Outside, on the same system as the rest of the house

The useful thing about bringing the outside onto the same control system is that nobody has to learn anything new. The same tap that sets a scene in the living room sets one on the terrace: lights to a level, music on, the pool warming before anyone walks out.

Savant's outdoor control handles the scheduling side well, lights that follow sunset rather than a fixed clock time, and a single entertaining scene that puts everything where it should be before guests arrive.

For light and sound outdoors we use Coastal Source. Their fixtures and speakers are built to live outside permanently rather than to survive a season, which matters more here than it does in a catalogue. Lighting picks out architecture and planting, makes steps and paths safe after dark, and can be hidden well enough that you notice the effect and not the fitting.

For a screen that has to work in daylight, the Samsung Terrace is a 4K QLED panel built for bright, exposed positions: weatherproof, and legible when the sun is on it.

Spring is the right time to plan it. Anything involving trenching, conduit or lighting layout wants to happen before the garden is in full use, not during.