When building a custom home—or in this case, three—the numbers start to pile up: acreage, square footage, electrical loads, and of course, cost, just to name a few. For this stunning three-home estate along the Rhode Island coast, the most impressive numbers weren’t in the construction stats, but were instead in the technology integration.

Here are a few other numbers that stood out in this award-worthy smart home installation project:

• 86 motorized Lutron shades and drapes
• 150 dimming and switching modules
• 167 keypads across three homes
• 17 repeaters and 8 processors managing system communication

Perhaps the most remarkable number? All three homes are unified under one HomeWorks QSX system, creating a seamless living and entertainment experience across multiple structures. It was imperative for the homeowners that these properties be controlled together, to act as one complete space. This seemingly insurmountable task was only made possible with Lutron.

A Complex Retrofit Becomes One Seamless System

The estate spans several acres of oceanfront property. The southern portion of the property had the original home, built in 1992, and just up the hill was a cottage-style guest house added in 2018. These two spaces are linked by a backyard oasis fit with a tennis court, bocce court, pool, hot tub, cabana, pergola, and gathering areas that overlook the Atlantic Ocean.

Originally, the cottage had a HomeWorks QS system, while the main home used a failing Insteon setup that never delivered consistent results. The C&T Systems team stepped in to modernize both with Lutron.

We retrofitted the original home with HomeWorks QSX, reusing the existing wiring and infrastructure from the legacy lighting control system, and updated the cottage system using Panel Link to QS Link Translators. The result: full control of each space independently, or as one unified property. It became the perfect spot for large-scale entertaining and intuitive day-to-day living.

Scenes for Every Moment, From Fire Features to Movie Nights

With control unified, the homeowners now enjoy total access across the entire estate. Preset scenes manage everything from gas fire pits and torch lights to pool covers, TV lifts, and decorative fountains, and it’s all triggered by keypads or remotely through the Lutron app.

Scenes are programmed not just for convenience, but to enhance every moment, whether it’s for movie night or an evening swim. This is the kind of Lutron lighting project that shows what’s possible when expert design meets cutting-edge control.

Enter the Main Residence: 20,000 Square Feet of Luxury

The final piece of the puzzle was a new 20,000-square-foot home built on the northern part of the property. While the other two spaces served as their longtime home and entertainment space, this new structure would be their primary residence and sported all the amenities one could think of, both inside and out.

Highlights include:

• A custom putting and chipping green with illuminated golf holes
• Home theater, wine cellar, and full spa/salon
• Gym designed by an NBA athletic trainer
• Golf simulator, arcade, and multiple bars

While you could make the argument that you may never have to leave this new space, that’s not how it was intended to be used. With parties and social events having guest lists in the hundreds, the idea was to allow for one property to flow into another, making it feel like one.

Palladiom Keypads and Intuitive Scene Control

To match the modern elegance of the new residence, we installed Palladiom glass keypads throughout. Their sleek design and engraved scene options simplify control, allowing for intuitive management of such a sprawling area. 

Whether it was staying in for a mellow night, having the firepits and porch heaters on during a chilly evening, closing the shades to protect the artwork from the midday sun, or lighting up a path to get across the property to the pool, it’s all handled with a single button press or time clock.

One Button. One System. Infinite Possibilities.

So when it’s time to throw the party of the summer and the homeowners are preoccupied with the caterers, landscapers making the yard look just so, or the pressure of having hundreds of guests descending upon your home expecting the best in entertainment, the least stressful part of their day is simply pressing the “Party” button and knowing that in a matter of seconds it will all be transformed into a jaw dropping experience. 

That’s the power of Lutron—backed by one of the leading Lutron dealers serving Connecticut and Rhode Island, C&T Systems.