Guitar aficionado Jack
Jackson and his wife Kathleen throw one hell of a party — just ask the 80-plus
people who attended their 2013 New Year’s bash, held in their new ultra-trendy,
state-of-the-art basement lounge in their Hunterdon County, New Jersey home. The
Jackson’s “basement” can go toe-to-toe with any posh Manhattan nightclub thanks
to its custom-built bar, LED lighting accents, lounge area with a wraparound leather
sofa and electric fireplace, 120-bottle wine cellar, ‘pillar of fire’ column with
drink rests, a smoke machine and laser lights. But according to Jackson, the
icing on this mini-nightclub’s cake is something that’s vital for a long night
of partying — the room’s lighting, three TVs and two zones of audio are all super
easy to control right from an iPad through the ELAN®
g! Entertainment and Control System!
“We were used to going out to bars and clubs, but
we love to entertain at home, too,” said Jack Jackson. “We’ve spent lots of time
in Las Vegas, New York City, South Beach, you name it. So we used ideas from
those places in the design of our new underground entertaining oasis, like the
TVs in the bar area, the LED light strips underneath the marble bar, the pillar
drink rests and the extra bar space on a separate wall. All the little accents
make this a space most people don’t expect to see in a home. When we throw a
party we want our guests to feel as if they are out at a bar or nightclub and let
go of any reservations they might normally have when visiting a friend’s home.”
That’s
not to say that entertaining guests is Jackson’s only hobby. After a brief
addiction to the videogame Rock Band, he developed a strong desire to learn how
to play a real guitar. In just a few months that desire turned into an entirely
new pursuit — he outfitted a home workshop and began building his own custom
guitars. From carving and painting the bodies to researching the right
electronics and neck stocks to get the sound he wanted, this unexpected hobby
taught him how to make something that is truly greater than the sum of its
parts — a lesson he utilized when designing the new lounge.
“I love exploring new technologies and new
hobbies, and I got really into Rock Band after I bought it for my kids,” he
explained. “Kathleen and I would have competitions against our friends, and
eventually I decided I needed to learn how to play the songs for real. I bought
a Fender Mexican Stratocaster at Guitar Center, and when I wanted a second
guitar, I decided to build it instead of buying another. Since then I’ve built
more than a dozen guitars. I outfitted my home workshop solely for this purpose,
and learning this craft taught me a lot about how a bunch of small parts can
combine to create something incredible. It’s really a beautiful thing when
everything comes together just how you pictured it.”
“If you compare the first
guitar I built to the later models, it’s obvious that I learned a lot as I went
along. It’s stunning how much difference a particular type of wood, or even the
wood’s age, can make to the guitar’s sound and appearance. I approached the
lounge design with this same idea, that the materials are as important as the
implementation. So Kathleen and I enlisted the help of professionals to assist
in choosing the best woods, countertops, tiling, cabinetry, decorations and
electronics, and together we succeeded in breathing new life into an
essentially dead space.”
The custom remodeler who
built the lounge, helped design the space and suggested the materials, Joseph
Pastore, had previously worked
with Jackson to design his music studio and home gym, which are both located
adjacent to the new lounge. To ensure all the electronics worked correctly and
would make throwing parties easier than ever, Jackson hired a local custom
integrator, 360 Media Innovations, to install the ELAN g! System, the in-ceiling
speakers, the wall-mounted TVs, and integrate the lighting. This was 360
Media’s second job with Jackson as well, having wired and installed several
in-wall speakers in the music studio.
After completing the new renovation, Jack and
Kathleen needed to put their own special twist on the beverages they serve, so
they embarked on yet another new hobby — brewing their own beer and bottling
their own wine. With a fully stocked
bar, two beer taps, a professional bar fridge with a selection of craft beers
and the temperature-controlled wine cellar, they created what is quite
literally the most state-of-the-art bar in their town.
“I like having things
that no one else has,” he declared, “which is why I’ve built replicas of Eddie
Van Halen’s legendary white ‘Frankenstrat’, Stevie Ray Vaughn’s guitar, and
perhaps the most famous of them all, Eric Clapton’s ‘Daphne’. That’s why I
wanted the lounge to be so professional and uniquely designed that no one has
seen anything like it in a home, and that’s exactly what all our guests have
said. Everything is gorgeous, from the bar to the tiled floor to the lounge
furniture; I can tap my iPhone to change the TV, music and lights; and my music
studio is just a few feet away with all my guitars on display. Between the bar,
the lounge and the studio, our home has become much more than just another
house.”
