Reloto Automation Solution Pvt. Ltd. seamlessly blends rustic charm with advanced smart technology in this farmhouse. The property showcases cutting-edge automation systems, eco-friendly living features, and a cozy, practical design that offers both comfort and security in a peaceful rural environment.
Ashok Reddy Bana, Technical Manager, Reloto Automation Solution Pvt. Ltd., a leading System Integrator based in Hyderabad, has brought together home automation and smart technology in this charming farmhouse to create a secure, user-friendly environment. Spanning between 3,000 to 10,000 square feet,(??) the home is thoughtfully divided into spacious living rooms, guest rooms, and leisure spaces. The farmhouse is built on 1.5 acres of land, featuring expansive outdoor areas, beautifully landscaped gardens, and recreational zones, offering a perfect balance of privacy and tranquility.
Concept and Decor
The design of this farmhouse seamlessly combines rustic charm with modern comfort, creating a serene and inviting atmosphere. Natural materials such as exposed wood beams, stone accents, and reclaimed wood are used throughout the space, adding timeless appeal and infusing the home with authenticity and character. These elements serve as the foundation of the farmhouse’s design, evoking a grounded sophistication and historical charm.
The aesthetic is further enhanced by a soothing colour palette of whites, warm earth tones and soft greys. These tones are complemented by vintage furniture and handmade pieces, contributing to a cosy, lived-in feel. Large windows and high ceilings flood the interiors with natural light, offering sweeping views of the surrounding landscape and creating a seamless connection to nature.
Modern conveniences are carefully integrated with state-of-the-art appliances and sustainable features such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and eco-friendly insulation, ensuring a balance between luxury living and environmental responsibility. The design encourages a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces, with patios, decks, and pergolas providing ideal areas for dining, relaxation, and entertainment. This connection between the home’s interior and natural surroundings fosters a harmonious living experience.
The farmhouse is designed to blend comfort, style, and functionality. The living room is an expansive, open-plan space centered around a stone fireplace and large windows framing panoramic views. The farmhouse-style kitchen, complete with sleek appliances, is complemented by a rustic dining area that opens onto a patio. The master suite offers a peaceful retreat, with a private balcony, a spacious bedroom, and a luxurious en-suite bathroom featuring a soaking tub and walk-in shower. The guest rooms, home office, and outdoor spaces complete the design, ensuring privacy, relaxation, and sustainable living in this retreat-like home.
Integration of Home Automation and Smart Technology
Explaining the purpose behind incorporating Smart Technology Ashok Reddy Bana, says, “The integration of smart home technology in this farmhouse design brings a new level of convenience, energy efficiency, and security while maintaining the rustic charm that defines rural living. By incorporating leading-edge devices and systems, homeowners can control and automate various aspects of their homes with ease, making their living spaces more comfortable, secure, and sustainable.”
Smart Lighting Solutions: A standout feature in this Smart farmhouse design is the ability to control lighting through advanced systems like CONTROL4. This platform enables customizable, dimmable LED lighting with colour-changing capabilities, which can be set to operate based on motion sensors or specific schedules. Homeowners can easily manage their lighting preferences via the CONTROL4 app or voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Additionally, dimmable light switches and smart dimmers allow homeowners to control traditional lights in high-traffic areas like living rooms, kitchens, and hallways, all through app controls or voice commands.
Smart HVAC Systems: To ensure maximum energy efficiency, COOLMASTER learns homeowners’ schedules and adjusts temperature settings accordingly, optimizing energy use while providing comfort. This system can be controlled remotely via the CONTROL4 app or by voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Additionally, the system offers multi-zone HVAC capabilities, with room sensors that ensure even temperature distribution across the farmhouse, seamlessly integrating with other smart home devices.
Smart Security and Surveillance: The CP PLUS security cameras offer top-tier protection with high-definition 2K video, colour night vision, motion detection, and two-way audio. These wireless cameras were easy-to-install and featured smart alerts that notified homeowners of any movement or unusual activity. The cameras provided crystal-clear video footage, ensuring every detail of the property was captured, which was particularly beneficial for monitoring large outdoor spaces like gardens, driveways, and entry points. With a weatherproof design, the cameras were well-suited for harsh outdoor conditions, making them perfect for rural settings. The footage was securely stored in the cloud, allowing homeowners to access it remotely, and providing peace of mind even when they were not on-site. Additionally, the CP PLUS app seamlessly integrated with the broader smart home ecosystem, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, giving homeowners the ability to view live footage and receive alerts remotely.
The CONTROL4 video doorbell provided an advanced level of security with high-definition video streaming and two-way audio. Homeowners could monitor and communicate with visitors at the door from anywhere using the CONTROL4 app. The doorbell featured smart motion detection, sending alerts whenever someone approached the door, thus enhancing security for deliveries and guests. This remote monitoring functionality allowed homeowners to see who was at the door even when they were not at home. The CONTROL4 doorbell‘s sleek, modern design blended seamlessly with the rustic farmhouse aesthetic, offering enhanced security while maintaining the visual integrity of the home’s exterior.
