Modern Home Spaces: Urban-Contemporary Design with Asian Influences

Senior Sales Consultant Dusty Gorski was doing a presentation on home technologies at an open house in Sedalia when he was approached by Sasha, who was in the process of building a home on a neighboring lot. They had a conversation, and she chose ListenUp as her technology integrator.

We worked closely with builder Loren Van Essen of Van Essen Homes, architect Samuel Austin, and interior designer Dixie Niichel to make this all happen, explains Dusty. Samuel is a great architect were doing another job with him starting around the beginning of next year. And Dixie did a phenomenal job with finishes and everything else. They worked closely with our project manager on the job, Jim Bixel, and lead technician Nate Meyer.

The accompanying photos really tell the story, as the home features stunning urban-contemporary design with Asian influences. Adjacent to the living room, powered doors open at the touch of a button to create a large indoor/outdoor living area. The deck offers a professional-grade grill and outdoor cooking and dining area, with a 43-inch outdoor TV thats fully weatherproof. The patio on the lower level showcases a large fire pit and spectacular views of the Rockies.

On each side of the spectacular fireplace is a 65-inch Sony OLED 4K TV mounted on a lift so it can disappear completely into the ceiling when not in use. My problem is that I hate seeing a TV when its not on, says Sasha. I dont like a blank screen looking at me. I like to look at art, or nice walls, or just something other than a black hole. We looked at some fancy TVs that scroll artwork, and then one that has an art lift where you can have the art come up and down, and then Dusty proposed these TV lifts, which is what we ended up going with. Its quite nice the fireplace is made of three-dimensional tile, so its so much nicer to look at than a black hole.

More Cool Stuff

A full Control4 system handles whole-house audio/video, lighting control, motorized shades and the driveway gate. Theres also a burglar alarm and surveillance system. Bowers & Wilkins architectural speakers are in nearly every room, including the master bath and exercise room, as well as the deck, patio and garage. Theyre powered by four 8-channel, audiophile-quality NAD amplifiers. One of the biggest challenges of the project was getting reliable network coverage, which is essential for Sashas work as a management consultant. Pre-COVID, I would fly to clients sites, she says. I also teach an executive MBA class at one of the technical universities in Switzerland, so I used to fly over there a couple times a year. This year, of course, we had to do it all via Zoom.

Sasha obviously needed a strong wi-fi and wired network, says Dusty. Unfortunately, Century Link is really slow out there and there is no Comcast yet. Sasha needed a point-to-point microwave system with a different Internet provider. We worked with Xstream Internet and they mounted a microwave antenna on a tall pole and pointed into Castle Rock at the facility. They have a fiber connection on their end, which gives it incredible speed, then they hook it to their antenna and beam it to the antenna on Sashas end. This is a little more complex than our normal network solutions, but its a good example of our advanced capabilities.

The Good Life

Sasha shares her home with her fianc, Dan, and her two beloved dogs, Rana and Phantom. As is sometimes the case with large, complex systems like this, there were a few technical issues to deal with, specifically with the lighting system. But now that those have been resolved, Sasha and her household have been greatly enjoying the capabilities of the new system. The TVs are great, the sound system is fantastic, and now that its working properly, the lighting is great, too. We enjoy the sound system for not only music, but podcasts and other programming, as well.

Interested in making your home more modern? Schedule a consultation with our team of experts to decide what technology is right for you and your family.