Our New Lighting Demo Space Helps You Visualize The Impact of Lighting Choices and Control

Lighting design is both an art and a science. There are guidelines, rules, and skills that professional lighting designers use to add functional illumination to a space and make it aesthetically pleasing. If you are an interior or lighting designer, architect, or builder, you have an eye and experience in how lighting affects your projects.

Barrett’s Technology Solutions is not a lighting designer, but we do offer lighting installation and control solutions for the Chicago area and Lake Geneva, WI, clients. We aim to partner with design and build professionals to show you what's possible with the latest LED lighting and control solutions. To that end, we are excited to announce our new Lighting Lab – a place you and your clients can visualize and experience some of the latest lighting technology and how you might use that in your projects.

Please continue reading below to learn more about what you can experience in our new Chicago lighting lab!

Build a Dedicated Media Room as an Entertainment and Fun Hub

TVs were once these big, bulky things that demanded their own focal point in a room. Do you remember the large-screen TVs of the mid-2000s? Rear projection 50-inch-and-up models came in huge heavy cabinets that competed with fireplaces in your living or family room. And while those TVs had arguably better speakers than today's flat panels, that didn't include the sound system!

As we all know, times have changed. Today's sleek flat-panel TVs can mount on a wall and go anywhere – even above the fireplace with no room-focal redesign needed! And the soundbar didn't exist years ago, which offers a sleeker, slimmer approach to better sound from the TV. But if you have such a setup in your family or living room, does that make it your media room? If that’s what you want to call it, we won’t argue with you. But we will suggest that a media room installation is more than a TV and a soundbar.

Read on below to see how you can create a media entertainment hub in your family room, basement rec room, or whatever space you choose in your Chicago, IL home.

Chicago’s Leading Home Automation Company Has a Fresh, New Web Presence

Remember the Yellow Pages? The directory was once an all-important presence for local businesses to be found. If you needed a plumber, heating system repair, or just about anything else, the Yellow Pages was the place to look. And if you remember them, you know how many local businesses called themselves AAA plumbing or ABC Auto Repair to be listed at the beginning of them, with flashy full-page ads.

That world, of course, has changed. Today, an internet presence in the form of a website is a critical marketing card for any company. On the internet, you'll never be found by changing your name to AAAA Home Technology. Instead, you will be recognized by the quality of the content you put on your website and by continually updating it with fresh, useful information that helps people decide to contact you for your services.

In that vein, that’s why Barrett’s Technology Solutions – one of Chicago's premier home automation companies – has totally revamped our website. While our old website was extensive, the new design, layout, and richer graphics enable us to tell our story better. And with this change, we’ve also updated our web domain name – we are now Barretts.tech. The new URL, changing from Barretts.tv, better reflects our focus on all things home technology. 

Keep reading below to learn more about our new website. Please check it out, peruse our new look, and reach out with any questions!

Learn about Client and Designer Approved Tricks to Hide AV Tech for Seamless Décor

Let's face it, much of today's electronics are not aesthetically pleasing. Whether we are talking about giant flat-panel TVs that can stretch to 100 inches or most audio components that are a sea of black metal, most of today's equipment lacks design flair. Some speakers, like Meridian Audio models, make a statement in a room. But others take up space that both you and your designer would prefer not to design around.

If your Lake Geneva, WI home is on the cutting edge of style – whether modern, transitional, or mid-century – you do have options for hiding the AV installation in your home. In this blog, we’ll cover four ways of blending the best technology into your home in a way that will leave you and your interior designer smiling at your ingenuity and taste. Stay with us below!

You’re Likely to Get More Smart Connected Devices this Holiday Season

Did you shop online this past Black Friday? Or did you brave the crowds at the store to get those early bird deals? Whatever your preferences, it’s highly likely that some smart connected device is on the holiday shopping list, Black Friday or otherwise.

Have you ever thought about your home network's ability to handle all those devices? Most people don't. Your child gets a new iPad, and it gets added to the network. A new Amazon Echo or Sonos speaker, and it also connects. How about a new refrigerator? Many of the latest ones also get connected to Wi-Fi to keep you informed about malfunctions and maintenance.

If you stream video, like so many people, the strain on your network multiplies. You might not think about it, but your kids may be streaming 4K videos on that shiny new iPad they just got for Christmas, all day long. Is your network ready for all that? If you’re still relying on the home network installation from your ISP when you moved into your Lake Geneva, WI home, it may not be ready for the next wave of connections you just added!

Keep reading below to see how you can invest in a home network system that can keep up with your needs now and into the future.

Discover All the Powered Window Treatment Options for Your Home 

Powered window treatments are an increasingly popular option for today’s smart homes. Once you have them, you never want to go back to manual ones. It's like power steering in cars – when was the last time you drove one with manual steering? Some things just make a lot of sense. With motorized window treatments, you have so many more options for managing the light in your home. 

You might hear the term motorized shades used with powered window treatments, and that’s because the roller shade type is the most common one. However, you might be surprised to learn that there is a powered window treatment for almost any kind of window! Keep reading below to learn about eight – yes, eight – types of motorized window treatments for your Chicago home. 

