainment, and Ketra lighting can all change the look and feel of a home with a simple voice command or finger tap in an app.

To maximize the convenience of your River Oaks-area smart home, you can incorporate all of your devices using one intuitive interface. Keep reading below to learn how the same system that manages your Ketra lighting indoors can also control your landscape lighting system!

SEE ALSO: So, Why Should I Use Tunable Lighting?

Ketra Lighting

We’ve written before about the transformative benefits of tunable lighting. Beautiful, customized lighting experiences help you become an exciting party host while energizing, bright light improve your productivity while working from you. With Ketra, there’s excellent color rendering, and each bulb is perfectly calibrated to produce uniform color throughout your Texas home. Everything looks its best – even you – no matter the time of day.

Ketra goes beyond traditional LED smart lighting by mimicking natural light automatically, even dimming down to 0.1% and 1,400K to imitate the flame of a candle! Truly, if you want to recreate a mood, Ketra lighting can achieve it with precision.

Our clients often ask us this question when it comes to their outdoor entertainment options: “Do I really need an outdoor television?” And our answer is always, “Yes, of course!”

Though the initial price may deter some clients, we emphatically stand by our answer when it comes to outdoor TVs. This specialty entertainment component is crafted exclusively to withstand the elements – wind, rain, dust, insects, and humidity.

Whether you’re in Memorial or elsewhere in Texas, you know that the sun and heat are forces to be reckoned with year-round. The initial cost pays dividends over time because this technology solution is built to last in your backyard spaces. Keep reading below to learn three reasons why an outdoor television from Séura is worth the investment!

SEE ALSO: Experience High-Performance Audio Everywhere on Your Property

Durability

Corrosion resistance is critical when it comes to outdoor televisions. From the mounting hardware to the durable enclosure protecting delicate internal electronics, a fully weatherproof entertainment solution is imperative for your backyard in Texas. All critical connections are sealed and protected so sun, heat, wind, rain, insects, and humidity cannot breach the seals.

When we introduce the concept of multi-room audio to our clients, they often think of their main living areas and the kitchen as ideal locations to include in their setup. While those two spaces are popular, we’ve found that many clients frequently forget about two areas of their River Oaks, TX home when considering a new sound system. 

Keep reading below to learn which two rooms of your home you can’t overlook when planning for a new or upgraded AV setup. Then give us a call to get started on your very own system. 

SEE ALSO: How to Build the Ultimate Whole Home Audio System

Dedicated Listening Room

Immersive audio and video experiences are a must for any personal home theater space or media room, but if you’re an audiophile, then we have a suggestion for your Texas home. High-fidelity audio is a nearly spiritual experience and has the capability of mentally transporting you to the front row of a concert. Having the strum of the guitar, the hum of the amp, and the steady rhythm of the drums inside your home is any rock fan’s dream.

Now imagine controlling all of the music sources and media with a simple tap of your finger. Separate areas of your home are programmed as music zones, so the kids can listen to fun pop tunes in the playroom, your spouse can jam to classic rock in the kitchen, and you can enjoy your listening room all using the same powerful audio system. A fully integrated multi-room audio system takes your favorite listening spot to the rest of your property, which is perfect for family get-togethers and parties – one press of your finger takes one song to every room of the house, including outside!

There are an estimated 128 million Americans, or 38.5% of the population, that used a voice assistant in 2020, according to emarketer. With more time spent at your Memorial, TX, home in the last 12 months, that number rose significantly compared to 2019 because homeowners and their families spent more time together for the sake of social distancing and community health.

There are a few potential drawbacks to using the typical voice assistants like Apple’s Siri, Google, and Amazon’s Alexa, though. Data sharing for advertising purposes is the standard operating procedure, so your personal habits and preferences are shared with marketers regularly. In contrast, Josh.ai is a voice control platform that flips the norms of no privacy on its head.

Scroll on below to learn more about Josh.ai and how this new voice assistant’s mission keeps your privacy and data secure.

