A pleasure boat on the Thames approaching Chiswick Bridge at Mortlake. Photo: Dylan Moore, CC BY-SA 2.0Who installs smart homes in East Sheen and Mortlake?
We do. Art of Integration has designed and installed systems for homes in East Sheen and Mortlake, and our Walton-on-Thames showroom is about 8 miles away. In homes like these, the technology questions tend to sit at the back of the house rather than the front: the open-plan kitchen extension, the garden room at the end of a long plot, the terrace, and the network that has to reach all of them.
From our Roehampton Gate projectHow do the two neighbourhoods differ?
Mortlake is the older river village. By 1086 it was the fourth largest village in Surrey, the brewery was founded in 1487 and the Tapestry Works in 1619. Richmond Council's Mortlake conservation area covers fine 18th century listed houses on the riverside and High Street, including the grade II* listed Limes of around 1720, where Turner painted Mortlake Terrace. Behind them, Fitzgerald Road and Alder Road have matching terraces of two-storey brick cottages. The council even notes that the High Street follows the flood line.
East Sheen climbs the hill towards Richmond Park, which bounds the Christchurch Road conservation area to the south. After Mortlake station opened in 1846, large Victorian villas were built here in their own grounds; Edwardian streets followed, then large detached houses on Fife Road between the wars, set in generous gardens. Other conservation areas cover Sheen Lane, Sheen Common Drive, East Sheen Avenue, Mortlake Green and more.
The result is a mix of compact riverside cottages and big family houses on large plots, and the technology each needs is different.
From our Roehampton Gate projectWhat works well in an extension, a garden room or a terrace?
- Open-plan extensions. Glass, hard floors and high ceilings make sound bounce. In an open-plan media room we plan acoustic treatment into the design and keep the equipment out of sight, as we did in our Esher entertainment room, where a concealed projector and a motorised 120 inch screen drop in front of the everyday TV.
- Garden rooms. Wi-Fi from the house rarely reaches the end of a long garden. For our Thames Ditton garden room, which is over 70 metres away across the lawn, we laid a dedicated fibre line to a Ubiquiti network. Our data and Wi-Fi network service plans that link before the building goes up.
- Terraces. Outdoor AV brings weatherproof screens and speakers to the terrace. Scott Atkinson's Google review of the Samsung Terrace TV we installed said it made "our outdoor space feel like a true outdoor entertainment area."
- Security for a large plot. Smart security adds cameras, video door entry and alarms to the same Control4 app that runs the lights and music.
From our Roehampton Gate projectDo planning rules or flood risk affect the work?
They can. In a conservation area, permitted development rights are narrower, so cameras, external speakers and outbuildings are worth raising with Richmond Council early. Digging down is controlled too: Richmond requires a planning application for basement development anywhere in the borough. Near the river, look up your postcode on the government's long-term flood risk service rather than relying on hearsay, and in any low-lying room put the equipment rack at a height where water is unlikely to reach it.
Our demonstration cinema in Walton-on-ThamesWhat does it cost, and what happens next?
Garden room AV, networks and security are priced after a survey, because distance, groundwork and the number of rooms change the figure. A dedicated cinema room is easier to budget: professionally designed small rooms come in at £15,000 to £25,000 fully installed. After handover, our own maintenance team looks after the system, with many faults fixed remotely. Book a free design consultation to plan the garden link on site, or book a showroom visit first.
