Smart home automation in Berkshire
Homeplay is a design-led smart home company working across Berkshire from our Experience Centre in Sunbury-on-Thames, close to the county border. Since 2006 we have designed, installed and looked after lighting, shading, music, cinema, Wi-Fi and security, alongside the interior designers and architects who shape each home.
At a glance
- Based: Experience Centre, 117 Windmill Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, TW16 7EF
- Founded: 2006
- Area covered: Berkshire, including Ascot, plus Surrey, London and the Home Counties, with projects across the UK and Europe
- Our focus: lighting design and control, and technology that disappears into the interior
- Typical project: from around £100,000
- Aftercare: membership £99 a month including VAT
- Visits: by appointment. A tour of around 90 minutes, then a complimentary design meeting
- Call: +44 1932 781 327
Where this started
Our founder's first whole-home music systems were installed from a demonstration facility in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in 1998. He was the most technical person in the business, customers had started asking for music in every room, and he set about working out how to do it. Homeplay followed in 2006. Berkshire homes have been part of our work from the beginning.
A Berkshire family home, from Wi-Fi to whole home
Completed November 2024, with Hill House Interiors and Sullivan & White. It started as a simple request to extend a Sky Q system. After a visit to our Experience Centre, the client asked us to rethink the whole house.
Over a two-year refurbishment we delivered lighting design and control, motorised blinds, a private cinema, music in every room, intercom, monitored CCTV, heating control, and lighting and music by the pool. The bar, tucked under the eaves, has a nightclub-grade sound system you cannot see, and a dartboard lit by a framing projector so it appears to float.
The client has since asked us to do the same in their holiday home in Spain. See the Berkshire project
Reviews
“I can honestly say I believed BB King had come back from the dead and joined David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler and Mick Fleetwood in my bar. It sounds incredible.”
Designed with your interior designer
Your design leads. Our job is to make it work beautifully. Interior designers and architects are the people we work with every day, and we are set up to work the way design practices do.
- We issue CAD lighting plans, fixture schedules, wiring schematics and electrical loadings to your build team before first fix
- We are an accredited CPD provider for RIBA, BIID and SBID, and have trained hundreds of design professionals in lighting, shading and home technology. See our courses
- Our founder, James Ratcliffe, sits on the CEDIA global board and was appointed its industry liaison to the design community
- We exhibit at Decorex, alongside the interior design community we work with
- Bring your client to our Experience Centre. It is the John Cullen Lighting showroom for Surrey, so they can see the light before they choose it
What we design and install
Environment. Architectural lighting design and lighting control, motorised blinds and curtains, heating and cooling. We are a Lutron dealer and a dealer for John Cullen Lighting. More on lighting, shading and climate
Entertainment. Music in every room, television without visible wires or boxes, cinema rooms and media rooms. We are dealers for Steinway Lyngdorf, Meridian, L-Acoustics, Sonance and Sonos. More on music, television and cinema
Ease. Wi-Fi that reaches every corner, CCTV, door and gate entry, and simple control. We are dealers for Control4 and Ubiquiti, with lifts and concealment from Future Automation. More on Wi-Fi, security and control
Automation, without the complication
Much of our industry will tell you a luxury home needs one central system running everything through a touchscreen. We disagree, and we say so publicly.
After twenty years of designing these systems, our view is that the best control is usually the one you already know how to use: a lighting keypad on the wall, your own music app, the remote you have used for years. We call this approach The Simple Home.
That is not an argument against control systems. Over the last two decades we have won numerous global awards for complex whole-home control system design, and there are homes where nothing else will do. The difference is that we do not default to one just because the industry always has.
How to choose a smart home company
Five things worth checking with any company you speak to, including us.
- Can you see it working? A showroom you can visit tells you more than a brochure. Ours is in Sunbury-on-Thames and was named Best Showroom EMEA at the 2019 CEDIA Awards
- Do interior designers trust them? Ask who they have worked with. Our published projects credit the designers, architects and builders by name
- Is the firm independently certified? We are a CEDIA Member of Excellence, Cinergy Certified (ID CC-87638) and certified by the Home Technology Association
- Who actually installs it? Our installation team is our own. The people who design your system are the people who work in your home
- What happens afterwards? Ask about support before you sign. Our Aftercare team offers remote support, priority visits and emergency out-of-hours cover for members
Questions we are asked
Who installs smart home systems in Berkshire?
Homeplay designs and installs smart home systems across Berkshire from its Experience Centre in Sunbury-on-Thames. Founded in 2006, we are dealers for Lutron, Control4, Sonos and Ubiquiti among others, and our recent Berkshire work includes a whole-home project with Hill House Interiors.
You are based in Surrey. Is Berkshire too far?
No. Sunbury-on-Thames is close to the Berkshire border, we work regularly around Ascot, and for Aftercare visits travel is included for homes within an hour's drive of our office.
We only wanted better Wi-Fi. Is that worth a conversation?
Often, yes. The Berkshire project above began as a request to extend a Sky system. A visit to the Experience Centre is the best way to see what else is possible.
How much does smart home technology cost?
Every project is designed around the home, so there is no fixed price. As a guide, our typical project starts at around £100,000. Our budget calculator takes five to eight minutes and gives you a realistic figure for your own home.
Do you take on smaller projects?
Our projects typically start at around £100,000, but our Aftercare team can often take on smaller works, depending on what is involved.
When should we involve you?
Ideally at concept stage, alongside the architect and interior designer. Realistically, any time before first fix electrics. After plaster, options narrow and costs rise.
What happens after installation?
You call us. Aftercare membership is £99 a month including VAT and gives you unlimited remote support, priority service, our lowest rates for visits, and emergency out-of-hours cover.
Can you help with a system another company installed?
Yes, we are happy to help. Aftercare membership itself is for existing Homeplay clients and new whole-home projects.
Why Homeplay
Each of these can be checked with the body that awarded it.
- CEDIA Best Showroom EMEA, 2019
- CEDIA Best Media Room, Global and EMEA, 2022
- CEDIA Member of Excellence, with CEDIA certified staff
- The John Cullen Lighting showroom for Surrey. See us on the John Cullen website
- Accredited CPD provider for RIBA, BIID and SBID
- Cinergy Certified, certification ID CC-87638. Verify with Cinergy
- HTA Design Partner, and Home Technology Association certified at Estate level. See our HTA listing
- ISO 9001 registered
- Rated 5 out of 5 on Trustpilot
Written by James Ratcliffe, founder of Homeplay and member of the CEDIA global board. Last reviewed October 2026.
Book a guided tour of our Experience Centre, followed by a complimentary design meeting. Bring your interior designer or architect.
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