Transforming Space
The team at Home System Solutions (HSS) provides custom home integration solutions to their clients from a place of interpersonal understanding and skilled expertise. Love of the outdoors brought founder Lawrence Fisher to Bend in 2006. Shortly thereafter, Fisher combined his own backgrounds in psychology and computer and stereo repair to create HSS. Today, the small team combines personal attention with years of knowledge to transform spaces for their clients.
Regardless of the scale of the project, the team at HSS starts by getting an understanding for each client’s needs and preferences. “We are thorough with the interview process, asking things like, ‘What kind of music do you like to listen to and when? When do you like to read? When do you like to entertain, and, when you do, how many people are commonly there?” shares Fisher.
This understanding is at the core of creating spaces that fit their clients’ home automation needs. “By getting to know the client we can custom-tune the room; we can pinpoint what sound frequencies are missing for them, and raise and lower those,” explains Fisher. “We also will have systems with multiple user modes, such as day and evening, mom and dad, solo and party, for all technological elements involved—audio, visual, and lighting,” continues Fisher. Especially when working with clients of varied hearing tolerances—for example a couple where one has clear hearing and one uses hearing aids—understanding individual preferences allows HSS to offer a custom experience for the individuals in the household as well as their guests.
Often, there can be a disconnect between a space’s purpose and its functionality; HSS bridges that gap, transforming space to perform to its design. Open great rooms are exceedingly popular in new construction, but when clad in hard surfaces as they frequently are, these spaces can incur unpleasant sound bouncing, especially when used for entertaining. On a recent project, HSS artfully arranged sound panels to make one such space mutually inviting and relaxing for a couple with different hearing levels. “We acoustically treated the room with custom sound panels. When the hearing-impaired member of the couple walked into the room, he shared that he could feel his whole body relax, and that he was no longer apprehensive of having people over and not being able hear them. ‘I can concurrently hear voices and the television, and the clarity of music, or a conversation; I am relaxed immediately,’ the client told us,” Fisher shares.
We’re a small company and we don’t like to juggle projects. If we’re working with you, you’re our sole focus. We start
a project and put our heads down and get it done.”
–Lawrence Fisher
Currently, HSS is working on renovating the technology for a property where interconnection is a must. The property includes three buildings: a barn, a studio/guest house, and the main home—a one-bedroom structure comprised of a large kitchen, loft, and master suite. “They were having issues with wifi, security, surveillance, and general functionality of the system. They brought us in to evaluate and re-work the system. We’re digging trenches to put in conduit for them, to put in network, security, and fiber-optic cable. As with any project, we ensure that it’s future-ready; this means designing so that it can seamlessly adapt to new technology,” explains Fisher. They’ve added audio to the barn and tack room, updated the television and studio audio, added wifi, more sophisticated security, and cameras around the property. All components are supported by hardwiring because of its long-term reliability. “We also added hardwired wireless access points, so there’s seamless hand-off throughout the property and no gaps where you lose internet,” continues Fisher.
We’re a small company and we don’t like to juggle projects. If we’re working with you, you’re our sole focus. We start
a project and put our heads down and get it done.”
–Lawrence Fisher
HSS also re-worked many of the equipment racks and cabinets to support the longevity of their technology. “Another thing we work on frequently, that we’re working with on this project, is the cabinets and shelves that hold televisions and audio equipment. For this project, we re-built some of the cabinets and modified their equipment racks for ease of use and to keep their equipment functioning optimally. Heat is the number-one killer of equipment. For every ten degrees above the optimum temperature, you lose a year and a half off of its life,” Fisher continues.
HSS completes each job before starting the next, allowing them to offer singular focus, shorter turnaround time, and quicker feedback for each of their clients. “We’re a small company and we don’t like to juggle projects. If we’re working with you, you’re our sole focus. We start a project and put our heads down and get it done. This way, we get back to our clients quickly because each one is our priority for the whole period we’re working with them,” Fisher notes.
Understanding each of their clients on a personal level, HSS weaves solutions that come naturally from the combination of innate passion and interdisciplinary expertise. HSS offers customization that attunes each home to a client’s unique lifestyle, creating spaces that not only function seamlessly, but also uplift one’s experience of the home.
