Create the Perfect 3-Season Indoor/Outdoor Space

On these pages, we've often discussed the virtues of motorized shades; they bring a variety of real benefits and luxury to any home. But have you thought about outdoor motorized shades? They’re not just for sun-soaked restaurant patios or homes in California. They work to help you get more use of your patio here in Illinois too.

You might be thinking that the outdoor season in Illinois is shorter than in the South and West, and of course, that's correct. That's one reason why we think outdoor motorized shading can make your patio more of an indoor/outdoor space, letting you stretch your outdoor use in good weather days in spring, summer, and fall.

Let's look at five ways outdoor motorized shades let you do more with your Barrington home's outdoor spaces. After all, can't we all use a little more time outside these days?

How a Professional Home Network Installation Can Help

Given the concerns about health in the current environment, you might be thinking – now I have to worry about something else? The short answer is no. But scientific research has shown that there can be adverse health effects with too much exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR). You may already know that, as many people choose not to buy a home that is too close for comfort to high-current powerlines.

Just as there are people that are highly sensitive to gluten and other foods while others have no issues, some people may be more sensitive to the effects of EMR. We need to be clear – low levels of EMR, such as the radio waves used in wireless technologies, are not proven to have harmful effects on humans. But just as gluten has a real impact on some people, other research has suggested that we don't know everything. In 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched an extensive, multidisciplinary research effort to study the effects of EMR.  While current evidence does not confirm any health issues from exposure to low levels of EMR, it also noted that more research is needed as many gaps in knowledge exist.

What does it all mean? As a professional home network installer, Avidia designs and installs many wireless networks in Wilmette and across the Chicago area. If you are concerned about the effects of EMR, we can help. Read on for more.

At Avidia, we’re celebrating our anniversary with a feature in CEPro and exciting plans for the future

Since our doors opened in 2010, we’ve undergone tremendous change and growth here at Avidia. Our evolutionary path has taken us from a start-up company performing basic installation jobs and product development to a first-class home automation company specializing in custom integration projects in Northbrook, IL.

This year, we rang in our 10-year anniversary with a featured cover story in CEPro about how far our company has come in the last decade. Today, we’d like to take some time to reflect on our company vision, mission and goals, and where we see ourselves in the future. Keep reading for an inside look at Avidia’s journey.

Discover a Stylish Solution: Crestron’s Elegant Horizon Keypads

If you're building or remodeling a house, chances are you are adding many different types of built-in lighting. One of the issues with numerous lights is the banks of switches required to control all the loads. Those switches often take up lots of wall space, are confusing (especially when they are multi-way), and need several steps to illuminate the area just the way you want.

Of course, there’s an easy solution to managing lighting in your Lake Forest, IL home – a residential lighting control system. Lighting control can consolidate switches, offer wireless capabilities for flexible installation, and simplify getting the lighting right for any time of the day.

If you value design and aesthetics, some lighting technology solutions may leave you wanting. However, Crestron's sleek Horizon keypads break that mold. Supremely stylish and highly configurable, it's the keypad that savvy designers love to specify. And they do much more than control the lights, too!

Read on to learn why Crestron Horizon keypads are the choice for the design-conscious home.

Avidia will stay open as a federally mandated essential business

As businesses close throughout the country to aid in social distancing and halting the spread of COVID-19, we have been designated by the government as an essential business that may remain open to support our community during this time. That being said, we’re not conducting business as usual. Your safety is of the utmost importance to us, which is why we’ve implemented special steps to protect clients and staff during the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. You can explore the steps we’ve taken here.