Find out how taking an infrastructure-first approach will give you the building blocks of a future-proof living space that's easy to control and upgrade over time

WORDS BY EMILY BROOKS & CHRIS BATES

Niko Digital Black is the new intuitive control screen from Moss Technical, enabling you to manage pre-programmed scenes and turn up to 12 functions on and off in one go

If you’ve been assuming home automation isn’t for you - or that it's little more than a gimmicky flash in the pan - then it's time to think again. With automated control becoming ever more intuitive, not to mention more accessible price-wise, making your home smarter is very much a common-sense choice for today’s self builders and renovators. “I like to think of it as the modern electrical installation,” says Andy Moss from Moss Technical. “You could do things the old-fashioned way, but that would be a bit like opting for manually winding windows on your brand new car. We’re used to smart phones, AI and voice activation, so people are expecting smart systems more. The big housing developers are on board with it, now, too - so takeup really is being market-driven.” The long and the short of it is that smart homes are no longer a luxuryonly option: in fact, they’re the new normal.

Working with a smart lighting specialist will ensure the finished result is as intelligent and functional as the infrastructure behind it. This project is by Brilliant Lighting.

But what does a smart home actually do? Well, simply put, it’s all about leveraging technology to enhance your lifestyle and make the whole house work more effectively for you - both now and in the future. A modern system will provide you with complete, centralised control over your living environment and vastly improve functionality. This gives you the opportunity to take the hassle out of modern life via preprogrammed moods: so once you’re ready to settle down after a hard day in the home office, at the press of a single button, you can dim the lights in the living room, close the blinds and switch on the TV or wholehouse audio (preset to a favourite playlist).