SEE ALSO:4 Questions to Ask When Upgrading to a Smart Home

How is Josh.ai Different?

Many may think that all voice control assistants are the same, but that’s simply not true. Run-of-the-mill voice control platforms available from the big-box retailers utilize your personal data as a commodity, selling it to advertisers for profit. The voice commands you make, songs you request, and information you request is all accumulated and sold to the highest bidder. Sure, your home can operate smart devices by your voice, but the price you pay in order to do this is high – you and your family lose privacy.

Many homeowners are aware that LED lighting is more efficient than incandescent lighting, but they’re hesitant to switch their bulbs for fear of losing the incandescent aesthetic. That soft, warm glow may work well in some situations, perhaps in the evenings as you read a book to relax, but there are times when you need that same lamp fixture to provide brighter, whiter light so you can see betterto complete tasks.

Changing out bulbs as your lighting needs shift throughout the day is a ridiculously arduous endeavor – no one wants to do this. Many homeowners settle for inadequate lighting from fixtures at some point of their day – a dull glow in the breakfast area or too harsh in the media room. Ketra lighting remedies this!

No matter the task – from accentuating artwork to illuminating countertops while preparing dinner – this innovative LED lighting solution completely transforms how everything in your River Oaks-area home is seen and experienced. 

Read on below to learn more about incorporatingKetra lighting into your Texas home.

SEE ALSO: 5 Smart Home Solutions That Kept Us Going Through 2020

In Houston, we’re lucky to enjoy favorable weather for the majority of the year. Spending time outdoors is something most of us do in our free time, whether you’re hiking or enjoying time on the lake or river. Natural sunlight makes you feel great by energizing your spirit and your mood. 

Unfortunately, we can’t spend all of our time outdoors. Either the weather is crummy, or you simply need to go to your day job to make a living. Florescent indoor lighting can be a drag compared to the beautiful outdoors and can wear down your mood. To combat traditional indoor lighting’s downfalls, you can incorporate circadian lighting into your living spaces.

Read on below to learn more about the Texas-sized benefits of circadian lighting!

SEE ALSO: Upgrade Your Smart Home With Automated Lighting Control

What Is Circadian Lighting?

To first understand circadian lighting, one must know the definition of a circadian rhythm. A circadian rhythm is like mother nature’s biological clock and follows human’s 24-hour sleep and wake cycles. Your brain interprets light signals and informs you of when it is daytime or nighttime. When we spend too much time indoors with harsh lighting, our circadian rhythms become out of sync. This is why many nighttime workers have trouble sleeping.

This year was one for the record books, and it certainly did not develop as we all thought it would when we sang "Auld Lang Syne" and clinked our glasses to usher in 2020. Luckily, this year's happenings have given us all a chance to reflect on the people and circumstances we are thankful for and allowed us to connect with our loved ones in new ways. We don't know about you, but we certainly see our families and friends more than we did last year, thanks to technology solutions!

Read on below for five smart home solutions that got us through a difficult year and will help us bring in 2021 with an added layer of comfort and convenience in our Austin, TX homes.

SEE ALSO: Enjoy the Holidays in a Whole New Way

Home Networking

The modern workplace has shifted dramatically this year, with many employees moving to remote working in their Austin home. To effectively make the shift to work-from-home life, an upgraded high-speed network solution was necessary to keep you, your partner, and the kids connected to their online workspaces. Once the workday was over, though, you used the network to stay in touch with family over socially distanced holidays, with friends for online happy hours, or to binge-watch your favorite TV shows.

Safety & Security

A home security system ensured your Texas property was safe and secure, and it improved your peace of mind, so you had one less thing to worry about. Smart locks guaranteed the entry doors were never left unlocked. Surveillance cameras kept an eye on the perimeter, and video door stations ensured porch pirates kept away from your package deliveries. Let’s face it, we all did a bit more online shopping this year than in years past.