How Home Automation Lets You Worry Less and Enjoy More

With Halloween just behind us, we’re now barreling headlong into the holiday season in Hinsdale. With it, the Illinois fall is also in full swing, and winter – well, it does come early here! But you can be ready for the holidays with a little help from a Savant home automation system. Savant's smart home features can take care of little things, give you peace of mind, and make holiday entertaining just a little easier.

There's a lot to do for the holidays. Whether it's ordering gifts, getting the house decorated, keeping the holiday lights working, or ensuring all the meals and parties are affairs to remember. As always, you’ll be busy! Let a Savant home automation systems take a bit of the load. Here are four of our favorite ways you can enjoy the holidays more with home automation.

Music You Can Enjoy with Any Activity Around the House 

What should you listen to on your whole home audio system? Far be it for us to tell you, it will all sound fantastic whether you go with a Meridian audio system, Savant, or something else. Not only will all your favorite tunes sound great, but you’ll enjoy the effortless ease of calling them up with your smartphone, a touchscreen, a voice command, or a press on a wall-mounted keypad. 

That said, we can’t resist recommending a few tracks that lend themselves well to playing on every speaker in the house as you meander through your daily routine. Whether it’s a background soundtrack to your work-from-home day, doing chores, exercising, or soaking up the last of the good Illinois fall weather on your Chicago townhouse patio, you’ll enjoy how these songs stick with you wherever you roam.  

Ready? Here are five tunes to enjoy in every corner of your home with multiroom audio. 

Bring in a Pro Early for the Best Results

Today’s AV entertainment systems can get complicated. If you’re an interior designer, architect, or builder, it’s wise to bring in an audio-video installation pro early in your projects to incorporate the latest systems your clients want.

You might think, don't all we have to do is plan for some low-voltage wiring? While low-voltage infrastructure is indeed important, there's more to achieving a well-sorted and integrated AV installation that incorporates what clients want, fits in with your mutual design vision, and doesn’t require a stack of change orders because of lack of planning. Let’s explore how you can enhance your Chicago, IL projects with a little help from your AV professional – like Barrett’s Technology Solutions!

You May Never Want to Go Out to the Movies Again

Are you looking to revamp your home theater design? Many Illinois homes have had dedicated theater rooms for years now, but how long has it been since you upgraded yours? In the past several years, many new features have added new dimensions to home theaters – 4K/HDR projectors for sharper pictures with significantly enhanced contrast and color, Dolby Atmos audio for a realistic “in the scene” experience, and a plethora of streaming video services with more content than ever before.

If you're already enjoying some of these upgrades, perhaps there's one you don't know about. It adds convenience, the highest quality audio, and video experience, and maybe best of all, eliminates just about any reason to ever go out to the movies again. What is it? It's the Kaleidescape system, the ultimate movie player for your Chicago home theater. Read more below to learn how Kaleidescape is like having your very own movie theater.

Create a Multipurpose Indoor Fun Zone in Your Theater or Media Room 

Virtual is a word that’s currently in vogue. In the past year, you’ve probably become tired of virtual meetings over Zoom, virtual work, virtual school, and virtual happy hours. Can we talk about something real?

Well, not in this blog. But we promise we have something virtual that’s absolutely more fun and far more realistic than a virtual happy hour. And unlike happy hour, your kids can enjoy it as well. What are we talking about? Home golf simulators. You don't have to be a golf fanatic to enjoy one, as these systems do more games than golf! As the weather in Illinois and Wisconsin turns chillier soon, a golf simulator is an excellent way to keep your game going and enjoy immersive entertainment indoors with your family in your Chicago home or your Lake Geneva retreat. Read on to learn more about how golf simulators add a new dimension of fun to your home theater or media room.

Explore the Commercial-Grade Network Solutions from WhyReboot 

The home network has quickly become a foundational piece of the modern home, almost as important as electricity and running water. Are we exaggerating by placing networking at that level? Only a little, as communication with the outside world is a critical need in any modern home. Moreover, with the convergence of all information and communication into digital form, the home network is an enabling piece of technology.  

In business, when a function is essential for the very operation of the company, it's called mission-critical. Today, the home network is a mission-critical component. Imagine not being able to connect to work, school, and audio or video communications. In the past year’s pandemic, the need for robust connectivity was all too clear. And with the increasing dependence of the modern home on smart features like lighting and security, it’s easy to see why networking is a mission-critical component. 

Is the home network installation in your Chicago, IL home keeping up? Explore how the solutions from WhyReboot are tailored to the connectivity needs of today’s smart homes.  

Our Reimagined Website Is Just One Way We Continue to Move Forward 

At Barrett’s Technology Solutions, we’ve been in business since 1966. As you might expect, there have been many changes in our business since that time. Audio, video, and automation technology have changed radically, and our firm has evolved with it. Our goal is to continue to be the best home automation company in the Chicago area and through our new office in Lake Geneva, WI.  

