HOME OF THE MONTH

HOME
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RadicalRehab
A Chicago family turns an old house inside out to create a unique living space.
The plasma TV in Dom and Sheryl Curcio’s family room is a prominent design element. The sleek 63-inch Fujitsu screen has full access
to a rack of A/V equipment in the basement as well as to a server filled with digital photography. The Curcios can call up what they
want from a portable Crestron touchpanel. The front speakers, Portraits from Artison, are attached to the sides of the display.
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PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST © DISNEY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
by Lisa Montgomery, photography by Scott Braman
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What do Tuscany and technology have in com-
would be several years, however, before their
mon? Absolutely nothing, unless you live in Dom
dream of converting the 1980s-style residence
and Sheryl Curcio’s spectacular refurbished
into an Italian villa would be realized.
9,000-square-foot house. The couple purchased
The renovation project started in the base-
the house six years ago while living in Europe.
ment, where the floor was dug out to make
When they moved back to the States, their love
way for a higher ceiling. The Curcios envi-
of all things Italian came along for the ride. It
sioned a home gym for the space. But trou-
There are at least a couple of computer stations
in the Curcio home. In addition to common
computing tasks, the PCs are used for organizing
music into playlists and controlling various
electronic systems.
ble was brewing—big trouble. Before a single piece of equipment could be added, new
support beams would need to be installed, an
old foundation would need to be ripped out
and the entire second floor would need to be
rebuilt. “It was a real nightmare,” Sheryl
recalls. “We thought we had purchased a 13-
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Dining has become a more enjoyable experience,
thanks to the Crestron whole-house music system
that feeds the family’s favorite tunes to the built-in
speakers in the kitchen and dining room. Using
touchpanels or keypads, the Curcios can choose
to play one song throughout the house or different
songs for different areas.
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The Curcios had originally planned to use
the basement as a home gym, but they’re
glad they opted for a home theater instead.
Together, a high-end Barco DLP video
projector (mounted to the ceiling) and a
retractable 110-inch Da-Lite screen can
put on a spectacular show in a room
that’s spacious and comfortable enough
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST © DISNEY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
for several people.
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the family room. The beauty of the system
like 113 years old.” Apparently, the 13-year-
is that there are no radios, CD players or
old structure had been built around the exist-
boom boxes in any room—just the built-in
ing foundation of a much older home, which
speakers. The system delivers music to each
was causing major structural damage to the
area from one central equipment rack in the
house. “It was literally sinking in the middle,”
basement that includes an XM satellite radio
she continues.
tuner, an AM/FM tuner and a music hard
Despite these setbacks, the Curcios
drive, among other components. Remarkably,
forged ahead. When the property next door
the Curcios never go near that gear. Instead,
became available, they decided to take their
they grab the nearest portable Crestron
remodeling plans to the next level. With the
touchpanel to select the songs they want to
help of Chicago-based architect John Wilson,
hear. The interactive touchpanel shows them
the home’s evolution from a traditional
the album covers and the song titles of their
Midwestern abode to a stunning Italian villa
entire CD collection, which is stored digi-
began. The new design consisted of “skinning”
tally on an Escient FireBall hard drive. The
the entire existing structure, adding 4,500
family can search for music by artist or
square feet across the two lots to form an L-
genre or alphabetically.
BREAKING IT DOWN
year-old house, but it ended up being more
CHIPS AHOY
Three chips are better than one
when it comes to the performance of a DLP (digital light processing) video projector. The
Barco Cineversum 110 in Dom
and Sheryl Curcio’s renovated
basement theater uses three separate digital display chips (instead
of one chip, as is utilized in single-chip DLP projectors) to create
a super-bright, super-vivid picture.
