Four years in the making, this Virginia home combines distributed audio, video and control technologies to deliver an ‘entertainment everywhere’ experience. We find out more about how integrator SmartTouchUSA blended performance and architecture in the new-build.
Designed around the idea that entertainment should be available anywhere at any time, the McLean property in northern Virginia weaves audio and video into its very fabric. Featuring dedicated games and kids’ rooms alongside a central great room, the house incorporates 14 zones of distributed audio and ten video zones to create a control environment across more than 12,000 sq ft.
The five-bedroom estate includes an office, home theatre, and even a secondary surround zone for everyday use – each designed to marry audiovisual performance with carefully considered interiors. Crestron’s DM-NVX platform delivers 4K and surveillance feeds to nine displays throughout the property, underpinned by Araknis network infrastructure.
The secondary surround zone
Brought into design discussions over four years before completion, integrator SmartTouchUSA was a key part of the project’s construction and supply chain. “We ensured all wiring needs were addressed during framing, working closely with other parts of the ecosystem: the architect, interior designer, landscape designer and millwork team,” says founder and chief designer, Eddie Shapiro. “This level of collaboration allowed us to pre-plan touch panel locations, speaker placements, display integrations and low-profile mounting concepts.”
Early involvement translated into robust infrastructure, with technical pathways in place before construction was locked in. Not only did this align with the home’s distributed media layout, but also left flexibility for ongoing and future system expansion.
User experience
Meeting the family’s brief for an easy-to-navigate interface, the Crestron Home platform coordinates functions from centralised lighting to touchscreen panels. “Whether it’s dimming the shades for a movie, adjusting the temperature during a party, or monitoring a visitor at the front door, the system works as one cohesive whole,” Shapiro explains. “And as the homeowners became more comfortable with the platform, we extended Crestron Home’s shade and lighting controls through Josh.ai voice operation.”
To avoid overwhelming the homeowners, voice control was introduced selectively to make natural-language commands complement touchscreen interaction. “I think Josh.ai is a very strong platform, but it depends heavily on each client,” says Shapiro. “We felt that putting guardrails on voice control made a lot of sense, much like training a bike’s wheels until it can be ridden well.”
This conversational layer adds a more intuitive model to the home’s native media control, with some scene controls available via voice commands like "Good Morning" or "All Off" through Josh Nano microphones. “The wow factor is not in the technology alone, but in how invisible it feels,” Shapiro points out. “Guests experience immersive media and seamless control without ever thinking about the infrastructure behind it.”
“The wow factor is not in the technology alone, but in how invisible it feels.”
The system extends shading adjustments and climate control to end users in a similar vein, with Lutron roller blinds orchestrating privacy in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Crestron HZ thermostats connect via Wi-Fi to the CP4 processor, offering control mechanisms like temperature viewing and adjustment. The office demonstrates further platform flexibility with two independently controlled displays allowing different content sources to be viewed simultaneously, while maintaining flexible audio routing.
An accessible control backbone was imperative to this property, home to a young child and one parent who travels often. To this end, surveillance camera feeds are routed to every display in the house; the 2N video intercom system works with touchscreen remotes, TSW wall panels and the Crestron app to take footage beyond phone or app monitoring. This approach reduces the need for separate security applications or control points, ensuring residents can answer calls, receive visitors and operate gate access through Crestron Home.
“The surveillance camera network was designed to ensure the family could view live feeds with the same ease as changing a TV channel,” says Shapiro. “This brought security and media together as one. The residents absolutely love the gate controls through Crestron - it gives them complete peace of mind.”
“The NVX video matrix allows the family to view live feeds with the same ease as changing a TV channel.”
Sync with space
The NVX video, which enables whole-home source switching, operates in tandem with NAX networked audio supporting both synchronised and independent listening zones. The family’s most common routines include following news broadcasts and Apple TV content throughout the home.
“Video and audio needed to be available on demand, in any room, from shared and streaming sources alike,” says Shapiro. KEF architectural speakers populate the property’s two floors, notably in the breakfast area, kitchen, exercise room, office, master bathroom and terrace. They also extend to the great room, where the family gathers for everyday entertainment and social occasions.
But the most technically ambitious element of the project is the purpose-built cinema, which evolved from a conventional media room into a dedicated 7.4.6 theatre. “For us, this room delivers the most impact,” says Shapiro. “The client nearly had tears in his eyes when seeing it for the first time, and joked he might be in trouble because it’s going to be a huge distraction from work.”
In this space, SmartTouchUSA partnered with Italian manufacturer Officina Acustina on acoustically optimised interiors. Using a proprietary Acoustic Interior Design fit-out system to balance sound absorption and diffusion, the room was prepared with the builder over several months and measured down to the millimetre. The front screen wall alone features 14 acoustic panels, forming a system calibrated for the space.