This month, we’d like to give you a taste of what’s to come for Barrett’s Technology Solutions. Chief among them is a new website that will launch soon, and we can’t wait for you to see it. Why a new website? It’s all about effectively communicating what we can do so we can better serve our clients. Keep reading to learn more! 

Level Up Your Sound with Meridian Audio

What do you think of when you hear whole-home audio? First, you probably think about synchronized sound all over your house. Any whole-house audio solution worth its tweeters should do that. Does it also scream to you…background music? As in, I enjoy listening to my favorites everywhere in the house, but I’m not getting my ears pinned back by the sound.

If you're an audiophile – or just someone who likes emotion in their sound – you don't have to settle for good but not blow-me-away sound in your whole-home music system. Meridian Audio is a company that's well-known in hi-fi circles yet also tends to march to the beat of its own drum. Started in 1977, before the dawn of the digital music era, Meridian Audio has been a pioneer in digital audio, having had a heavy hand in moving the quality of digital formats forward. In both the pioneering DVD-Audio surround music format and the current Dolby TrueHD lossless surround standard, Meridian played a leading role in contributing key technology and developing those standards.

All this is to say that Meridian is all about high-fidelity in everything they do, and with their latest products, they’re making whole-home hi-fi a reality, too. Keep reading to learn more about how Meridian high-resolution, high-fidelity audio will pin your ears back in every corner of your Chicago home.

Make Your Home Shine with Custom Landscape Lighting 

What does your home look like after the sun goes down? Do the beautiful architecture and noteworthy details get lost in the dark? Can anyone appreciate your beautiful mature trees? Does your property look foreboding or inviting?  

You put significant effort and expense into both the inside and outside of your home. Last month we talked about how lighting automation and LED technology could transform the look and feel of your home. This month, we want to talk about how you can do the same with the outside of your property. As we've said before, never underestimate the power of light's ability to change the way you view, use, and appreciate your Chicago, IL home. Keep reading to learn more about landscape lighting and automation to make your home as beautiful on the outside as it is inside.  

A Look at the Latest in Lighting Control and Design 

LED technology may not change everything, but it is changing many things you interact with every day – and practically every minute. For example, the screen you are reading this on is likely lit by LED technology, whether it's your smartphone, tablet, desktop monitor, or laptop. While we don't think you are reading this on your flat-screen TV, one form of LED technology or another has revolutionized those screens, too.  

When it comes to home lighting, LED is a sea change there, too. LED lighting uses up to 80% less energy than Edison’s incandescent invention. Compared to still popular but rapidly declining compact fluorescent technology, LED still wins in flexibility, environmental friendliness, and energy efficiency.  

Combine the remarkable flexibility and efficiency of LED technology and smart lighting control systems, and you can transform the way you illuminate your Lake Geneva, WI home. Keep reading to see how.  

You Can Have It All – Efficiently, Too! 

Do luxury, economy, and efficiency mix? Can you have your luxury and enjoy it guilt-free, too? When it comes to smart home technology, we say yes. Rarely can you claim that something that provides more comfort and luxury is also a choice that offers economies and efficiencies. As a smart home company serving the Lake Geneva, WI area for many years, we’re going to stake that claim. Keep reading below to see how we make the case! 

Showcase Décor and Design in the Perfect Light 

As a design or build professional, you know how to create specific design flourishes and features that set your projects apart. Whether it's unique fireplaces, finishes, furnishings, layouts, or materials, you know how to create unique on-trend designs that exceed client expectations.  

As a residential design pro, you also know about the importance of light in a project and the overall feeling it conveys in a home. Does a house have "good light?" Does the light bring out the best of the interiors? One of the best ways to showcase your Hinsdale, IL home projects is with smart lighting control. Keep reading to see how you can use lighting control to enable your designs to be viewed in the perfect light.  

Gain the Confidence that Your Home Is Safe and Sound

 While the pandemic has curtailed much traveling over the past year, the situation has improved markedly, with optimism for returning to normal life. And part of normal life is travel, especially in the summer months. Whether your escape from Chicagoland is close by with a lakefront vacation in Michigan or Wisconsin or somewhere farther, you’ll want to make sure your home is safe while you’re gone.

Fortunately, today’s technology supplies many options for keeping your home safe. Smart home surveillance is better than ever and lets you keep an eye on your home from wherever you are. Keep reading below to see how you can have peace of mind that your home will be safe, whether you're gone for a week or the whole summer.

Motorized Window Treatments Are the Perfect Blend of Form and Function 

Window treatments like shades, blinds, and drapes are an essential part of home décor. They dress up the view (or block an unwanted one) and fit your design sense, whether modern, traditional, transitional, or so eclectic that you can't put a label on it.  

If you are looking to replace window treatments in a room or the whole house, we’d like to strongly suggest that you look at powered options. Why? Unpowered window coverings are mostly about style and, of course, some functions such as privacy and sun control. But when you add motorization, you unlock a whole set of other benefits. Read on for four reasons why motorized blinds are a wise investment for your Hinsdale, IL home.