Case Study
Lake Norman · North Carolina
The Lake Norman Waterfront Estate
A lakefront estate designed for seamless indoor-outdoor living — outdoor cinema, dock entertainment, landscape audio, and whole-property Savant automation across 18,000 sq ft and 3 acres of waterfront.
Project Overview
This Lake Norman waterfront estate presented the ultimate indoor-outdoor technology challenge: create a unified environment that extends luxury living from interior spaces through covered terraces, pool decks, gardens, and a private dock — all controlled from a single Savant automation platform.
Peters Audio Video was engaged during pre-construction, collaborating with the architect and landscape designer to plan conduit paths, speaker placements, screen locations, and infrastructure routes before foundations were poured. This early coordination eliminated the compromises that plague retrofit outdoor installations — exposed conduit, inadequate speaker coverage, and equipment vulnerable to weather.
The completed environment includes a 150-inch outdoor cinema, 16 zones of Coastal Source landscape audio, a dedicated dock entertainment system, and indoor technology spanning a reference-grade theater, 32-zone distributed audio, and comprehensive security covering the entire waterfront perimeter.
The Challenge
Waterfront properties demand equipment and infrastructure that withstands humidity, temperature extremes, UV exposure, and — on Lake Norman — occasional storm-driven water intrusion. Every outdoor component must be marine-grade or better, with drainage-aware mounting, UV-resistant enclosures, and corrosion-proof connections.
The property's 3-acre footprint also required enterprise-grade network infrastructure to deliver reliable WiFi coverage to the dock, pool house, and distant landscape zones. Consumer mesh systems cannot cover this scale; we deployed a Ruckus outdoor access point mesh with dedicated backhaul.
Systems Designed & Integrated
Outdoor Cinema — 150" Motorized Screen
Weather-rated motorized screen with Sony laser projection, outdoor-rated 7.1 surround sound, and automated deployment via Savant scenes
Coastal Source Landscape Audio
16-zone outdoor audio with hardscape bollards, landscape speakers, and subterranean subwoofers covering pool deck, terraces, gardens, and dock
Pool & Dock Entertainment
Dedicated audio zones for pool area, covered patio, fire pit terrace, and private dock with marine-grade equipment rated for lakefront conditions
Savant Whole-Property Automation
Unified control of indoor and outdoor systems — lighting, audio, shading, climate, security, pool/spa, and landscape lighting from a single interface
32-Zone Distributed Audio
Sonance and Bowers & Wilkins architectural speakers throughout interior and exterior with dedicated multi-channel amplification
Private Home Theater
Dedicated 9.4.6 Dolby Atmos cinema with 4K laser projection, acoustic treatment, theater seating for 12, and isolated HVAC
Motorized Shading Throughout
Lutron Palladiom motorized shades on all lake-facing facades with solar-adaptive scheduling and glare management
Perimeter Security & Surveillance
32-camera Axis system covering waterfront, driveway, and all entry points with AI analytics, NVR, and gate automation
The Result
The homeowners use a single Savant "Lakeside Evening" scene to deploy the outdoor cinema screen, dim landscape lighting to theater mode, activate surround speakers, and queue their streaming library — all from a poolside touch panel. A "Dock Party" scene activates marine-grade speakers, sets landscape lighting to a warm party palette, and notifies the gate system to expect guests.
The indoor-outdoor boundary is seamless. Audio follows residents from the great room to the covered patio to the pool deck without interruption. Security cameras monitor the waterfront 24/7, and the gate system manages visitor access whether the homeowners are on the dock or across the country.