According to Kathleen Jackson, in order to
maintain the feel of a real bar, eliminating wall clutter was a must-have
feature. The g! System delivered in spades, letting them control the lounge’s
lights, TVs and music from an iPad Mini or an iPhone. The custom integrators
were able to move all the light switches into a separate room on a single large
master control panel, so the Jacksons never have to use the individual light
switches. Instead, they use the iPad Mini or two multi-button keypads located
in the stairwell and behind the bar to activate pre-programmed lighting ‘scenes’ such as Lounge or Party that turn on
or dim specific lighting fixtures throughout the room.
“Every design aspect
resulted from a carefully considered decision,” she explained, “including
removing the light switches and using in-ceiling speakers as opposed to
obtrusive, boxy bookshelf or floor standing speakers. And along with the
appearance, the ease of operation had to be absolutely seamless. We know that
when a party starts, everyone is going to be coherent and quick thinking, but let’s
be honest — we might not be in the same state at the end of the night! Again,
it’s just like if you were out at a club. So we needed a way to control
the lights, the TVs and the music that is super simple, and would also make it
easy to shut everything off when the party dies down. With the ELAN g! System
we can use the iPad Mini’s nice big touchscreen to change the channels, turn up
the volume and dim the lights, and when the night’s over all it takes is a
single button to turn everything off at once.”
To give the Jacksons
complete control, 360 Media programmed the ELAN g! System so that all three TVs
can display the same video or show different channels, just like a commercial
bar, and the speakers in the bar can play different audio than the speakers in
the lounge. That way they can have a sporting event on the main TV with
hi-quality audio, and still have music playing by the bar. And all it takes is
a few taps on the iPad Mini!
“At our 2013 New Years
party everyone was trying to be the DJ, using the iPad Mini to change the music
through the g! System,” Kathleen continued. “When our first guests arrived we
showed them how to use it for 30 seconds, and that’s all it took for everyone
to be able to use it all night. Plus the guys from 360 Media set up eight
different lighting scenes for us, so there’s a special setting to bring up the
bar lights, or for when we move the couches and have a dance floor, or for when
we aren’t using the bar at all and are sitting in the lounge area. It’s so
easy!
“Those types of nuances in the audiovisual and
lighting system perfectly complement the design of the whole room. I set out to create a space where people
would continue to discover new accents and flourishes throughout the night and
even each time they revisit the house.
It’s the little things — tiling that continues up the wall around the TV
and fireplace, and also continues onto the step under the bar; coat hooks under
the bar that you’d never expect in a home — that catch people off guard and
keep them experiencing the room differently time after time.”
According to Jack, one of
their favorite things about the ELAN g! System is that they didn’t have to break
the bank to get everything they wanted. They were able to start off integrating
the AV and lighting in the lounge, and then still have the ability to expand the
system and control other subsystems in the future.
“We like it so much that
we’re planning to grow the system and control the TVs and music upstairs,” he
added, “and possibly tie in the HVAC and security system and add cameras,
garage door controls and electronic door locks. We want to be able to look in
on the house when we’re on vacation and have that extra peace of mind. It also
makes things much more convenient, like if a package is being delivered we
could open the garage door from anywhere in the world, and also set the outdoor
lights to go on at night so it’s not obvious that no one is home. We know that
automating the lights, heating and air conditioning could help us save energy
and money, and it can even let us set up the house so it’s ready when we return
from vacation. All things considered, the renovation has transformed our home
into an entirely new house.”
About ELAN Home
Systems:
Founded in 1990, ELAN®
Home Systems is an industry leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning
whole-house entertainment and control systems that are distributed through a
comprehensive channel of select dealers and distributors throughout the United
States, Canada and more than 58 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.
ELAN is part of the Core®
Brands division of Nortek, Inc. Core Brands combines the product and marketing
strengths of ten iconic audio, power management and control brands into a single
business unit that includes ATON®, BlueBOLT®, ELAN®, Furman®, Niles®, Panamax®,
Proficient®, SpeakerCraft®, Sunfire® and Xantech® brands.
ELAN is a subsidiary of
Nortek, Inc., a global, diversified company whose many market-leading brands
deliver broad capabilities and a wide array of innovative, technology-driven
products and solutions for lifestyle improvement at home and at work. Please
visit www.nortekinc.com
for more information.
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