Tag: Custom Outdoor Lighting

Hands on with EVO by Coastal Source

  Outdoor lighting is a fun category. The feeling I get pulling up to my house in the evening is magical. Thanks to a review I wrote a few years ago about Coastal Source, every tree and pathway are perfectly lit with fixtures built to withstand a nuclear blast (and, incidentally, the weather). Five years […]

Does the Jabra PanaCast 50 Perform as Well as It Looks?

  I love the latest generation of integrated camera/speaker bars. They’ve made remote meetings much more bearable and lifelike since the onset of COVID-19. If we can thank the pandemic for anything, it has to be what NYU professor Scott Galloway calls, “10 years’ worth of innovation in three months” during the Spring of 2020. […]

Reviewing the Integra DTM 7.4 Network Stereo Receiver

  If you’d told me 20 years ago that I’d be writing a review for a 2-channel AV receiver, I wouldn’t have believed it. The year 2024 would surely be about a million channels, complexity, and a world without big, boxy AV receivers! Or maybe not. Maybe the world’s a little over all the channels […]

The Art of Simplicity and the AVA Cinema Remote

I’ve been frustrated in recent years with the lack of innovation in the handheld remote category. It’s as if consumer electronics manufacturers think we’re all perfectly happy using our smartphones and a bunch of button-riddled plastic candy bars to negotiate the endless audio and video options at our fingertips. If anything, 2024 should be a […]

Leon Mera Sound Sconce Review: A Bold New Approach to Home Ambience

I love it when design and function merge seamlessly. The new Leon Mera Sound Sconce is a great example of blending these elements by combining sound and lighting in an attractive wall fixture effortlessly accenting whatever’s around it. I had no idea something like this existed until my gaze was recently transfixed at a trade show. After […]

Reviewing the new Sonos Arc Ultra and Companion Sub 4

Sonos has taken it on the chin lately. Admittedly, some of it is well deserved. From the unforced error of fixing an app that wasn’t broken to a solidly tone-deaf response, it’s been hard to root for these guys lately. That being said, I’m still a big fan of the Sonos hardware ecosystem and have […]

Security Starts at the Street

The latest home security products stop would-be burglars before they get into the house. Electronic security systems have been in our homes for over 100 years. For much of that time, it has been based on the same foundational principles: bad guys break into your house, a siren blares, and, if monitored, the system calls […]

Reviewing DMF Artafex 4″ Integrator Downlighting

While lighting innovation is moving at a dizzying pace, the age of LEDs has sent us reeling backward a bit in our ability to experience light quality inside that mimics the outdoors. Ever since the demise of incandescent bulbs, manufacturers have been chasing the elusive color rendering index (CRI) score of 100. While most builder-grade […]

The Best Outdoor Lighting Installers in Richmond, Virginia

Every year, Livewire talks to hundreds of households in Central Virginia and Richmond about their smart technology and lighting needs. Because of this, people often ask us about other custom installers and competitors in the Richmond area. We believe in being honest about our competition, and we want our customers to know as much as […]

How Outdoor Lighting Can Improve Home Security With Style

Tackling an outdoor lighting project can be intimidating. From what kind of lights to buy, to what features to highlight, to where everything should go – there’s a lot to consider! If you’re not sure where to start with your outdoor lighting project, we’ve got you covered. In our Outdoor Lighting Design Guide, we’ll go […]