The holidays look a bit different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the festivities while staying at home in Austin, TX. Home automation brings a new layer of excitement to an already fun time of year by making life easier and more enjoyable.

We strive to bring trusted technology trends to our clients’ homes so they can enjoy themselves with multi-room audio, private home theaters, lighting control, and more. Read on below to learn two ways Relative Home Systems can incorporate smart home control and help you add a little more pizazz to your end-of-year celebrations.

SEE ALSO: How Do Biophilia and Smart Home Technology Mix?

Livens the Mood

There’s nothing quite like hearing your favorite holiday playlist for the first time each year. Why not stream your favorite songs from your personal music collection or favorite TIDAL playlists on your whole-home audio system? Colorful LED lighting can also help energize the mood while you’re playing your seasonal playlists, too. Bathe the room in holiday colors—red and green, blue and white, or any combination you choose!

Mariah Carey’s seasonal favorite, “All I Want for Christmas” will get stuck in your head in no time—just tap a button on your Control4 Neeo remote, and the song will stream from every speaker you pass as you walk from the festively lit kitchen to the family room to the outdoor patio.

Are you ready for an automated home? Maybe you’d like music to flow through every room of the house or a security system that protects every vulnerable corner. From one app on your phone, you can access your speakers, security, lights, thermostats, TVs, and more.

But that’s going to require lots of planning, wiring, and careful installation by a smart home installer. If you’re renovating your property or building a new home, you’d benefit from partnering with a technology advisor like Relative Home Systems, based in Austin, TX. But when should a smart home professional get involved in the process?

Ideally, you’ll bring in help from the very beginning. We’ll share every step of the timeline so you can see how an installer helps at each phase of your new smart home build.

SEE ALSO: Why Go With a Pro for Your Smart Home Installation?

Architectural Phase

In the first phase, we’ll meet with you to design a blueprint of where all your technology will go. We’ll review it with your architect or builder, and if you’re working with an interior designer, we’ll discuss the technology’s impact on design. We’ll provide a budget to you and contract low-voltage wiring services to power your technology.

Staying in? Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade your home entertainment. After all, in-person sports aren’t an option, and concerts have been canceled indefinitely. If you’re looking for the most lifelike TV experience, that would be in 8K resolution.  

While 4K used to reign supreme, 8K TVs now offer what The Verge calls “likely the clearest digital picture the human eye will ever see.” Brands like Sony now offer 8K screens with High Dynamic Range (HDR), dazzling anyone who gazes at it.

But how does 8K work, and do you really need it for your Austin, TX home? Find out below.

SEE ALSO: Rock or Relax Outside With an Outdoor Sound System

What Does 8K Mean?

How did we jump from 4K to 8K? Let’s start with standard HD screens, which display 1080 pixels vertically. Moving up, 4K TVs typically include 3,840 pixels horizontally and 2,160 pixels vertically, giving it the shortened nickname 4K. 8K quadruples the total number of pixels in 4K screens, with 7,680 pixels across and 4,320 vertically for a total thirty-three million pixels.

Whether you are grilling on the weekend or having company over to watch the big game, you’ll want to make sure that your outdoor entertainment space is ready to go with a great outdoor TV.

But, not all TVs are a good fit for the outdoors. You don’t want to find yourself having to replace a damaged TV. It’s critical to consult professionals when making a decision on which outdoor TV is right for you so that they can ensure your TV is going to integrate perfectly with the rest of your outdoor entertainment system.

We love working with Coastal Source because they have so many excellent outdoor sound solutions. We’ll help you integrate your outdoor sound system with your outdoor TV so that your backyard looks and sounds exactly like you imagined.

You need a superior product. Our team of experts at Relative Home Systems can help you build the right outdoor entertainment space for your Austin, TX home that includes the perfect outdoor TV.

SEE ALSO: How to Get Audio to Your Outdoor Spaces

There’s no need to feel down this season because your original summer plans were canceled or modified dramatically. While you may not be able to go to the beach or your favorite place for a party as you typically do, you can certainly change the look and feel of your Memorial, TX, home with a few key elements.

