The festive season is upon us, and with it comes the joy of creating magical moments within our homes. The act of setting the scene and creating an inviting atmosphere has itself become magical with whole-home automation systems. With a simple command, ambient lighting and twinkling decorative lights can be conjured to the backdrop of your curated winter playlist in front of the warm glow from the fireplace. 

This blog explores the joy of bespoke atmospheres, the comfort and convenience of remote control, shared experiences with family favourites playing from room to room, and enhanced home security whilst at home or vacated for the holidays, all thanks to intelligent scene-setting functions within whole-home automation.

As home cinema and whole home automation specialists, we can’t emphasise enough the importance of a strong integrated network of subsystems to ensure the smooth running of connected homes. On this occasion, however, it’s a different type of network that takes prominence as we highlight the significance of professional networking across the industries that have converged to make Lifestyle Technology what it has become today.

Butler Harwell have been re-cast as a leading role in the Grand House at Grand Designs Live 2025, following this year’s hit show. Founding Director of Butler Harwell, Tom Butler, reviews the success of ExCeL London’s first purpose-built cinema and discloses a few spoilers for the 2025 sequel.

Butler Harwell takes a look at the ‘mise-en-scène’ of cinema, the composition of encrypted scenes, and the application of film theory to home cinema, where the enjoyment of film can be enhanced in dark, intimate settings with larger-than-life projections.

This May, Grand Designs Live will be building a Grand Designs House for the first time at London ExCeL and Butler Harwell are proud, official Cinema Room partners. Grand Designs Live is a ‘home event full of inspiration and expert advice’. From 4 - 12 May, guests are invited to explore luxury design and innovative, sustainable home solutions in-situ in a stunning show home, exclusively built to ‘wow’ visitors at the show.

ISE 2024 took Butler Harwell to Barcelona, where the team discovered the latest Lifestyle Technology offering the balance between Architecture, Design and Technology.