Background
After moving into a beautifully custom designed home with a gorgeous showcase staircase encased in glass on the front of their home, our clients' children noticed one glaring issue. The main set of stairs in the house leading up to their rooms, while stunning, offered zero privacy. The staircase was the only one in the house and the showpiece of the home when viewed from the street. There was no other option to go upstairs but to pass 35 panes of glass. The entire block had views right into their home and to top it off, the south west sun baked the stairs and the foyer in unbearable heat. This is where the team of professionals at Enline Technologies came in to solve this complex issue.
Design Goals
- Use Lutron window treatments to make more private space for the whole entire family.
- Create a cohesive flow using a variety of products due to the challenges of the area we were operating in.
- Retain the ability to showcase the stairs as designed while opting for privacy and heat control when desired.
The Challenge
What may seem like a simple shade install was quickly determined to be something far more challenging. The staircase had no wire nearby due to the house only being partially pre-wired. The stairway was built on the front corner of the house and encircled on three sides with 27 windows which would create thousands of dollars in labor and a mess of r
outing, patching, and painting to get wire to all the windows. Switch glass was considered but along with the wiring challenges, the windows that open would have long, visible pigtails right at eye level every time you step onto the stairs. It was determined that roller shades were the proper aesthetic and function, and so this route was pursued.
Wired Sivoia QS shades were already ordered for some 1st floor windows, adding another layer of difficulty due to the desire to match aesthetics and operation. The client had experienced the finesse and drama of IHA (inteilligent hembar alignment) and nothing short of this would be good enough for the staircase.
Just to add one more layer of complexity, the stairs cut across one window leaving only a 2 7/8” gap which was too small for Triathalon. Sivoia brackets wouldn’t be beautiful enough, and they couldn’t be hidden with fascia, so we needed yet another option for this one window.
This was the test. There was no single line of products that covered all needs, and would we be able to get all these different windows to operate in harmony?
The Solution
Although wired power is typically preferred, the choice was to either spend thousands on labor tearing up their beautiful home or opt for a maintenance and battery replacement schedule which was not only less expensive but allowed them to have a professional team clean and adjust the windows every 3 years. The simplicity of batteries won out in this case. Triathalon battery powered shades with black architectural fascia had the same aesthetic as the Sivoia QS shades in the same space while matching the square black trim on the windows so they would blend in nicely, hiding the light-colored fabric. With 13 new window treatments needed, it was financially more attractive too!
This left the final issue with the pesky staircase partially blocking one of the windows. Lutron’s shade configuration tool stated that the roll up diameter on this window with their chosen fabric was 2 5/8”, so we were able to get a Palladiom Wire-Free shade to fit with just 1/8” to spare! The beautiful black brackets were perfectly situated at eye level, and the shade fabric complimented the stairs that crossed them so we were able to leave this one roll exposed without it looking out of place.
We now ended up with 16 total window treatments in the foyer with a mix of 3 wired Sivoia QS, 1 Palladiom Wire-Free and 12 Triathlon Battery driven shades. These were all tied to a RA3 processor and grouped for them to move in absolute unison while also being flawlessly and consistently integrated into their home automation system.
The Results
With Lutron’s suite of window treatment offerings, we were able to complete this entire project within only two days of clean installation. They achieved complete privacy and heat control at the simple press of a button, while keeping the amazing architectural design untouched. This project is a culmination of an integrator’s full understanding of the breadth of solutions available and Lutron’s ability to provide absolute detail and support at every level from design through to installation. I can think of no other company we do business with that has such deep documentation and support in order to combine such a broad mix of products into one unified solution. This project is one of the driving reasons why we are honored to carry Lutron products. We had all the specifications, documentation, support and delivery to be able to plan and execute this with a stunning result that exceeded the client's expectations. Our company’s reputation is built on the quality of our work and the integrity of our people and Lutron shares that culture of pride and excellence.