We love working with Coastal Source because the brand is known for its superior landscape lighting and outdoor audio products. Products are built to withstand the harsh elements, something every Texan can appreciate thanks to our grueling hot summers. Landscape lighting offers a variety of benefits to your home, from illuminating trees and flowerbeds to brightening pathways.

Keep reading to learn how lighting and entertainment can transform your outdoor spaces so you can enjoy a mini-vacation without ever leaving your backyard.

SEE ALSO: How Do Biophilia and Smart Home Technology Mix?

Improved Safety

Walkways can be expertly lit to increase safety on your Memorial-area property. Coastal Source step lights are surface-mounted LED lights that offer low-level light along walls, pathways, or any other vertical surface. Smaller, harder to reach locations like under railings or rafters benefit from brass lip lights that assist your visitors gracefully up steps.

Many of us have found a newfound appreciation for home offices, due to the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders. Even though some restrictions are lifting here, many businesses choose to operate with greater remote work flexibility than before.

People who didn’t invest in their home office design before the pandemic have probably learned a good lesson: It’s smart to have a solid work-from-home setup. Settling for your couch or kitchen table when trying to get work done isn’t the best for productivity or your comfort.

You may be wondering how to improve your home office design. Here are five steps you can take to create a dream work-from-home setup for your Houston, Texas home.

SEE ALSO: Why Go With a Pro for Your Smart Home Installation?

1. Install a Speaker System

The benefits of speakers for your home office are endless. Speakers can be an extension of your phone and computer, so whenever you have calls or video conferences, you’ll be able to hear everything with top-notch sound quality. If you need a mental break and want to play some music, you can play it on your high-performance home office speakers instead of your computer. In-wall or in-ceiling speakers are great options for enveloping sound — and they won’t take up room on your desk.

2. Add Lighting Control

Your home office’s lighting can go beyond a lamp or natural sunlight. Lamps don’t necessarily produce the best light for your productivity, and natural sunlight feels nice until it hits your computer screen and produces glare. Instead, you can install human-centric, LED lighting that simulates natural light and automatically adjusts color temperatures throughout the day. Human-centric lighting helps regulate your circadian rhythm (your body’s sleep/wake cycle) and can produce specific tones to stimulate activity and concentration. It can give you the benefits of sunlight without you needing to raise all your shades and worrying about your computer displays.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to work from home and spend time indoors as much as possible. Although this period is causing many to deal with the stress of uncertainty, at least there is certainty that collectively staying home limits the spread of the virus.

Now that you’re spending so much time in your home office, have you thought about how smart technology can enhance your space and make you more productive? With the right tools, you can make your home office more convenient, luxurious, and tailored to your needs.

Let’s explore four ways smart home automation can amp up your Woodlands, TX, home office, and improve how you work from home.

SEE ALSO: Why Go with a Pro for Your Smart Home Installation?

Audio/Video System

With stay-at-home orders in place, people have been communicating more and more through phone calls and video conferencing. You don’t have to worry about conducting video calls solely through your computer — you can connect your computer to a 4K monitor or television and hear your conversations through high-performance, in-wall speakers throughout your office. Don’t like the quality of your computer’s camera for video conferencing? You can set up UHD or 4K cameras to get pristine image quality.

Summer is around the corner, meaning it’s time to embrace warmer weather and enjoy your Austin home’s outdoor entertainment. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you can do outside — you could watch your favorite TV show or sports team on a flat screen TV while barbecuing. Or if you want to take a swim break, why not listen to a playlist through speakers in your pool?

You can extend the top-notch entertainment features from your home’s indoor space to your patio or backyard and still control everything from your smart home automation system. Here’s how you can get your outdoor space equipped for those Texas summer days and nights.

