Residential
At 53 Montecito in Newport Beach, the smart home story is not defined by the number of devices in the residence, even though that number is substantial. The project brings together 310 connected devices across lighting, shading, climate, entertainment, surveillance, access control, water features, fireplaces, and more. The more important achievement is that the home does not ask the owner to experience those systems as separate layers of technology.
Local integrator Custom Connections chose Josh.ai as the natural control layer for the property, giving the homeowners access to the connected environment through voice, touchscreens, remotes, and the Josh app. The goal was not only to make individual subsystems work. It was to create one simple interaction model for a home with a very broad technology footprint.
For Connected Design readers, 53 Montecito is a useful example of where luxury residential technology is heading. The residence is filled with intelligent systems, but the finished experience is designed around restraint. Interfaces are limited. Hardware is discreet. The automation works in the background so the architecture, interiors, and daily routines can remain the focus.
A Complex Home Made Simple
Luxury homes can become complicated quickly as lighting, shades, climate, audio, video, security, locks, pool systems, fountains, and fireplaces each bring their own controls and behaviors. At 53 Montecito, that complexity was the central design problem.
Josh.ai allowed Custom Connections to bring those systems into a unified control experience. Instead of asking the homeowner to think through which app, remote, keypad, or subsystem controls a given feature, the home responds through natural language, room-specific touchscreens, handheld control, and mobile access.
That simplicity was especially important because the home was designed with a clean, contemporary sensibility. The technology needed to support the architecture without crowding it. Josh Nano microphones were integrated discreetly throughout the property, while Josh Touchscreens and Josh Edge remotes provide tactile control where they are useful. The result is a house that remains highly capable without making capability the visual story.
Automation Around Daily Life
The strongest moments in the installation are the ones that connect technology to ordinary behavior. In the theater, starting a movie or TV experience can automatically lower the shades, reducing glare and preparing the room for viewing. The homeowner can ask Josh for what they want to watch and have the system coordinate the response behind the scenes.
The same thinking extends outdoors and into security. At night, a backyard motion sensor can trigger a Josh.ai-powered scene that announces activity through backyard speakers while activating selected exterior and interior lights. It is a practical response, but it also shows how connected systems become more useful when they act together rather than as isolated devices.
Those coordinated moments are what separate a collection of smart products from a designed smart home. Lighting, shading, audio, video, climate, and security each have their own function, but the experience becomes more natural when they support the same intent.
Design Integrity as the Luxury
At 53 Montecito, technology had to protect the visual integrity of the home. The system includes a significant range of products, but the visible technology was kept selective and intentional.
Ketra lighting controlled by Lutron HomeWorks QSX supports the home’s architectural lighting and daily scenes. Lutron Palladiom and Sivoia QS shading provide controlled daylight and privacy. Sonos powers Sonance speakers throughout the property, while the dedicated theater uses Denon and MartinLogan components in a 9.2 Dolby Atmos configuration. Roku streaming, an Epson projector, Pentair pool and water-feature control, IntelliFire fireplaces, and IC Realtime surveillance and access control all feed into the broader connected environment.
The technical scope is expansive, but the control experience is deliberately narrow. The homeowner does not need to know the operational boundaries between those systems in order to live with them. That is the luxury of the installation: the home is complex where it has to be and simple where the client touches it.
From Spec Home to Personal Residence
The property was originally designed and built as a spec home with the intention of being sold. After seeing the finished result and experiencing the technology integration, the owners decided to make it their own home.
That detail says something important about the role of connected design in residential projects. The technology did not simply add a feature package. It helped the house feel more complete, more personal, and more responsive to daily life.
For architects, designers, builders, and integrators, the lesson is clear. Intelligent control does not have to mean more visual clutter or more complexity for the homeowner. When the technology plan is aligned with the architecture, the home can become more capable while feeling calmer.
What It Signals
53 Montecito demonstrates the difference between a space filled with smart devices and a home designed with true intelligence. More than 300 devices are present, but the finished experience is built around one idea: the homeowner should be able to ask for what they want and have the home respond in a way that feels natural.
That makes the project relevant beyond one Newport Beach residence. As connected systems continue to touch lighting, shading, entertainment, climate, wellness, security, outdoor living, and water features, the value of a smart home platform will increasingly depend on how gracefully it protects the user experience.
At 53 Montecito, the technology does not compete with the architecture. It gives the architecture more ways to respond.
Equipment Highlights
- Josh.ai control: Josh Core, Josh App, Josh Edge, Josh Touchscreen, and Josh Nano
- Lighting: Ketra lighting controlled by Lutron HomeWorks QSX
- Shading: Lutron Palladiom and Sivoia QS
- Climate: Ecobee smart thermostats
- Security and access: IC Realtime surveillance and access control, August locks, and Yale locks
- Whole-home audio: Sonos powering Sonance speakers throughout the property
- Video: Roku streaming throughout the property
- Dedicated theater: Epson projector, Denon AVR, and MartinLogan speakers in a 9.2 Dolby Atmos configuration
- Pool and water features: Pentair integration for the pool, spa, and interior fountain pools
- Fireplaces: IntelliFire smart fireplaces
Project Partners
- Integrator: Custom Connections
- Builder/Developer: Homes by Hecht
