A deteriorating barn is transformed into a state-of-the-art home-entertainment space with original-looking beam work and warm, stained woods.

At first glance you would never expect that this 1,500-square-foot renovated barn, part of a 13-acre suburban Philadelphia estate in Bucks County, can convert into a high-tech home theater with the touch of a button. But do just that—press a single button on the Universal MX-850 remote—and concealed blackout shades descend from above, a projection screen drops down from behind a ceiling beam, the lights fade to black, and the projector jumps into action.

A capacious mountain getaway, designed for family and business retreats, is sprinkled with technological treats that are easy to use.

There’s a certain ruggedness—a rough-and-tumble way of life—in Colorado that’s as irresistible to the locals who run the ski mountains as it is to the well-heeled who build vacation homes from the ground up.

2009 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Award Winner

Best Integrated Home: Overall Winner

Electronic Systems Consutlant: T&T Automation Ltd.—British Columbia, Canada

When Tony Harper, the managing director of T & T Automation Ltd., was hired to handle all the a/v and automation for a sprawling 35,000-square-foot residential compound in Vancouver, Canada, it’s fair to say that the word “imposing” crossed his mind. 

Best Whole-House Installation

The Big Show

With the push of one button, this home shows off everything it can do. And it can do a lot.

Best Home Theater Installation

Masterpiece Theater

Tons of hidden gear combine with an obstacle course-like construction zone to create our favorite theater of the year.

Best Innovation Installation

Reinventing the Wheel

Commercial cinema and home theater come together like never before in this amazing private screening room.

A new addition designed for lap swimming morphs into this nautically-inspired home theater.
 
The “six degrees of separation” phenomenon is happening among Home Entertainment’s readers and home-theater aficionados. Some owners of the private screening rooms that have graced the magazine’s pages actually know one another.

A case in point is the couple who built this contemporary movie space, nestled within a woodsy family compound in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.

In a battle of the sexes, a wife convinced her husband that building a home theater will light up their lives.

Take an on-the-street survey in terms of which sex will do anything to own a breathtaking home theater.

It’s always the man, right? He’s the one who craves “the cave,” pimped out with stellar A/V gear. Convincing the woman to sign on is the tricky part, right?

Wrong.