There are plenty of choices to consider when weighing your options for outdoor technology, including these 29 tips we outlined with some help from the pros.

Another thing to consider? Color.

We always hear about how people want electronics not to intrude on decor, and lots of indoor architectural speakers facilitate that with subtle installation and paintable grilles.

Loudspeaker manufacturer Axiom Audio wants to make sure homeowners know this can go for the exterior as well. The company’s Algonquin Outdoor Speaker comes in four finishes with fancy names—almond bisque, spiced rum, Cape Cod gray and Arctic white—but if none of those happen to blend in with your home’s siding, patio furnishings or wooden deck, Axiom also provides a custom matching service.

Grilles for the Algonquins ($330/pair) are paintable, but you can actually send Axiom a minimum 4x4-inch sample of color that the company will bring to its team of color-matchers at Dupont, and they’ll come back to you with an “automotive-grade fade-resistant” paint to match.

Axiom says the process takes four weeks and adds $60 to the speakers’ cost.

And don’t worry about the speakers themselves—they’re built to handle outdoor exposure as waterproof models rounded out with a clear coating of ultraviolet ray inhibitor and the automotive-grade paint to avoid fading or sun damage. You can mount them with a full metal bracket or ceiling bracket, and the binding posts are plastic-covered and gold-plated for further rust-proofing.

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.