When summer arrives bringing longer days and warmer evenings, it’s time to unpack the garden furniture and get the BBQ going. Your outdoor space becomes an extension of your home in the summer and a time for kicking back and relaxing with friend and family. Charlie Hibbins, Director of Symbiotic Smart Homes, explains how you can enhance your garden with smart technology – using mixed lighting, audio visual systems that won’t annoy the neighbours and automatic awnings – to make the most of it during the summer.
Lighting is key to unlocking the ambiance of a space, both indoors and outdoors. It can be particularly powerful in enhancing areas within your garden, whether it’s lighting up features such as sculptures or fountains, lining pathways, or keeping al fresco dining spots bright enough when the sun has set. Setting a variety of up-lightning and low-lighting systems on timers, means that you don’t have to worry about turning it on or off, it just takes of itself. Charlie expands:
Using lighting to create unique spaces in your garden
“Smart exterior lighting doesn’t just make a garden more usable, but it can also be used to create focal points and bigger spaces. When done well, this not only transforms how you use the outside space during the summer months, but also creates space and interest during the winter months when you’re looking out onto your garden from inside.”
Extending your sound system to bring quality audio into your garden
You may already have a good sound system inside but have you considered extending it out into your garden, to enjoy listening to continuous high quality music when outdoors sunbathing or entertaining friends? You could even install an outdoor sound system, with discreet speakers strategically placed and tailored to your space that emit fantastic sound quality without disturbing your neighbours!
“Fence-line speaker installation allows for a fantastic al fresco audio experience. With the added bonus of a system fully synced between the interior and exterior of your home, you can enjoy your music or podcasts wherever you are,” explains Charlie.
Get ready for an outdoor film night or watching big sporting events in your garden
For those wanting to make the most of the sunshine whilst keeping an eye on a sports game, or watching the latest episode of a series, there is a solution which luckily doesn’t involved battling the glare of the sunshine on your laptop or phone screen.
Charie highlights, “Weather-resistant, anti-glare screens mean you no longer have to choose between quality viewing and enjoying our precious summer months. Expert product supply and professional screen and audio installation will enable you and your loved ones to enjoy all the summer’s great sporting, film and TV events outdoors, with the BBQ or pizza oven close by.”
Optimising your garden areas whatever the weather with smart solutions
The great British weather can be unpredictable at times, but smart solutions can ensure you are prepared for any sudden changes, come rain or shine. With a combination of smart awnings and heater systems, which can adapt to whatever the weather throws at you, the garden can be used throughout the summer, so no need to cancel any planned parties and events you are hosting.
Charlie shares, “Set your smart awnings to come out at specific times of the day, shading your garden and protecting your house from the midday sun. Moisture-sensitive awnings can extend automatically to protect furniture when it rains, and most will even retract if it gets too windy. You can also set timers and minimum temperatures on infrared heaters to keep your space accessible and usable for most of the year.”
Getting your garden summer ready for family and friends
Advances in smart technology are moving fast, so that you can now embrace even the smallest of options available to make the most of your garden during the summer. Even simply installing external Wi-Fi can make your garden more user friendly for the family and enjoyable and convenient to be in when entertaining friends. It opens up a lots of options to create outdoor rooms and surroundings that you can’t wait to be in and enjoy.
If you’re looking to level up your garden, a Symbiotic Smart Home system can transform the way you use your outdoor space. Embrace the future – where your home works in harmony with you. So, why not give our experts a call and begin creating your healthy home?