Systems integrator specialist Yves Richarz, whose client list reads like a Who's Who of the entertainment industry, eliminates the need for owning 100 remotes.

But it's not enough to merely dream up these designs. The Olympian feat is in actually implementing the technology to not only make things works but do so in a simple, one-touch fashion that clients will understand and use. Otherwise it just stays in the realm of sci-fi fantasy.

Yves Richarz was there at the beginning. He began designing automated control systems for a discerning Hollywood clientele in the early 1980s, the stone age of smart home systems. Back then there were no off-the-shelf automation systems, or even a way for different components to "talk" with one another, so like any self-respecting innovator, Richarz and partner Toby Kaufman invented as they went along. Their firm, Interior Systems Design, began devising increasingly sophisticated solutions that reached a milestone with a project for producer Don Simpson in the mid-1980s. They fully automated his house, integrating audio/video, spa, lighting, drapes, telephones, intercom and other features from a single control panel. This showcase effort even merited a photo shoot by celebrity photographer Herb Ritts.

Soon there were more clients (gadget one-upmanship is a full-time obsession for film industry folk) and greater demand for more functions. Richarz complied, but hardwired systems had reached their limit. Panels were now bristling with buttons and wires (one of the last wired panels he designed had over 100 buttons). "We decided there must be a better way, and started researching gas plasma touch screens that allowed for menu-driven operations," Richarz explains.

This quantum leap to digital, software-based systems combined with the Internet now provides owners with near-omniscient powers over their domiciles. Today, it doesn't matter whether one is in Belarus or the backyard -- phones, music libraries, home computer networks, energy management, video and closed circuit television, fireplaces, drapes, skylights and fountains are just a sampling of what can be fully automated and controlled from touch screens at home and online from secure websites. Richarz, whose word-of-mouth cachet circulates among clients like Hollywood royals David Geffen, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, regularly teams with prominent architects, builders and interior designers to create showcase homes that feature healthy doses of techno-lust. In addition to his genre-stretching projects with Beasley, Richarz has implemented an array of esoteric solutions.

"Well, there was the home media center that recreates a starship bridge -- complete with retina scanner for access -- that we did for an Arab sheikh who is a Star Trek fan," recounts Richarz. "Another interesting installation was private stables with advanced video monitoring systems that not only keep an eye on prize Thoroughbreds but, by using subdermal sensors, actually alert the owners when a mare is about to foal."

And then there was the case of the view-challenged celebrity beach house. When practical placement of the TV at the foot of the bed threatened to obscure the client's oceanfront vista, ISD mounted a camera on the roof so a live feed of the beach could be transmitted to a plasma screen mounted where the view should be. "It's really getting to the point where we're only limited by a client's imagination and resources." Richarz notes.

But what about the client who simply wants to light a pathway from the bedroom to the bathroom with the flip of a switch, or have one-touch control over components of a home theater center? "Some people just want on-off," says Los Angeles designer Antonia Hutt, who often collaborates with Richarz. "Frankly, some people are afraid of technology, but even for them I recommend they accommodate running some wires for a future upgrade."

There is also an aesthetic value to the technological innovations. "As a designer, I'm always trying to clean up walls, and technology like a single touchpad that controls everything is really fabulous," says Hutt. "For example, with lighting now, you can create scenes and moods for everywhere in the home with one touch."

So how does one enter the rarefied world of these über homes? "At first it's educational," explains Richarz. "We sit and go over every room with a client, explaining what's available and what people typically do. Most people have no idea of the options out there. Then we listen. They direct us, because, ultimately, it's about what works for their particular lifestyle."

Most of the projects a company like ISD gets involved with are new construction. This is an ideal time to involve an automation systems partner, because they can work with architects and contractors to design unobtrusive, intelligent solutions that maximize the integration of systems. However, remodels and renovations are also a good time to consider an upgrade.

Paul Williger, an associate with the Santa Monica architectural firm Appleton & Associates, meets with Richarz prior to a project to examine schematics and ensure that everyone understands what the client is trying to achieve. "We need to have control of the overall design. You don't want to have a big, illuminated keypad taking over a room, so it's important that the technology be integrated so it doesn't get out of control."

Builders are also finding a brave new world in homes these days. "Now we have to think a couple of years out -- to where systems might be going in the future," says Peter McCoy of McCoy Construction. McCoy says the 10,000- to 30,000-square-foot homes he specializes in can take two or three years to build, while a full automation systems retrofit on such a home can take a year. Besides patience, means is also part of the equation -- such projects start at around $100,000, but generally end up in the $200,000 to $300,000 range.

The payoff for investing in a smart home is an intuitive residence that caters to your lifestyle. But should you hear one of your appliances saying, "What are you doing, Dave?..." call your technician asap, especially if your name isn't Dave. - ERIC HISS

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