High Design Meets High Tech In The 2011 Mansions and Millionaires Designers' Showcase Featuring ELAN g!

From September 10 to October 30, 2011, two separate ELAN® g! Entertainment and Control System installations will be on display in the 2011 Mansions and Millionaires® Designers Showcase® at Chestnut Manor in Upper Brookville, New York.

Exhibiting interior designers Katharine Posillico of Katharine Jessica Interior Design and Angela Leva and Suzan Visconti of Leva & Visconti Designs enlisted the help of Melville, New York-based custom electronics distributor Royal Systems to design the ELAN g! Control Systems for their rooms at Chestnut Manor. These seasoned professionals who designed the Pool Room and the Music Room, respectively, may have differing styles, but they all both agree on one thing.

“Technology is ingrained in everyday life, so I don’t plan any space without some sort of audio/video system,” said Posillico. “Mozart Multimedia installed an ELAN system designed by Gregg Feldman and Dave Silkin of Royal Systems in my home a couple years ago. It is such an amazing supplement to the house and to my life that I now strongly advise my clients to work with Royal Systems to incorporate a full ELAN g! Control System. The second-floor Pool Room at Chestnut Manor is the ultimate lounge and game room, so naturally I included a large projection TV and a full audio system.”

Visconti had Hauppauge, New York-based Audio Design Consultants install an ELAN Control System in her home nine years ago, and now she advocates that technology not be an afterthought, but instead be integral to the function and layout of the rooms she designs. She notes, however, that many homeowners still aren’t aware of the possibilities with control systems.

“A lot of people don’t know that when they are on vacation they can touch their iPhone and set up their heating, air conditioning and lighting so it’s ready when they get home, saving them energy and money,” said Visconti. “I think that as more people learn how this technology can affect their homes and their lives, and actually raise the home’s value, there will be a lot more houses with home control systems.

“In our design for the Music Room at Chestnut Manor, my partner Angela and I wanted to project a relaxing and rejuvenating ambience and create a place for the homeowner to get away from it all—watch whatever shows and listen to whatever music he wants or jam on his guitar. We incorporated the highest level of technology to make the room sophisticated and at the same time functional and simple to control.”

The Music Room’s A/V system was designed by Dave Silkin of Royal Systems and Bob Portolano of Audio Design Consultants, and features an ELAN HC6 as the system’s brain, an ELAN M86 for audio distribution and an ELAN TS7 seven-inch in-wall touch screen for simple user control. It even has a camera aimed at the door so anyone entering the room instantly sees themselves on the TS7 located next to the doorway. It includes a wall-mounted 42” Samsung 1080p Plasma HDTV and uses two Induction Dynamics SolidDrives to turn the room’s walls into speakers.

The Pool Room’s A/V System was designed by Royal Systems and installed by Mozart Multimedia of East Islip, New York. It features an ELAN HC4, ELAN M86 and ELAN TS2 with the VL2 Valet option, as well as a Severtson 120” front-projection screen and three Sound Tube ceiling-mounted speakers throughout. The room’s use of natural light helps to ensure the projector’s image isn’t overpowered or washed out.

“The Mansions and Millionaires Designers’ Showcase is a great way to show how technology is influencing designers, builders and homeowners,” said Dave Silkin of Royal Systems. “But the great thing about the ELAN g! Control System is it’s not just for millionaires. In fact, the system is so affordable that any homeowner can install a multi-room A/V system, and then expand it to control lighting, security, heating and air conditioning, and pool and spa systems.”

From September 10 to October 30, 2011, more than 30 New York City Metropolitan Area interior designers will showcase their work for the general public at the 97-year-old Chestnut Manor. All proceeds will benefit Mill Neck Manor School For The Deaf. To learn more about the Mansions and Millionaires® Designers’ Showcase®, visit designersshowcaseny.com.

To see more designs from Katharine Jessica Interior Designs, visit kj-id.com. For more information about Leva & Visconti Designs, visit levaviscontidesigns.com. For more information about Royal Systems visit royalsystems.com.