A smarter home

In a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented transit district in Palo Alto, Calif., Sunset magazine is focusing on design ideas that transform modern living spaces into innovative, automated homes of the future.

The Sunset Smart Homes, a duplex project that has been open for public touring, are "Idea" houses designed to highlight forthcoming high-tech, eco-friendly, and energy-efficiency concepts that might one day become standards of home building. In one of the digital homes, a wall-mounted iPad--accompanied by additional seven-inch touch screens on different floors--is the centerpiece, controlling everything from climate to lighting to home security. Its entertainment center is run via Apple TV.

The Savant Home Automation system is accessible via any Apple iOS device, which means that not only can all the home's functions can be managed via an iPad, they can also be managed from an iPhone anywhere in the house or even remotely.