Tony Stephenson describes it as “a house that cares.” A house where if you rise in the early hours to check on a child, your home courteously lights your path along the hallway. A home that even seems to know that in the middle of the night you may be a little bleary-eyed, and therefore offers only gentle illumination to prevent any undue glare. A home that turns off those lights when you return to your bed and then turns on the heated rail before you wake, so that your towel is just as warm as you like it as you step out of your morning shower.

This may all seem like some kind of Utopian dream, but a Martinborough company is providing the technology to make your house do all of these things and more. Securatel was established eleven years ago by Tony and Jan Stephenson, and the company’s latest Home Integration Systems are the next logical step for a business that’s been at the forefront of audio-visual, lighting and security control systems for more than a decade. Technology in the home has certainly come a long way since Martinborough lad Tony began his electrical apprenticeship with Cotter and Stevens. His hard work and determination were rewarded when he became a partner in that business at the age of just twenty-two.

Since then he has moved on to become Managing Director of his own company. Tony says the Home Integration Systems that Securatel custom-design for their clients grew at least in part out of his own enjoyment of high quality music, video and lighting. “I’d always been surprised that homeowners often put so little planning into the things that give us entertainment and pleasure every day.”

The couple spent a long time researching and sourcing the best in control system technology, and then combined them with high-end audio, video and lighting systems from companies like AVD and International Dynamics. They tested the technologies and systems by living with them in their own home, enabling them to offer their customers a realistic combination of technical expertise and hands-on experience. The result is the Home Integration System that Tony custom-designs for each individual situation.

When I went to chat with Tony at his Martinborough home, with its clean modern lines and rustic recycled timbers, I was struck by its complete lack of technological clutter. Using just one handset, Tony showed me he could control lighting, heating, audio, video and even security systems from the comfort of his favourite armchair. With no visible cabling, remotes and wall mounted keypads that blend with the décor,  the whole thing is so incredibly discreet. “I want my lounge to look like a lounge,” says Tony “and so do our customers.” And he points out that to achieve anything approaching this level of control using conventional methods would need a huge array of switches, controls and dimmers in every room.

Having visited my first integrated home I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future more and more of us will find ourselves living in “a house that cares”.