SIDEWINDERS
The Portrait home theater system
from Artison consists of two
speakers that effectively do the
shaped house and coating the home in Tuscan
They follow a similar routine for select-
job of three. Designed to be
yellow stucco, set off with a myriad of arched
ing movies. The touchpanel shows them the
mounted directly to the sides of
windows and Italian colonnades.
flicks available on their Sony 400-disc DVD
a flat-panel TV, the units are built
player, they touch the movie they want,
with technology that enables
A Colorful Addition
choose the TV they want to view it on, and
them to place dialogue at the cen-
The colorful and unique qualities continue
viola, the show starts. Just as easily, they
ter of the screen without the need
inside, where a plethora of flat-panel TVs,
can use a Crestron touchpanel to create a
for a center-channel speaker. The
speakers and home control touchscreens
combination of music and video. “Sometimes
Curcios’ 63-inch Fujistu family
look remarkably at ease with the Tuscan
we’ll watch a Cubs game and listen to music
room plasma and 42-inch Fujitsu
style. “I started with a vision of how I want-
in the same room,” Sheryl explains.
bedroom
plasma
are
both
equipped with Portrait speakers.
ed each room to look and then partnered
with Baumeister Electronic Architects to
Easy Access
make the electronics fit,” Sheryl explains. In
The Baumeister team loaded the residence
most areas, the craftsmen at Niles, IL–based
with touchpanels; there are six in all. But
Baumeister Electronic Architects rendered
the Curcios can also use any computer to
A CHANGER
FOR THE
BETTER
the speakers imperceptible by planting them
control the whole-house audio/video system,
An Escient FireBall DVDM-100
flush with wall and ceiling surfaces. “If my
as well as their security system. This feature
video and music manager makes
husband had had his way, though, every
comes in handy when the family is enter-
the Curcios’ Sony 400-disc CD
speaker would have been right out in the
taining outside. “We can take a laptop with
and DVD changers easier to use
open,” Sheryl admits. Although Dom didn’t
us to the deck and pick out songs to play
by displaying the album and
get exactly what he wanted, he still uses the
over the outdoor speakers,” says Sheryl. The
movie titles on the screen of a
system more than anyone else in the fami-
laptop uses Wi-Fi technology to communi-
Crestron touchpanel. From the
ly. “He really loves his music,” says Sheryl.
cate wirelessly with the same Crestron sys-
touchpanel they can scroll through
But what the whole family enjoys is the abil-
tem that manages and controls the audio,
their choices and pick out what
ity to have different songs playing in differ-
video and security systems. The Curcios also
they want to watch or listen to.
ent rooms at the same time. “It’s a real
use their computers to organize their music
advantage when you have kids,” Sheryl
and video libraries. For example, after load-
remarks. She and Dom can listen to their
ing a CD into the server, they can go to a
favorite tunes on the patio, for example,
PC to add the songs to a certain music
while the kids rock out with their friends in
playlist.
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Dom and Sheryl love to entertain
outdoors, so they made sure to
have the home systems designers
at Baumeister Electronic Architects
add weather-hardy speakers to
the landscape. The couple often
carry a laptop computer outside
with them so they can cue up a
piece of music stored inside on
their Escient FireBall music server.
Right: Remodeled from top to bottom, the Curcio home no longer
resembles the traditional brownstone it once was. The architecture and decor is Tuscan with a
bit of technology thrown in for
good measure. It’s a unique
blend that makes this refurbished
home truly one of a kind.
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Downtime for Showtime
space can function nicely as a family room,”
Being able to access movies and music from
says home systems designer John Baumeister.
anywhere in the house is a huge benefit for
But again, the Crestron system holds all the
an on-the-go family like the Curcios, but
magic. One command from a portable touch-
when it’s time to slow down, nothing beats
panel transforms the room into an enter-
settling into the cushy couches in the dedi-
tainment paradise. A 110-inch Da-Lite screen
cated theater downstairs, which was eventu-
descends from the ceiling, and the Barco
ally added to the plans for a lower-level gym.