SEE ALSO: Rock or Relax Outside with an Outdoor Sound System

Outdoor Entertainment

Thanks to today’s technology solutions, you can have fun with outdoor entertainment that’s built to withstand the elements and still provide excellent performance. You can enjoy music from high-quality outdoor speakers that seamlessly blend in with your landscaping. If you want to watch a summer flick, you can view it on a flat screen TV that can weather storms and the heat of the sun.

Don’t worry about glare — there are solutions to minimize it and give you prime viewing, always. Séura’s ultra-bright TVs offer best-in-class picture quality, advanced HDR, and 4K UHD capability, even in sunlight. If you’re wondering how to place a TV in your outdoor space, Future Automation manufactures exceptional TV lifts and mounts to fit your functional and aesthetic needs.

Given the wide availability of a plethora of smart home devices from security to lighting, you might think this is an area where a professional is not needed. Can't you do a smart home installation in Dallas on your own?

You certainly can. But if you run a business, you may need the services of an information technology professional either full time or for specific help. Why? Because they know how to install and maintain complex systems, and you have other responsibilities. Think of smart home automation the same way – you could do it yourself with off-the-shelf technology, but if you want a system that works consistently and smoothly, there are compelling reasons to hire a professional smart home company.

Read on for more!

SEE ALSO: 4 Questions to Ask When Upgrading to a Smart Home

Simplified, Unified Control

If you’ve acquired any smart device, it’s almost a given that it comes with its own control app. App control is useful and convenient, but if five devices have five different apps, things can start getting confusing.

It’s almost spring in Texas; the weather is turning warmer, and the outdoors is getting greener. This is typically an excellent time to do new landscaping work both for maintenance and the spring and summer season.

You put a lot of effort into your lawns and gardens to make an impression with your home - either for yourself or your visitors. What happens after dark? Much of that investment might go unseen. Don’t let your home’s beautiful exteriors go unappreciated. With a landscape lighting plan and installation for your Houston, TX home, you can shine a light on your property and show it off.

Keep reading for three ways you can use landscape lighting to enhance the appearance of your home.

SEE ALSO: The Top Benefits of Landscape Lighting

Downlighting and Area Lighting

Our mild and humid climate makes for great trees. Downlights can be installed in trees to softly illuminate a garden, yard, or driveway. You can choose warm lighting if you prefer, but cooler toned bulbs can simulate natural moonlight for a beautiful effect.

It is 2020, and as in most new years, people like to make resolutions. One resolution that certainly makes sense is to conserve energy and protect our environment. Conserving energy also has the added benefit of saving money, too, which is another great perk.

Unlike other resolutions that require a lot of work, at least one part of going green does not. With home lighting control, you can easily manage your lights to ensure you are only using what you need where you need it. Once installed, it is a solution that pays green dividends in your Houston home all year long.

Read on to learn how this green living technology conserves energy and brings incredible convenience to your home.

SEE ALSO: 4 Great Lighting Control Scenes for Your Home

What Lighting Control Does

Lighting control takes the control away from light switches and puts it in the palm of your hand, as well as automation that does the work for you. Rather than go around making sure lights are off when you’re not using the room, technology can do the job for you. There are various ways:

We’re fortunate in the Houston area, as our Texas winters are mild. Summer may be over, but it’s still a great time to be outside. Spending time in your patio relaxing or entertaining doesn’t mean you have to leave the music inside.

If you’re particular about audio quality, you don’t want to settle for a portable Bluetooth speaker. You want a system that can move you when you want to party, and also one with detail and nuance when you want to relax in your patio with a good read and some background tunes.

If you’re ready for a high-quality outdoor sound system in the Woodlands, now is a great time to install it. Keep reading to learn more.

SEE ALSO: What is the Best Speaker Layout for Your Outdoor Audio?

Purpose Built Outdoor Sound

With the right outdoor audio system, settling for inferior sound is a thing of the past. Your speakers can blend into your landscape seamlessly, or they can stand out if you prefer with artful modern designs like those from Coastal Source. You also won't have to worry about the Texas weather; high-quality outdoor speakers are made to withstand rain, heat, and cold, season after season.