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The owners of this new build in Little Aston were building their forever home — a modern, open-plan property designed to offer comfort, elegance, and seamless smart technology. With a love for film and entertaining, their priority was a fully integrated home with an immersive, high-spec home cinema and discreet automation throughout the property. They also wanted smart living to feel natural lighting, shading, and security systems working in harmony behind the scenes, without any of the typical complexity. Style and user-friendliness were key.
One of the more complex areas of the home was the rear elevation, which featured large architectural glazing. Shading integration here needed to be precise and discreet, allowing natural light when desired, while also protecting from heat and glare. The cinema room, located at the heart of the house, required significant acoustic control to avoid sound bleed into neighbouring rooms.The client also expressed early concerns around ease-of-use and over complication — wanting one single, intuitive platform to control the entire space.
Contello designed and delivered a full home automation system, bringing every element under intuitive Control4management.
Installed a 7.2.2 Dolby Atmos HomeCinemasystem featuring:
JVC NZ7 4K projector
Infinity bespoke seating
Sonance surround speaker system
Starlight ceiling with full acoustic wall treatment
Dedicated comms room with precision-routed cabling and ventilation
Whole-home automation included:
Lighting control with pre-set scenes like Welcome Home, Movie Night, and Evening Mode
Electric blinds synced with time-of-day and room use
Multi-room audio and 4K video distribution
CCTV and gate control via intercom, fully integrated with touchscreens
Heating control tailored per room and linked to occupancy patterns
Secure network infrastructure to handle high device loads
Created a seamless Control4 interface, managed via smartphones, voice assistants, touchscreens and handheld remotes.
The finished system delivered not only functionality but emotional impact. The cinema is now the go-to space for movie nights, family time and entertaining — the acoustic treatment and Atmos layout creating an enveloping experience that rivals commercial setups. Smart scenes now effortlessly guide the family’s day. In the morning, soft lighting and open blinds greet them. In the evening, a single tap closes shades, dims lights, and queues up content.
“We didn’t want something overly techy —we just wanted it to feel like part of the house. Contello nailed it. The cinema is incredible and the whole house just feels like it works for us. We’re still finding new things it can do.”
— Homeowners, Little Aston
