apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Casa Familia
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Point Loma)
Type: 1950 home

Kevin wrote in to share this this "reinterpretation of quintessential Southern California courtyard houses", a coastal remodel designed with home technology and energy efficiency at the core of its character. The technology rich home employs a wide assortment of smart design choices to reduce energy (-65%) and water consumption (-55%), while making an aesthetic impact indicative of the modern architectural movement toward eco-minded construction...

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Name: Andrew Flynn
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Type: Home office

When we saw Andrew Flynn's amazing home office, we knew that we had to do a tech tour of his place. The great DIY features really set this home office apart from all of the rest. A faux-wall to hide cables and wires, a Mission Control center console to hide and store peripherals, and three floating monitors are what makes this home office quite ingenious.

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Name: Meet at The Apartment/The Apartment Creative Agency
Location: Soho, New York
Size: 2,500 square foot apartment

The Meet is the brainchild of Marc and Sara Schiller, a dedicated Soho space that blends together the concept of an apartment, meeting and workspace all in one. The 2,500, two-story "apartment" operates as a working loft filled with technology and modern furnishings for both work and enjoyment, rented out for clients to inspire, pamper and entertain (how does a mobile 65” HD screen sound?)...

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Name: Chris Nguyen
Location: Houston, Texas
Size: 500 square feet
Years lived in: 2 months

There's big and then there's Houston BIG. In a city known for embodying the idea of gigantic Texan proportions, Chris Nguyen's extremely modest sized 500 square foot apartment is an anomaly. It also happens to capture exactly everything we hope to showcase here on Unplggd: a small space with an excellent eye for incorporating technology with carefully considered style, all with homegrown solutions. The space may be limited in space, but it's rich with inspiring ideas for home theater, wireless audio, and creating a flexible living space which suits a self-described "technologically inclined and obsessed individual" needs...

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Name: Gregory Han

Location: Silver Lake, California

Size: Home office measuring 60" width x 106" length

Years lived in: 4+

It's been awhile since we last had a tech tour, so I thought I'd offer my own newly updated home office today. Let me begin describing what my home office first looked like before the redo: the small narrow sun room was filled with a hodge podge of vintage, IKEA, and miscellaneous items. It was where things went to stay (and often die) when we didn't have anywhere else to put them, and I alway felt like it was the most neglected room, despite the fact I spend the most time in it of all the rooms in our 637 sq. ft. space. It was definitely time for something new...

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Location: London
Size: 98m2
Years lived in: 1 year

While Chittagong may not have many beat on duration of living, with the accumulated character that many older "lived-in" spaces have, it's his impeccable eye for detail and tech implementation that has us drooling in admiration. Streamlining a media collection is admittedly a difficult task, but he's accomplished that and much more in this small, but undeniably cool London abode...

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Name: Glen Benton
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Glen Benton's Gothenburg apartment is just about the perfect idealization of an Unplggd dream abode. Every corner of the apartment is filled with technology...but you wouldn't immediately notice it because Glen has done a superb job of incorporating an array of speakers, home computing, home theater components and even a projector/screen setup with artwork and furnishings without creating the usual tech clutter associated with those afflicted with that most expensive of ailments, techlust-ilitis. A DIY painted Chippendale cabinet paired with an IR Extender hides away his Denon DVD player, a Panasonic Blu-Ray player, Tag McLaren audio gear and even a turntable for his LP collection, while wall mounted speakers are tastefully matched the to the apartment's architectural embellishments. Even subtracting the home electronics elements to this apartment, Glen has arranged a most dashing and sophisticated of interiors...

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Name: Tia and Mikko
Location: Southern Finland
Size: 79 m² / 850 sq ft.
Years lived in: 3

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We first ran across Tia and Mikko's Finnish home while going through archives of photos of home computer workstation setups, and what struck us besides the obvious modern minimal aesthetic that permeates through their modest home was their ability to hide a wealth of highly-desirable home technology through careful and thoughtful planning, making this Tech Tour both aspirational and inspirational. Check out all the details and additional helpful advice from the couple about harmonizing a digital lifestyle with eye-pleasing decor below...

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Name: Marcos Quirarte
Location: Xalapa, Veracruz
Size: I don't really know, about 5x12 metres
Years lived in: 6 months

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What to do when you've got a large space but lack windows? How about using a projector against a large wall to create a virtual view "out"? Marcos used his trusty laptop and connected it to a Sony projector to take advantage of his loft space's wall real estate, maintaining the minimalist aesthetic while also providing him with a natural centerpiece to the colourful interior, while also creating a popular destination for home theater entertainment amongst his friends. The man obviously knows how to live lightly, though also in luxurious style from the looks of his bright and spartan interior...

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Name: The Lux Pod
Location: London, UK
Size: 101 square feet
Rent/Own: Own

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Some of you may remember Judith's small space studio apartment from last year's Small Space Contest. The London apartment has been recently upgraded and Judith was kind enough to inform us of the various new features that make the vacation rental big in tech features despite it's diminutive dimensions, including a Boffi Norbert Wangen K4 kitchen, Miele appliances, Bang & Olufsen BeoComTV and Beo2 phone, free WI-FI broadband, iPod docking station, iPhone connection to Eclipse-TD audio system, luxurious Tempur mattress, Bonaldo Dragonfly leather chair, funky Italian Softline perspex blue stools. Check out the tour and details of what new home tech features now grace the 101 square foot studio below...

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Name: Wågensjö / Herberger
Location: Geneva suburb (France)
Size: 2,368 sq ft + 40,000 square foot garden
Years Lived In: Since March 2005

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What originally drew us to Wågensjö and Herberger's home was their amazing home office desk. Their architect built the floating desk, which attaches to the wall behind and at its sides, with a hollow core where cables and power strips can hide. Once we started flipping through their Flickr account though, we saw their house had a lot more to offer than just a cool desk...

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Beamer Wilkins is the owner of the San Jose and Austin network of programming companies under the banner of TRNSFR, a ridiculously admirable accomplishment at the age of just 25. But we're equally as impressed with his Austin home office setup, which includes a couple desktop workspaces which integrate his obvious obsession of vinyl collectibles with his home tech equipment, including a myriad of music and computer toys all shown below...

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David wrote in after seeing our recent DIY Mac mini Mount post, making an argument that Mac mini's are not meant to hide at all: "I think a Mac mini really pretties every desk, so why hide would you it? I'd always rather wall- or desk-mount my screens and let the Mini stay where it belongs...though I have to admit it's not really a small desk."

He shared his stylish workspace with is, which includes a dual swivel Ergotron monitor setup complimenting his mini with an adjacent Apple laptop to keep him efficiently operating while working as a web designer in Germany. Thanks for sharing, David!

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Names: Henrik Nyh and Johanna Öst
Location: Stockholm, Sweden.
Size: The entire home (a condo) is 63 square metres/678 square feet.
Years Lived In:: Just over one year now.
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We fell in love with Henrik and Johanna's space as soon as we saw their media room, which we ended up featuring in our roundup of best looking media rooms. We decided to take a closer look at both their set-up and the rest of their home and discovered a space that's not only full of vintage color schemes, retro décor, and impeccable placement, but one that features some complicated technology as well, including writing up scripts for customized control of their home theater PC!

After the jump, Henrik tells us all about the hidden geekiness in this fashionable abode. Make sure to check out the slideshow, which features 20 photos from this chic space.

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