Ivan Messer is not your typical DIY guy. Instead of tweaking every nook, cranny and cable, he sunk all of his energies into the audio side of his system. He also sunk about $1.1 million—but that’s just part of his story.  It’s not just about the money he’s spent, but what he’s spent it on. At last count, Ivan currently houses 50 Richard Gray’s Power Company products and almost 100… View this story
AV Components • Amplifiers • Power Management • DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Mike Falzon is what we’d call a bargain shopper. While many could easily sink a hundred grand into a basement theater, this DIYer spent a lot of time with mind on his money and his money on his mind. The end result put his pennies—a lot of them—to the test.  One way Mike saved a few bucks: He designed and created his own custom theater introduction. He has a side… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

“Do-it-yourself” theaters are often not do-it-yourself at all. In fact, many enlist the help of a builder to frame out the room, a plumber for adjacent bathrooms, an electrician, and even an A/V consultant, yet still proudly call it a DIY theater. Not so in the case of Jerrod Shook’s converted basement in Cary, North Carolina. Shook did everything from the plumbing, to the electricity, to framing the room, to… View this story
DIY Home Theaters • Home Theater • Cool Homes

Homeowners Gary and Gina De Caster don’t let the blustery conditions of a harsh Wisconsin winter get them down. They just escape to their own private oasis complete with a heated swimming pool, tanning salon, sauna and fully equipped kitchen for a bit of warm-weather relaxation. Attached to the master bedroom and great room, the 4,000-square-foot structure was a welcome addition to the house, doubling its size to 8,000 square… View this story
Surveillance • Pool and Spa • Rec/Play Room • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

How could you not want to wake up here? Not only does this bedroom suite have a panoramic view of Long Island Sound, but it also has a 42-inch plasma TV that descends from a hiding spot in the ceiling, touchscreen control over the whole house, music through a whole-house audio system, an adjoining sitting room/office and a bath to die for. The owners of this Connecticut coastal home wanted… View this story
Shades and Blinds • Bedroom • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Enhancements • Cool Homes • Slideshows

A green home? For Electronic House’s Home of the Year? Yes and you bet. For the first time, our grand-prize winner is an energy-efficient, sustainable home that’s made largely from environmentally friendly materials. And yes, it has plenty of electronics. In fact, the home’s control system, lighting and shading systems help to save energy. Energy efficiency and sustainability are important to many of us today, and this home proves that… View this story
Climate Control Systems • Home Control Systems • Shades and Blinds • Green Technology • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Multiroom AV • Home Control • Cool Homes • Slideshows

The equipment rack holds not one media server but two. At the front door there’s a fingerprint scanner, a surveillance camera and an intercom nestled within a sleek, modern pedestal. Outside, a weather station instructs the draperies and thermostats to adjust. And those are just a few of the innovative high-tech features in Wolfgang and Cornelia Haerle’s 5,000-square-foot automated home. “We considered every possibility before we started building,” says Wolfgang.… View this story
Digital Media Servers • Home Security Systems • Locks and Hardware • Security Sensors • Home Control Systems • Touchpanels and Keypads • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Home Control • Cool Homes • Slideshows

When your entire house stands as a work of art, you don’t want electronics cluttering the view—even if it’s a sleek-looking 65-inch plasma screen. For these London, Ontario, homeowners, the massive fireplace concealing that plasma TV receives as many oohs and ahs as the big screen itself. And that’s just one of many eye-bulging views in this ultramodern home. Certain building restrictions in the area were lifted when the neighborhood… View this story
Plasma • Shades and Blinds • Bedroom • Living Room • Media Room • Rec/Play Room • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Multiroom AV • Cool Homes • Slideshows

On our checklist for an award-winning, super high-end home theater: Flap-your-pants sound system, eye-popping superwide CinemaScope picture capability, “Full HD” 1080p resolution, very serious sound control, gorgeous room design, lighting control and automation systems, and optional things that make us go ga-ga like a separate lobby and a secret entranceway. This over-the-top Houston theater has it all. “I wanted to build a space in my home that was almost a… View this story
Video Projectors • Video Screen • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Cool Homes • Slideshows

In this Cleveland-area loft, the more people, the bigger the party. And what a party it is: Along with the usual nightclub suspects, like a bar, billiards table and blaring music, the loft has a TV around every turn and two theater areas. Yup, this 1,800-square-foot space packs ’em in and packs a punch. “He’s had hundreds of people in there,” says Shane Horner, whose Horner Networks installed the audio/video… View this story
Displays • Digital Media Servers • Home of the Year Awards 2008 • Home Theater • Enhancements • Cool Homes • Slideshows