A Maryland dealer makes good use of space to create a real world feel.
Starr Systems Design of Baltimore, Maryland, had a problem with their old showroom: It didn’t convey what the company could do for the client. So, to they
 embarked on a redesign of their facility, which produced an impressive result. Now, the company has a showroom that mimics the kinds of environments in which their luxury clientele live.

“Our previous showroom was effective at displaying products, but not particularly effective at conveying the experience of what we can do in our clients’ homes,” explains Kelly Clements, Design Associate at Starr Systems Design. “In the past, the best way to demonstrate how a system could be integrated with the design of a home, and improve the owner’s quality of life, was to schedule a walkthrough of a previous installation in another client’s home. Not only was this approach inconvenient for our past customers; it also didn’t give us the ability to ‘simulate’ different situations, times of day, and events.”

To redesign the 1,250-square-foot showroom, the company partnered with a local interior designer to help highlight lighting design, lighting control, audio and video systems integration, security, and electrical contracting—all in a manner that appears seamless to the end-user. But an ulterior purpose was to provide a sense of high-level professionalism.

“It provides us with a level of credibility—only a highly skilled, well organized and well financed company could put something like this together,” says Clements. “It would show off not only our technical skills, but also our ability to integrate that technology with home design. It would showcase systems and concepts, not products. And finally, it would provide us with a venue for client events, and seminars for designers, architects, and builders. In fact, we’ve even made this space available to our business partners for their own meetings and events.”

The showroom includes a Lutron Homeworks System for lighting control, as well as motorized drapes and shades, which are fully integrated with the building’s AMX control system—even a gas fireplace can be operated via the control system. Hidden A/V is highlighted throughout the space. A fully concealed home theater system is integrated into the main living area and Media Décor moving artwork conceals a television above the fireplace. Meanwhile a “pop-up” lift conceals a television in the dining area, and invisible speakers are installed in various locations. For video, Kaleidescape and ReQuest DVD and music servers are installed.

Beyond the living room, a complete presentation system was built into a conference room and is used for demonstrating music systems, media systems and custom presentation systems. The space is also used for weekly educational seminars.

 
Space was limited, but that worked to the company’s advantage. “We had a limited amount of space in which to accomplish a tremendous amount,” Clements says. “But, at the time, we were getting feedback from several clients, saying they were not interested in dedicating space in the basement for a custom theater, but that they would be interested in installing a better-than-average system in the family room. It was then that we decided it would be a great use of the space to design a formal living room that could be demonstrated in multiple ways.” 

The redesign was successful for the company’s goals. “We can now custom tailor presentations to a wide variety of clients, and generate increased interest in integrated systems,” Clements says.