Curb Check

What's the curb appeal for your Dallas area home?

Smart devices and appliances are considered high-value indoor things. But the outside property of a house can harness the benefits of technology and look quite sharp.

Evolve Technologies installs and services premium smart home items, and will even run CAD, working pre-build or with the builders themselves.

Outdoor smart tech, with style. Some examples

• bright, but integrated, lighting
• discreet home monitoring
• a smart lock with a classic brass look
• wooden-slat or textured window treatments with motorized smart control
• a sleek, two-way audio-video smart doorbell

A study by the University of Texas Arlington and the University of Alabama said you can add 7% to your home value with the curb factor. (And this study was quoted in Sotheby's property firm. Yes, that Sotheby's). Any quick internet search will bring you expert tips on front door colors, window styles, and more to inch that home value even higher.

Property Punctuation

The front of the house can be a comma, an exclamation point, or (maybe) a dash.

What punctuation mark is your house front?

• comma: people slow down to get a good view
• exclamation point: that definitely stands out; not so subtle
• dash or hyphen: interrupts, but knows it
• is a question mark isn't really in style
• (during the holidays, with decorations, it's anyone's guess)

But the home is too much to put into that. Create your own home emoji as a punctuation mark (and add some dollar signs to the home too).

Old and New

Texas can swing a bit of the old with the new. Launching spaceships but also keeping fourth and fifth-generation longhorn stockyards.

Wherever we live, we want the home to be comforting, familiar and inviting. But not dull. Pleasantly engaging, but safe and secured. Two-for-one? Evolve Technologies can do that.

Lights: Are You Front-ing?

Evolve trusts the brands that go two-for-one, as well. Innovators that also can deliver the best, and consistently do so. Brands like Lutron. Within a few decades of the lightbulb's invention, Lutron started innovating. They added automation and settings to lighting. And they're still at it.

Outdoor lighting set up can go on or in front of, your house.

Highlights

• sconce lighting installed on a home's outside walls will maximize the effect of brick, cultured stone, stucco, or another textured exterior
• show off that 50-yard-line-perfect lawn with a full spotlight by the curb
• in-ground options if you really want to highlight those prize-winning hibiscus

Lights: In the Zone(s)

Backyard, foyer, and porch can get in on this too. The Select line, and others, within Lutron, can give you four or more zones of control for your property. Add up to a dozen switches and programmable operators to light up the pool, but calm down out front.

As with all Evolve projects, we can configure it onto your phone, tablet, wall hub screen, and more. The Lutron App and countless ancillary apps can be used.

Lights: Driveway, Walkway

Control4 is the security system Evolve trusts. Lights, shades, and media can be controlled from their newly updated system. A straightforward, user-friendly, standard 10-inch touchscreen has a favorites option and a media bar. (Keep an eye on the kids' TV choice. See and set the media on a given screen from the media bar.)

Light sensors are great for the driveway, the walkway, and security (the stay-away.) From ground 

contact or motion-sensing, some runway-style driveway lights will add serious caché to the house front (and let you know when the pizza's here).

Cameras, Security

Tie in the lights to Control4, but monitor the homestead, as well. Each camera from Control4 starts at 2 megapixels (most have 4). They also constitute a better image with sharper shapes and colors at night. It comes with auto-zoom features and the option of PoE: a single cable for data and power.

The cameras are designed for residence: contoured to blend in and they could fit in a purse or a cargo-pants pocket. Out-of-the-way safety (that the HOA won't care about if they can't see).

Top Brass: Doorknobs, Gates, Smart Locks

A strong door handle on the front door is a nice touch. Southern Living, citing a study by Realm (an online real estate hub) estimates a 400%+ ROI for front door upgrades. So, theoretically, a 1,000 dollar investment on the front door can add four grand to your home's value.

A strong front doorknob is a classic statement. And, your kids will be able to get in with or without a key.

Smart lock door and gate options

• numeric keypad
• keypad with keyed-cylinder deadbolt
• keypad with non-keyed, smart-activated mechanical deadbolt
• gooseneck pedestal keypad for drive-up swinging or rolling gate entry

Tie the operation into your phone, tablet, or wall mount touch-screen smart hub. Open it from the kitchen, from work; heck, from a plane if they have real Wi-Fi.

Doorbells and KeyPads

Chime from Control4 is a serious smart doorbell. With 5 megapixels, this doorbell also has a 180-degree field of vision which is better than the human eye!

The thin, sleek, low-profile depth and comes in a deep black or satin-nickel finish. Motion-sensing has up to five levels to accommodate every front yard size.

Retrieve earlier video from the cloud and, best of all, no-touch two-way audio.

Responding to Treatments: Smart Shades and Curtains

Big windows draw in the vitamin D and free heat during the winter. Skim Pinterest or Houzz and you'll see (especially in the warmer US climates) wall-height windows for living rooms.

However, when the sun goes down, lights shining on the house look best with a stylized window treatment. Lutron specializes in automatic, scheduled, and motorized blinds and shades. They have a broad swatch palette of textures, materials, and colors.

Being Up Front

Smart tech on the outside or the inside? Why not both? The ultimate two-for-one. The value of the home matters whether moving happens or not.

Having it look great is always a plus. But you can always add some digits to a refi. And if you're investing in smart home automation, you're serious about your house and consider it an investment.

Evolve Technologies is HTA (Home Theater Association) certified. A designation for less than 20 firms in Texas that offer the very best smart home services and design.

Whatever properties, for lifestyle but also everyday convenience of automation, we can set that up. We look forward to a consulting experience with you.