The YALE Smart Lock Pro offers a convenient keyless entry system that allows homeowners to lock and unlock their doors remotely through the YALE app, providing the added benefit of granting access to others via virtual keys. This system is particularly beneficial for rural homes where physical keys can easily be lost or misplaced. With the ability to lock or unlock the door remotely or automatically through geofencing, the door unlocks when the homeowner is nearby, ensuring ease of access without the need for physical keys. Additionally, the YALE Smart Lock Pro integrates seamlessly with other smart devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing homeowners to control the lock using voice commands or set up automation, such as locking the door automatically when everyone leaves the house. The lock attaches easily to existing deadbolt hardware, making installation straightforward and preserving the rustic look of the door without the need for significant modifications.
Smart Audio and Video Systems: For a premium entertainment experience, MOORGEN Speakers are integrated throughout the farmhouse to deliver high-quality, multi-room audio. These Sonos speakers can be controlled through the CONTROL4 app or voice commands via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, ensuring seamless audio control in every area of the home. Additionally, Samsung Smart TVs (QLED Series) with built-in voice assistants like Bixby, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant enable effortless streaming, smart device control, and integration with other voice-controlled apps.
Smart Shades and Blinds: Motorized window treatments, such as Lutron Serena Shades and Somfy Motorized Blinds, offer automated control over the opening and closing of shades based on time of day or room occupancy. These systems integrate seamlessly with other smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, providing ultimate control over natural light and privacy.
Smart Energy Management: Energy efficiency is at the heart of smart farmhouse living. The Sense Energy Monitor is installed in the electrical panel to track real-time energy consumption from various appliances and devices. Through the CONTROL4 app, homeowners can monitor which devices are consuming the most power, helping to optimize energy usage and reduce electricity bills.
Voice Assistants and Smart Hubs: To bring everything together, Amazon Echo (4th Gen) and Google Nest Hub Max serve as central hubs for voice-based automation. The systems work together through centralized control platforms like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings, allowing homeowners complete control over their environment with ease.
Smart Lighting
The home’s lighting systems were seamlessly integrated with Hybec lighting solutions, allowing homeowners to control both indoor and outdoor lights through a single app or via voice assistants. These systems were connected to the CONTROL4 Hub, enabling automation based on occupancy, time of day, or specific activities. For instance, motion sensors linked to the KNX system automatically turn lights on when a room is occupied and off when it’s empty. Custom lighting scenes were created for various moods or activities, such as dinner, relaxation, or movie nights, ensuring a personalized experience.
The HVAC system was integrated with the smart home hub to allow remote control of heating and cooling, optimizing the temperature based on the homeowner’s routines or proximity to the house using geofencing. Smart ceiling fans and Zoned HVAC systems were also incorporated, providing room-specific temperature control that enhances comfort while conserving energy.
Motorized window shades from MOORGEN were integrated into the home’s automation system. These blinds were controlled through the CONTROL4 app and could be scheduled to open or close depending on factors such as the time of day, temperature, or personal preference. The integration with smart lighting ensured that when the lights were dimmed for movie nights, the shades automatically closed to provide privacy and prevent glare on screens, creating a more immersive viewing experience.
Home Theatre and Accessories
Another important highlight was the Home Theatre, as the homeowners wanted to create an immersive, cinematic experience within the comfort of their home. Given the farmhouse’s rustic charm, it was essential to integrate the latest technology while maintaining the aesthetic appeal and warmth of the interior.
To optimize sound quality, the room’s dimensions were considered to minimize sound reflection, and acoustic panels were strategically incorporated into the design. These panels, tailored to blend seamlessly with the farmhouse’s rustic style, featured fabric-wrapped finishes in neutral tones and wood accents that enhanced both acoustics and aesthetic appeal.
For the ultimate home theatre experience, a 4K Ultra HD projector from LG was chosen for its exceptional picture quality, accurate color reproduction, and HDR capabilities. Mounted on the ceiling using a motorized lift, the projector can retract when not in use, maintaining the room’s sleek design. The projector is paired with a motorized Elite Screens projector screen, which measures 120 inches diagonally and provides a 16:9 aspect ratio, ensuring cinematic proportions and an optimized viewing experience based on the room size and seating arrangement.
For immersive sound, the Marantz SR8015 AV receiver was selected for its 9.2 channel surround sound, Dolby Atmos, and DTS: TRIAD X capabilities. This receiver supports 4K pass-through, allowing for high-definition visuals while delivering dynamic and immersive sound. The front speakers consist of high-performance Reference Premiere floor-standing speakers, which provide crystal-clear vocals and impactful sound. Surround sound is delivered by discreet in-wall TRIAD speakers positioned at the sides and back, creating a fully immersive 7.1.2 sound system. The subwoofer, an SVS PB-2000 Pro, delivers deep bass, ideal for action sequences and music, while ensuring controlled sound without distortion. To complete the audio experience, TRIAD ceiling speakers were integrated to provide overhead Dolby Atmos sound, enhancing the three-dimensional feel of the soundstage, particularly for movies and gaming. Custom speaker wiring was installed behind the walls and ceiling panels, maintaining a clean, unobstructed look while ensuring optimal sound delivery.
For video and media sources, an Apple TV 4K was integrated to stream high-definition content from popular services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, supporting Dolby Vision and HDR10 for superior image quality. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player from LG was added for physical media playback, offering the highest quality for classic films and content not available on streaming platforms. Additionally, a PlayStation 5 (PS5) or Xbox Series X was included for gaming, connected directly to the AV receiver for seamless integration with the home theatre’s audio system.
Overall, the thoughtful design exemplifies how smart technology can enhance rural living without compromising on style or comfort.