DLP projector revs up. Inside an equipment
Like most special movie-viewing rooms, this
closet,
one sports a huge wall-hugging screen, a
surround-sound receiver and amplifiers snap
ceiling-suspended video projector and a state-
to attention. Finally, the screen alters its
of-the-art surround-sound system. But in
shape to fit the format of the movie select-
keeping with the decorative flair of the rest
ed. For example, should the family choose a
of the house, the most noticeable part of the
movie in widescreen mode, slender panels of
room is a wall fresco of blue and red jungle
black fabric roll over the top and bottom
monkeys that completes the room’s safari
portions of the display. The fabric eliminates
theme. The mural appears on the wall where
shadows that would otherwise appear on the
the screen should be. “In this setting, the
unused areas of the screen.
the
Sony
DVD
changer,
Denon
OF
THE
Home Control System
Crestron PRO2 processor
Crestron CT-1000 color LCD touchpanels (2)
Crestron ST-1550C color LCD touchpanels (3)
Crestron TIS-3000L color touchpanel
Crestron Minitouch Gateway
Crestron ML-500 mini LCD remote
Crestron C2ENET-1 Ethernet connection
Whole-House Entertainment System
Crestron CNX-BIPAD8 audio router
Crestron CNX-PVID8x4 video distribution
system
Denon DVD-2910 DVD players (2)
Sony SLV-N900 hi-fi VCR
Sony CDP-CX450 400-disc changer
Sony DVP-CX777ES 400-disc DVD player
Crestron C2N-TXM XM satellite radio tuner
Crestron C2NTFM FM radio tuner
Crestron C2-TXM C50 external antenna
Crestron CNX-PBAR4 audio receiver
Crestron CNX-PBVR4 video receiver
Escient FireBall E-120 CD controller
Escient FireBall DVDM-100 CD-DVD librarian
Sonance Virtuoso 831 speakers (4)
Sonance Mariner JR20 outdoor speaker
SpeakerCraft MT 6 Two speakers (9)
SpeakerCraft CRS 6 Two speakers (10)
SpeakerCraft BB1265 12-channel
amplifiers (3)
MONTH
EQUIPMENT LIST
HOME
Fitting In
a short cabinet, the plasma presents digital
The shape-changing screen is an impressive
photography was well as videos. “We’ll often
display, but it’s the home’s flat-panel plasma
use the plasma to display our travel pictures,”
TVs that attract the most attention. Unlike the
Sheryl continues. “It’s like putting on a high-
retractable screen, the plasmas sit completely
tech slideshow.” Naturally, snapshots from Italy
out in the open. In fact, a 63-inch Fujitsu
are some of the family’s favorite scenes. They
plasma with two attached Artison Portrait
not only bring back wonderful memories of
speakers is one of the most prominent design
their favorite vacation haunt but also comple-
elements of the family room. “Aesthetically, it
ment the room’s Tuscan decor. Indeed, there
is the main picture,” says Sheryl. Poised over
is a place for technology in Tuscany. EH
Home Theater Systems
Barco Cineversum 110 DLP video projector
Da-Lite dual-masking 110-inch projection
screen
Fujitsu 42-inch plasma TV
Fujitsu 63-inch plasma TV
Chief plasma mount
Premier Mounts plasma mount
Artison Portrait LCR speakers (4)
Canton Ergo speakers (2)
Denon AVR-3805 surround receiver
Primare SPA20 surround amplifier
REL Britannia B3 sub bass speaker
Sonance Cinema .5 LCR in-wall speakers (4)
Sonance Cinema One LCR in-wall speakers (3)
Sonance Cinema One Sub in-wall subwoofer
High-Speed Network & Protection
Monster On-Q 42-inch enclosures (3)
Monster cables and interconnects
Monster Power AVS-2000 automatic voltage
stabilizer
Monster Power HTS5100 noise filters (2)
Monster Power HTUPS1000 power center
Panamax Towermax surge protector
D-Link DI-604 home network router cable
Dl-Link DSS-8+ homenet switch
D-Link DWL-2000AP home network
Panasonic KX-TDA100 digital KSU
phone system
CONTACT
Electronics design and installation
Baumeister Electronic Architects, Niles, IL
www.bavi.net
Architect: John Wilson, JA Wilson & Associates
Architects, Chicago, IL
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