The room’s finishes ensure the audio configuration performs predictably, coordinating viewing angles, infrastructure routing and the all-important acoustic sweet spot. “It’s a showpiece space,” says Shapiro. “The goal was always to create a cinematic experience where acoustic wall treatments reinforced quality AV components and precision-tuned lighting.”
Crestron Home handles the latter, programmed around viewing and entry modes to transition between cinema and everyday use. The entertainment system combines a Barco Balder Pulse Cinemascope projector with an acoustically transparent 115-inch Screen Innovations projection canvas. The projector helped resolve room-specific issues around throw distance, replacing an entry-level model selected earlier in the project.
The SmartTouchUSA team cite the project’s four-year turnaround as a factor in the room’s evolution, allowing it to go from an average to spectacular blueprint. CINEAK’s leather upholstery ensures the visual impact carries from screen to seating in a cohesive colour palette, while JBL Synthesis processing and amplification handle 13 main channels plus four subwoofers, the latter split between the front and rear walls. Having been measured and calibrated on-site by a JBL acoustical engineer, the sound system is custom-tuned to the room.
Elsewhere, a similar focus on embedded technology carries over to the secondary surround zone, which is designed to offer more casual viewing than the cinema. The integration team concealed a James Loudspeaker PowerPipe subwoofer beneath the floor structure, using a custom toe-kick vent in the cabinetry to deliver low-frequency performance without a visible footprint. “I love this solution because visitors never realise there's a subwoofer in the space,” says Shapiro. “It's a good example of how we try to preserve a room's design intent, while still delivering the expected performance.”
Outdoor audio zones extend entertainment beyond the interiors, combining landscape speakers and discreet architectural solutions to support everything from family evenings to larger gatherings. These span the terrace, screen porch, pavilion, office patio and pool, with James three-way tower speakers installed in the landscaping to provide consistent coverage suited to both casual listening and larger gatherings.
Negatives to positives
Despite the technical complexity of the install, the biggest challenge proved to be project coordination across multiple trades. Inconsistent communication threatened to disrupt schedules and create uncertainty around construction milestones: “The risk wasn't simply delays,” explains Shapiro. "When trades aren't aligned, the resulting confusion can threaten system integrity. To counter this, we stepped up as a coordinating force.”
“To counter confusion from builders, we stepped up as a coordinating force.”
Rather than waiting for direction, SmartTouchUSA assumed a broader leadership role that went beyond traditional integration. The team documented infrastructure, managed timelines, and worked with other trades to move critical technology decisions forward. They also got involved in lighting design consultation, fixture selection, acoustical engineering and security system coordination. “Our team became the primary source of continuity for the homeowner, approaching the project as more than just an installation,” Shapiro says. “Instead, we became a long-term technology partner.”
Showcasing the strengths of invisible system design, the McLean project makes distributed media just another building block of a home’s architecture. By combining software-driven platforms into a single ecosystem, SmartTouchUSA created an environment where technology and entertainment emerge naturally from the built environment. And for Shapiro, “that balance of scale, functionality, and ease is what really makes this project stand out.”
Tech-Spec
2N Axis IP Force and Solo intercoms
Apple TVs 4K
Araknis Networks AN-310-SW-R-16-POE 16-port, Layer 2 managed and 310 Series L2 managed gigabit switches
Barco Balder Pulse Series Cinemascope projector
CINEAK cinema seating
Crestron CP4 control processor with 4-Series control engine, TSW-1060 display, DM NVX 4K60 4:4:4 HDR network AV decoder, DM-NAX-8ZSA Audio-over-IP (AoIP) amplifier, HD-XSPA surround sound processor, HZ wall-mounted heating and cooling thermostats, and Horizon touchpads
James Loudspeaker M1000 2U mono subwoofer amplifier, SPL5QT-LCR soundbar, PP12 12-inch PowerPipe subwoofer and JAM-OT84-4 three-way outdoor tower speakers
JBL Synthesis SDR-38 16-channel Class G surround sound AV receiver, SDA-7120 seven-channel Class G power amplifier, and SDA-4600 four-channel Class D power amplifiers
Josh.ai Core processor and Nano smart home microphones
KEF Ci130QR ceiling speakers and KASA500 Class-D dual 250WPC amplifier
Luma Surveillance 510 Series Turret IP outdoor cameras
Lutron Sivoia QS Smart Panel power supply with roller shades and HomeWorks QSX processor
Samsung 65-inch, 50-inch, and 55-inch Q80C 4K QLED TVs alongside Frame 75-inch/85-inch TVs and a S95C QD-OLED 4K smart TV
Screen Innovations 115-inch projector screen
Sonance Sonamp 2-150 MKII DSP amplifier and VPXT6R Outdoor Extreme medium round in-ceiling speakers